Well I´ve officially been in Chile for over a month! Holy cow! and transfers (we call them cambios (that´s changes in english) here) are next week!! i hope and pray that i´m with hermana lopez for at least 2 more transfers. we want to be here for Christmas...together! but chances are that at least one out the four hermanans in our ward will be transferred:(i´m excited though this is my first time expereincing a cambio. they happen every 6 weeks so i better get used to them!
This week has been the week of lessons with members! This means that members of the church accompany us to our appointments with people. They share their testiomny of the Gospel and try to create a friendship and support system for people learning about the Gospel and preparing for baptism. The members in my ward are awesome! they are so faithful and willing and have such strong testimonies. that has been so nice because seriously when we have a member with us our lessons are so much better, so much more spiritual and effective in helping people feel comfortable. If you are a member of the church and have never accompanied the full time missionaries i encourage you to call the missionaries and tell them you want to come with them to a lesson. They will pass out with joy and surprise! One thing I´ve been learning is that missionaries really aren´t very important in missionary work. i know that sounds contradictory, but really missionaries come and go, our purpose is merely to invite people to come unto Christ and show them the pathway to follow, its the members of the church that continue to help new members and old members alike to grow in their tesimony and faith. that is one of the purposes of the church is to teach, edify and strengthen each other!
This week was also a week that strengthened my testimony of The Book of Mormon which is the keystone of our religion and faith because it testifies so clearly about Jesus Christ. In two different Family Home Evenings my companion and I watched the end of the film The Testaments, the part where Jesus appears to the Nephites and blesses them and teaches them. He invites every single person to come and touch the wounds in His hands and feet and side, to know for themselves that He is the Christ (3 Nephi 11). We cannot touch the hands of Jesus, but we can touch and hold and read The Book of Mormon. And through it we can come to know Jesus Christ and understand His Atonement. There is great power in the Book of Mormon. In my personal study I have strarted to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover instead of jumping around reading what I think my investigators need. In all of our studying e* focus on the needs of the people we are teaching. At first I was worried, ´´how can i read the scriptures cover to cover AND still study for my investigators?´´ But i decided to give it a try, and i have found that the word of God is powerful enough that it can teach me the things I need to know and teach me the things my investigators need to know as i read it cover to cover. That is the power of the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost. If you feel like your study of the Book of Mormon is a little disjointed and uneffective, I encourage you to try this. Read it cover to cover and look for applications to your life as you read. The Spirit will bring to your mind connections and teachings that are personal and powerful!
I love you! I can´t thank you enough for all your prayers!
Love, Hermana Bowns
*'e' is 'and' in Spanish.
Here is a link to a clip of The Testaments that Diane was refering to. It is a long video, ten minutes. http://youtu.be/Mby4dFwbGko
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