Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Ups and downs - keep going


Building a house for a service project

Hi family!

Whats happenen?  Hey sounds like this summer has really been a great one. I am so happy for that!

This week was interesting. We are teaching this kid of 19 years right now that is just progressing super great! His name is Bladimir and he knows the bible better than anyone i´ve ever talked to in bolivia! so its fun to talk to him- sometimes our lessons are 2 hours long! this is a lot and not recommended, but he seriously wants to keep learning. we always try to answer all of his questions, and when he doesnt have anymore, he asks, whats next? he will be getting baptized 24 of August! All of my converts tend to be Young men…well they will just all go on missions and convert all the families of the world. Thats ok. J He is seriously doing well though and we are (relieved) excited to have someone progressing!

My companion is still struggling which is hard. I have to give her pep talks, jump on her bed and sing to her, and when i do these things we are good to go: for one day. After, we have to start over again and i am tired. But its the work we do when we are tired that counts the most right?

My zone right now; favorite zone so far

The good thing is that i have awesome zone leaders right now. I think i wrote about how they sang to me on the phone one day? Well today we had an awesome getting to know you activity. It was nice that not only were the hermanas invited to the activity, they really seemed to care about us and getting to know us. This has really helped me not feel so alone. I keep working. And repenting. And working. And i can tell my testimony is like a ton stronger than when i started my misión. Like when we do have lessons (only like 10 a week…this is extremely low), I can just feel the spirit in the room when I bare my testimony. I have really worked hard to get to know God and his góspel, and it is really paying off now which is awesome. I am not only saying words when i talk. I am really saying what i know is true, from the bottom of my soul. This is exciting. I know God has more work for me to do here (even though satan is trying to convince me otherwise) so im going to keep working.

Last night Hna mita, the other “mama” sister who lives in the house and i talked a lot. She comforted me and i have more desires to keep doing good work even if i dont feel like anything is happening. I have more desires to talk to everyone, even if they do or say horrible things to me. Because how else are we going to find the people who ARE ready and waiting for the góspel?

I do love Bolivia. I love this church. I love the good news of christ.  I seriously get promptings to pray for people sometimes, and our [Provo] neighbors have been on the list for a while. I love this góspel. Its hard when people just dont get it. I just want people to be happy. But his is Gods work in HIS way. And i am grateful that He at least has the pacience to teach me every lesson.

Love you all,
Hermana Elisa black

ps  sorry... i think i really did used to write more...just know my thoughts are more here in bolivia now- i have less time to think about what i am going to write home. this is good haha. well love you all seriously so much.

pps oh also this week we had a consejo de lideres which was awesome. we got to talk with president and hermana Willard who are finally back in the mission! they are super inspired and i love that at conferences we now focus more on feeling the spirit, building ourselves up, and love. seriously such a diference. i am grateful that i am here to witness such diferent approaches to missionary work. also tuesday was Independence day for Bolivia! so there was lots of parades and dancing. that was pretty fun. President was talking during the council and a band was passing by the church we were in. he plays the drums professionally, and he just couldnt focus when the band was passing so we got to go outside to watch the parade. haha. i am learning about how to let go of stress which is nice.

ppss  oh funny experience- when i was at the conference, My companion had the cellphone. well Bladimir (our one investigator) texted her to ask where the practice was to dance in the ward talent show that night. well she thought he was one of the elders or hermanas asking about the conference, so she sent him at 8a.m. to a church building far away. then he asked is it too late to go? and she responded, use the light of christ. so he was looking all around bolivia for a church called the light of christ. well anyways he ended up calling and was like I am Bladimir and im super lost. well she felt super dumb but the great thing is is that people who are really prepared forgive you haha. love, me

NUMBER 47 baby!

oh mom i just love you so much. did you know that? and the rest of you guys too i guess ,)

This week really was a better week. seriously. I am very grateful for this. On monday we finally got to teach the Robles family! i think i wrote about them once when i first got here. They´ve got a son named Elder! We taught the whole family on monday and it was so great. I was so grateful for the experience of finally talking to someone with interest. One of the first questions they asked was where can we buy a hymn book? (thats always a good sign).

on tuesday i had an intercambio. the other sister leader came into my zone to do the intercambio with me. Ive got great zone and district leaders right now which is such a blessing. They planned this intercambio so that I could hopefully feel better and not feel so down. sweet huh? well anyways it was a great day. 

so on Wednesday we had a lesson set up for the Robles family though and i made my companion memorize the first vision to say to them. (normally you memorize this in the CCM but she didnt. we also have taught the first vision 2 other times but she just wouldnt memorize it). I told her that the Robles family is too important for her to fake her way through the first vision again. so i demonstrated how to share the first vision with the spirit. I practiced with her. I gave her pep talks. And as we were walking to their house she finally had it down. Unfortunately only the mom was home- her husband was working. But i think this lesson was the most spiritual experience we have had as a companionship. it went great. I think she felt good about finally doing something in a lesson. 

Our ward is definitely getting the mission bug more. ive been praying so hard for this. one family went to pick up an inactive family, and this other family live in the house and this young guy. well they ended up hauling all of them to church! so the young guy has a baptism fecha. we are so excited for this. 

also hna mita (sister living in my house) hast o go to theorabpy for her back, and she gave a book of mormon to the lady. the lady said, members live in my house, but they never invite me! so please, for the love of all that is holy, invite a friend to church this week. 

much love! love hermana elisa black

Monday, August 5, 2013

Perseverar

hey hello howdy

Ok so first off the top line of the key board doesn’t work so i can’t but exclamation points or question marks haha. its funny i never thought how important punctuation was for me until i lost it. That’s how all things in life though are i am learning.

Anyways thanks for helping me get my feet back on the ground a little more this week. This week was actually worse than the other week- we had even less investigators and less lessons. But i know it’s a test of my faith- to see if I will keep going even when I don’t see any results. It’s frustrating because I have so much desire to work and teach and help but there is just nothing happening here. Our ward mission leader runs when he sees us, our bishop just hides. The Jehovahs witnesses knock every door in our area every single morning these days, and our members don’t have time to help us. We have references, but we can never find them. So yeah, I’m just going to say this is my faith building, perseverar hasta el fin area. Which is ok.

I really liked the story mom and Patrice sent. I thought about how much I really truly suffered my first months in the mission, and how all the new girls coming in have it so great now haha. I thought, why did it have to be so hard for me at first. But then I realized that i am ok with the price I paid to know God. I really do know him now. I didn’t before my mission. Not well at least. I was really, really beaten down. I’m so different now haha. But it’s so great. 

Really don’t have anything to report this week. I summed it up in the second paragraph. Oh and elder nelson is just an elder who broke his leg so he has nothing to do but to take our phone calls when we are sick. haha. Our president should be back next week. It’s been hard without him. 

I really just want to work work work work work and help help help help but we end up just walking around a lot. Its stressfull because i am seriously worried about finding everyone that I need to teach. But I am trying so hard not to be stressed out. I love working so very much. Well this is seriously all I can write right now. I am doing good. Thanks for all your help and love and advice and prayers my life is the best  thing ever.

love, hermana elisa black