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