Week 14

feliz ano nuevo mis amigos y familia y bienvenido 2016! 

hope your goal setting and keeping has started and that you will all have the strength to keep with it.

Wedding is the process of planning and turns out that January 16th, the day we are having it, also is President Palmer's birthday!  Woohoo.  He's supposed to be coming to the wedding and baptism then we have another baptism to go to after that all (One of Hermana Carpenter's previous investigators in a different area)!  We are looking forward to all that lays ahead of us.

This week we literally talked with everyone.  It was so great to just spend time walking streets to contact people. We were on the streets New Years day and had sworn we were going to talk to every single person no excuses unless the Holy Ghost stopped us in our tracts.  We met a lot of people, got invited to come in for some parties and such, were given 'drinks' that we ended just dumping out because who knew-it wasn't water, and because of that we have new investigators.  

I went on exchanges with Hermana Gundersen up in Lodi since my companion is sister training leader.  Those are always fun you get to be in a new area for 24 hours.  That was a ball.  We were able to do street contacting there as well as contact a bunch of referrals.

Full of miracles kind of a week and too sacred to share.

Pero esta semana, empeze a repasar la revista de la conferencia general (review the general conference magazine).  I invite you to get your hands on a copy for yourself of the talks.  Mark it up.  I've started doing that and it's helped me remember what I loved oh so much from this conference.  I have fallen in love with Family: A proclamation to the world. Study what we are given as tools.  I know that one thing that stood out to me was a promise made in Preach My Gospel.  It said that if we do not keep the sabbath day holy, ALL aspects of our life will be negatively affected.  It specifies that when we do guard and keep the sabbath day for things that the Lord would want us to do, EVERY aspect of our life will improve.  That was a promise.  I reflected back on before the mission my typical Sunday.  I wonder what things might have been made better had a decided to skip watching TV and watch the Joseph Smith Movie, or hang with my family.  If I wouldn't have gone out to eat.  I can testify that as we sanctify ourselves on the Sabbath day we can be prepared for the week to come.  We will have the strength to accomplish all that needs done.  Sunday is a day of rest for you too.

I  focused on the discourso por Dieter F. Ucthdorf- "It works wonderfully!"

I love what he says, 'sometimes, the truth may just seem too straightforward, too plain, and too simple for us to fully appreciate its great value. So we set aside what we have experienced and know to be true in pursuit of more mysterious or complicated information. Hopefully we will learn that when we chase after shadows, we are pursuing matters that have little substance and value.'

He later says:
'I wonder if we as Church members might also benefit from asking ourselves from time to time: “Is my experience in the Church working for me? Is it bringing me closer to Christ? Is it blessing me and my family with peace and joy as promised in the gospel?”'

I answered the questions and as I thought about them deep.  Wondering if this really was benefiting me, I came to the conclusion that this church has.  Not because the people of the church because anywhere you go you can find imperfect people, but because who is at the head of this church.  Jesus Christ.  I want to invite you all to ponder the questions Dieter F. Uchtdorf gives us.  If you need a boost, or a personal reminder, I promise that as you reflect on those questions, You will remember why you are and were a part of the church in the first place.  I pray for you.  I know life is hard.  I know that Jesus Christ is ready when you are.  

In the sacred name of our savior and perfectly loving brother, Jesus Christ Amen.