I am so sorry about not sending an email last week! I had it all typed up and ready to send out, but it got deleted at the end of the hour. :( I´ll try and make up for that this week.

Throughout my entire mission the Lord has showed me His love and concern for the elderly, and recently my companion and I have had more experiences that normal to help them!

We went to visit a retired Patriarch whose wife recently passed away. Brother Zeballos is deaf in one ear, so we couldnt share very much in the way of comfort, yet we did the best we could singing his favorite hymn, ´´How Great Thou Art´´. It surprised us how much that meant to him, because he started crying and thanking us for having given him the comfort that he needed. That was a really sweet experience, and I felt the Spirit testify that the Lord accepts the service we give to others as if we had given it to Him.

As Hna Salas and I were walking toward another appointment, we noticed a nicely dressed older gentleman that was hesitating to cross a super busy road. We both turned around, wondering if he needed help, and ran to him to find out what was the matter. Jorge, the old man, gladly accepted our help and he was trembling when we got to him! It made us feel to good to have acted on a prompting and to have helped him. 

We also were able to visit the grandma and grandpa of the ward, Gloria and Adán, who just celebrated 65 years as a couple. We arrived at their house just as their extended family arrived and it was amazing to see all of their kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids gather around them. They can no longer keep up with them, but it struck me the serenity on their faces as they enjoyed being with their huge posterity. I was able to talk with Adán about his testimony of the Book of Mormon, and it was powerful! He still keeps up with his scripture study and testified of the importance of taking the time to do it everyday. We were able to share Adán´s testimony later that day within a lesson, and it had a powerful effect on the person that we taught!

Oh, another update! 

We visited with Mercedes to talk about covenants and partaking of the sacrament worthily. The lesson was amazing because she is so humble and willing to accept the word of God. Long story short, she revealed to us that she had just separated from her boyfriend and that she is ready to talk to the bishop and put her life in order. I seriously had to stop myself from crying because not too long ago she opened up to us about the serious problems that they were having and all we could do as missionaries was teach her to apply gospel principles and seek the Lord´s will through prayer. She said that was exactly was she did, and that now she is at peace with her decision. I love the gospel! Not only because it fills my life with peace, but because it is the solution to any problem we may have!

This last week has also be GREAT! Hna Salas and I are striving to work even more with the members than before and it is amazing how much our numbers are improving. I know that numbers dont really matter, but I cant deny that they show our work. And we´ve had a number of new investigatores! We´ve really seen sooo many miracles.

Sorry, i´m out of time!

Hna Arroyo

New beginnings

Hermana Salas and I

This week has been both a huge growing experience and a trial. If there is something that I´ve learned in the mission, it is that the Lord allows us to pass through challenges in order to help us grow, but He NEVER leaves us alone. There are always growing pains that accompany learning, yet a huge inner peace as I rely on the Lord whole heartedly. I find comfort in Jeremiah 29:12-13:

12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

There isnt much time to keep writing, but know that I have a testimony of the gospel. I know that no matter what mistakes we have made, we can start over and start anew. The Savior of the world is on our side, and there is no other greater happiness than in being a witness of Him.

Hna Arroyo

Striving

At the start of this last week I asked Heavenly Father what He would have me learn, and the Spirit whispered two Christ-like attributes to my mind and heart: longsuffering and kindness.

While teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord taught that we should love others, especially those that dont love us (Matt 5:43-48). I`ve been striving to do that with the people that slam doors or flat-out reject us, and I testify that it is harder to do without the Lord`s help! But as I`ve prayed fervently and sincerely tried to apply the Atonement in my life, I`ve received divine help. And it is truly beautiful! I feel that I have more energy and that my love for others is growing. 

 During the week I went out to work with Hna Hoskins for divisions. One of the appointments was with a memeber of the ward, Isaida, who has been passing for difficult tmes. We got there and within 5 min Isaida was sobbing and explaining how tired she is all the time (she has thyroid problems, so no matter how much sleep she gets, she always feels exhausted) and her family and finacial problems are too much to handle. When we asked her if she`s been praying, more tears flowed:

``Hermanas, the truth is that I havent been praying. I dont think I can handle this anymore...`` 

At that moment the Spirit allowed me to feel the Lord`s complete and deep love for her. I couldnt help but cry and reach out to this person that I had just met, and He gave us the words to share with her:

 28 ¶Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that theeverlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of theearth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searchingof his understanding.

 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have nomight he increaseth strength.

 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and theyoung men shall utterly fall:

 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shallrenew their strength; they shall mount up with wings aseagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shallwalk, and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:28-31)

We then tried our best to give Isaida the comfort that Christ would, and we beared our testimonies about the importance and strengthening power of prayer. Isaida then took courage, and offered a kneeling prayer that still stands as an example to me:

``Lord, if it be your will that I be healed or not, do with me according to your will. I will do what you want me to do, just give me strength to keep going forward.``

I have a testimony that prayer works. As we pray and then go and do the Lord`s will, He will give us strength to do hard things and to feel the pure love that He has for others. 

This week was also really great in the way that we were able to find more new investigators! Martha, who Sister Soncco contaced last week, is progressing. We were able to meet with her and teach about prayer and that God is our loving heavenly Father. At first she told us that she didnt have time, but we were persistent by asking her a question; ``Is it okay if we just offer a prayer with you before leaving?`` Well that anticipated 2 min turned into a whole lesson. (yeah!) And we left having gained another dear friend and investigator. 

At another time in the week we used the same persistence to meet with Daniela, an 18 year old girl that we contacted a few weeks ago. We were finally able to find her, and before she closed the door on us, we asked a simple question;

``Is it okay if we just offer a prayer with you before leaving?`` She said yes! and we were able to feel the Spirit, teach a lesson, and gain Daniela`s confidence. She even gave us a reference! 

It`s been a great week. :)

We`ve found new people to teach and the Lord never fails to lift us up and guide us in His work. I know this Church is true and that the Savior of the World is at its head, if it werent so, miracles wouldnt occur.

Hna Arroyo