December 2, 2013 I have been here a month....

There is a Statue of Liberty in a park here!

Familia!

Happy late Thanksgiving! Yes, mom, I did think about it. We have Americans in our ward and they made sure to remind me :)

This week was a medical adventure. Thursday we went to the doctor to get my foot X-rayed, and we had to go to a specific doctor.  It was up to us to figure out how to get there. Oh, and it was way far away. It ended up being about 2 hours by bus to get there! Lets just say I am real glad that my comp can speak and understand Spanish because we asked a TON of people for directions! It was super great. Dont´you fret, its not broken, however I have a consult today with some other doctor about the ligaments or something. I am not exactly sure seeing as I don´t speak Spanish... but my comp does and she talked with the mission nurse and they said I need to go. So pray that it goes well!

Donating blood! Yay!

On Saturday we got to donate blood! It was so great! It was really funny to see all the elders freaking out. Some of them were such pansies about it! The nurses there were really impressed at how many of us missionaries came to donate blood. Especially because so many of us are North American and it is not ever ´´our people´´ we are helping. When my blood was being sucked I had a nice 5 minute conversation with the nurse about why we are here and what we are doing. I am not sure if anything will come of it, but at least she knows that we are good people and helping others. (Dont worry mom, it was totally sanitary)

Me and my District Leader after donating

The past couple days President told me that I need to rest and stay off my foot, because it has been a month and it is not getting any better. So this meant I had plenty of study time. I loved it. I studied a lot about 3 Nephi 5:13. ´´For behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, Son of God. I have been called by him to declare his word among his people so they can have eternal life´´ ( I think that is correct, I have it memorized in Spanish and don't have an English BOM close)  I was amazed as I studied the power in this scripture. Read it and contemplate it, even if you are not called as a full time missionary, God has commanded all of us to share the gospel.

As I was studying it I read a lot about what a disciple is. A very simple definition I came up with is a disciple is a pupil or follower. A disciple Acts, Loves, and Gives all. Sorta changed my perspective on what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

We don´t have much success by way of numbers or missionary work right now, but we are trying. However, I can totally feel the change in me. I am starting to understand the baptism by fire concept. Sometimes things have to fall apart so that other things can fall into place. Just like when a wild fire occurs, it is painful and it seems like it is devastating, but it gives opportunity for new things to grow and take their place. I can feel this in me. I know that I have learned things in the past month that I could have learned no other way. A quote that I read and really liked is "We are never left to walk alone, no matter how dark your pathway". -Tomas S. Monson. I know that this statement is true. I have no doubt that our savior is constantly with us. He loves us and is aware of all of our needs. Only with his help can we reach our potential and become the person that we can. I know that He Lives. I am more sure of that now than I have ever been. I know that this gospel is the only way that we can return to Christ, and the only way to find true happiness.

Daily miracles:

Nov 25- I got the best letter from Leigh. It was totally positive, and exactly what I needed!
Nov 26- We had a lesson with a recent convert/ less active member and the members that we had with us were so perfect. It was especially great because he is super hard to find at home and so when we can teach him it is great!
nov 27- We had a lesson with Louis (recent convert). Every other lesson fell through, I think we had 4, so we were super happy to have a lesson with him. He is 12 but you can tell that he really knows that it is true!
Nov 28- We did not get lost in Camino going to the hospital today!
Nov 29- We had President's interviews, and man I have the best mission president ever. I am so grateful for his support and help!
Nov 30- Today as I was studying I could really feel the love of the savior through the scriptures. It was amazing. I mean I always feel peace when I am reading or studying them... but I felt such a love today. Amazing.
Dec 1- There is this man, Samuel, who is a street vendor and is super nice. He wants to learn about the gospel and we even see him reading the Book of Mormon. However, we were told we could not teach him because he does not live in our area. Today he came to our church! he said that he would rather come here because he works here every day and does not feel as comfortable at the other ward. And guess what!? Today we got permission to teach and baptize him! Today we set a date for the fifteenth of Diciembre. I am so excited. he is super open and receptive!!

I love you all so very much! I hope that you remember your Savior in this time of His birth and really search to understand his role in your life!

Love, Hermana Sirrine

Food for thought: Many people are willing to die for Christ, but the more important question is, are you willing to Live for Him?