Sept. 14, 2015 - Day of Mirles!

A sample of the hills they walk each day. 

They do a lot of walking! 14 miles walked in one day. 

Wow. So much to say this week! First, we had zone conference on Tuesday. It was so good! We talked a lot about obedience and developing Christ-like attributes. Someone said something along the lines of "Who you are and what you do are inseparable. To be = to do. To do without being is lying to those around you. To be without doing is lying to yourself." I thought that was really interesting. We should be constantly working on developing Christ-like attributes and if we do, we will become more like Christ and do the things we're supposed to be doing. It was such a spiritual conference and I loved every bit of it! They also challenged us to memorize the Living Christ by Christmas so that we can share it with our families. Hermana Stevens and I were a little too excited about it so we got going right away and we already have half of it memorized in English and in Spanish! Anyone want to join the train and try memorizing it by Christmas? (In English :)). 

Then, guess what dad? I ate Shrimp! Yuck! :) We were eating the normal rice and beans and chicken at a members home and she was telling us about all the different kinds of rice she makes and all of sudden she remembered a type of rice that she had made that was in the fridge so she pulled it out, warmed it up, and dump a large portion on each of our plates and it was rice with huge chunks of shrimp in it. She was so proud of it and was anxiously watching us to see if we would like it or not so of course we had to eat it and let me tell you- it was so hard to smile and tell her it tasted good. But somehow (probably with the the Lord's help), I was able to eat it all. I just hope I never have to do that again.... :)  But on a more positive note, she gave us Temblake (spelling?)! It is the most divine dessert I have ever tasted in my life!!!! It's kind of a mix of flan and jello and basically is just food from heaven. :) I'm definitely going to learn how to make it so I can make it for you guys later!

Saturday was a day of miracles! We visited a family of 3 who we had talked with each of them individually in the street but never in their house and never together. But Saturday we found all of them at home and found out that their cousin had just been murdered and they were having a hard time healing. It was such a perfect intro into the gospel and I think because they were in that vulnerable state, they were so open to our message and I know they felt the Spirit. It was a really powerful lesson and I know Heavenly Father prepared them for our visit that day. After that lesson we started walking to a less active's house and as we started going, I had a prompting that we should walk to her house a different way. So we changed directions and ended up passing a recreation center where a man was sitting outside. He told us that he had been told that there was going to be a basketball game there and that he was supposed to open the building for them and supervise the game. So he showed up but no one else had showed up. So we just talked to him for awhile and he ended up telling us so much about what he's been through in his life and the miracles he's seen. It was really cool because he had been through so much in his family, but still was able to see all the blessings that the Lord was giving him. I know that he was called in to work not for the basketball game, but to meet us and that we walked that way to meet him. It's incredible how the Lord works and how He prepares people for the message of the gospel. It was such a spiritual experience!

After that, we got to the less active's house and after talking to her for about 30 seconds she said, "I'm going to go to church tomorrow. Will you find me a ride and call me in the morning?" What?! We were shocked! We hadn't said anything yet about church or about the gospel. It was such a humbling experience! It taught me that really, I'm not doing anything. All of the progress and miracles and conversion that I see in others is all the work of the Lord. I'm so grateful for the Lord's help and that even through my mistakes and broken Spanish, the Spirit can work in the hearts of the people and convert them to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was incredible! And then to top it all off, we taught the family with baptismal dates and they are so awesome! They understand everything and are so eager to follow the commandments and be baptized. We had to move their baptismal date to the 10th of October for a couple reasons, but I am confident that they will make it for that date. They are so awesome and are progressing so much! And basically Saturday was just a fabulous day! :)

Transfers are next week so we'll find out on Sunday. We have no idea what's going to happen but I think I'll stay here and Hermana Stevens will be transferred, but I'm really not sure. I guess we'll see next week! :)

I'm so sorry to hear that about Michelle's dad. That's terrible. I'm so sorry. They will definitely be in my prayers. And why did Grandpa need the surgery? But I'm glad he's recovering well!

Thanks for adding bug spray in my package! That will be super helpful! I lather my legs in bug spray everyday and somehow I still get attacked. The ants are the worst here. All the ants are poisonous or something because ant bites get super red and huge and hurt a lot. (I have a couple of them on my legs in the pics I sent). Anyways, so I'm not sure what else to do to avoid the bugs, but oh well. 

Happy Birthday tomorrow Dad!!!!!!! Hope you have a fabulous day!

Love you all!

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~Hermana Allan