Hey! So sorry I couldn´t write on Monday, I went to get my ear checked during our normal internet time and we had a "P-day de Hermanas¨"activity afterwards, so I didnt get the chance to have internet.... But I´m so happy to hear everything went well for the farewell and right about now I´m guessing Sadie is in the MTC!! How exciting! BTW, does anyone have a copy of her talk that I could read? I´m so proud of you Sadie!!
So this week we worked HARD. We have met a ton of new people to teach and things are going well! We also have been doing a lot in preparation for Yessica and Edgar´s wedding reception (although they´ve been legally married since the week before). We also have had to head to La Molina for a few more choir practices for our meeting with Elder Cook on Saturday... which was AMAZING!!
We all met up at the stake center in La Molina Saturday morning pretty early to practice as a choir and prepare for the meeting. We had the meeting with the entire Peru Lima South Mission as well, so it was full of missionaries! Elder Cook arrived with our mission presidents and their wives and also Elder Waddell of the Area Presidency. When he (Elder Cook) walked past us in the choir section, he asked me (because I was the first American he saw) if we were the choir. I was almost speechless that an Apostle talked to me! Haha. But I said "Yes!" and he said, "How wonderful!" It was pretty cool. Before everything started, we all got to meet Elder Cook and shake his hand, which was surreal! I remember he thanked me for my service and has such a kind spirit about him.
When the time came, we sang a medley of "Divina Luz" (Lead Kindly Light) and a song called "Te Hallare mi Amigo", which also exists in English but I forget what it´s called... anyways, it´s about a two friends who promised in the pre-existence that the one would accept the gospel from the other and it´s really pretty. Elder Cook doesn´t speak Spanish, so we found the chorus in English and taught all the latino missionaries the words so that we could all sing the chorus the second time in English. It was really cool to get the opportunity to sing for an apostle, and he and Sister Cook really enjoyed it!
All the messages we heard were amazing, but I learned a lot from Elder Waddell and from Elder Cook. Elder Waddell stressed the importance of preparing this people and how our goals shouldn´t end in baptisms and confirmations, but we need to help people become covenant-keepers and help them get to the temple. A lot , but it really made me think past just baptisms and how I can help people become converts. Elder Cook talked a lot about how the work is hastening and explained how the mission assignment process works. I had heard before about the process and how since the great announcement, the amount of apostles working on that every week has more than doubled and each assigns no less than 300 missionaries every week. He shared with us that each missionary is assigned based on specific revelation to the apostle in one of three things:
1) They should work under a specific mission president
2) With a certain people
OR
3) There is someone essential to that missionary in that mission
I found that really interesting. I often wonder what category my call fell in, but I know for sure I´m meant to be here!
Elder Cook taught us a lot more, but what I remember most was his testimony of Jesus Christ and the apostolic blessing he left with us. The Spirit was SO strong and I remember clearly when he said, "I know the Savior lives, I´ve heard his voice." That was incredible. I´m certain that everyone left that room edified. You could tell he loves each of us and radiates the light of Christ. After everything that happened with Carlitos and all of his doubts about living prophets, my tesimony again has been strengthened of the fact that God calls prophets and apostles to guide us because this is His restored church.
After that amazing meeting, we were headed off to get everything ready for Yessica´s baptism that afternoon and set up for her wedding reception that night! The baptism was amazing and all of the missionaries there sang the same song for Yessica that we sang for Elder Cook and it was so sweet! Seriously, our day Saturday couldn´t have been better! I am so happy to see the faith of this young family and their desires to keep the commandments. I have grown to love them so much, as if they were part of my family. We really have seen a miracle here as not even a month after we met her, Yessica is married and a member of the church! Hopefully the pictures can show better than I can explain how amazing that day was!
So yeah, the work is going well and we are really excited to see what the next few weeks have in store! We have been teaching lessons like crazy and are working to help these people put their outstanding faith into action, like Yessica and Edgar.
BTW, I got the llama b-day card from the fam and loved it! Thank you! I love my fam and friends and I wish you all the best in the things you´re doing!
Sigan adelante!
Hermana Bledsoe
Fotos:
Look who I found! (Elder Taylor)
Yessica´s Baptism :)
The wedding cake :)
The Fernandez-Baca Family! :)
Hey! So sorry I couldn´t write on Monday, I went to get my ear checked during our normal internet time and we had a "P-day de Hermanas¨"activity afterwards, so I didnt get the chance to have internet.... But I´m so happy to hear everything went well for the farewell and right about now I´m guessing Sadie is in the MTC!! How exciting! BTW, does anyone have a copy of her talk that I could read? I´m so proud of you Sadie!!
So this week we worked HARD. We have met a ton of new people to teach and things are going well! We also have been doing a lot in preparation for Yessica and Edgar´s wedding reception (although they´ve been legally married since the week before). We also have had to head to La Molina for a few more choir practices for our meeting with Elder Cook on Saturday... which was AMAZING!!
We all met up at the stake center in La Molina Saturday morning pretty early to practice as a choir and prepare for the meeting. We had the meeting with the entire Peru Lima South Mission as well, so it was full of missionaries! Elder Cook arrived with our mission presidents and their wives and also Elder Waddell of the Area Presidency. When he (Elder Cook) walked past us in the choir section, he asked me (because I was the first American he saw) if we were the choir. I was almost speechless that an Apostle talked to me! Haha. But I said "Yes!" and he said, "How wonderful!" It was pretty cool. Before everything started, we all got to meet Elder Cook and shake his hand, which was surreal! I remember he thanked me for my service and has such a kind spirit about him.
When the time came, we sang a medley of "Divina Luz" (Lead Kindly Light) and a song called "Te Hallare mi Amigo", which also exists in English but I forget what it´s called... anyways, it´s about a two friends who promised in the pre-existence that the one would accept the gospel from the other and it´s really pretty. Elder Cook doesn´t speak Spanish, so we found the chorus in English and taught all the latino missionaries the words so that we could all sing the chorus the second time in English. It was really cool to get the opportunity to sing for an apostle, and he and Sister Cook really enjoyed it!
All the messages we heard were amazing, but I learned a lot from Elder Waddell and from Elder Cook. Elder Waddell stressed the importance of preparing this people and how our goals shouldn´t end in baptisms and confirmations, but we need to help people become covenant-keepers and help them get to the temple. A lot , but it really made me think past just baptisms and how I can help people become converts. Elder Cook talked a lot about how the work is hastening and explained how the mission assignment process works. I had heard before about the process and how since the great announcement, the amount of apostles working on that every week has more than doubled and each assigns no less than 300 missionaries every week. He shared with us that each missionary is assigned based on specific revelation to the apostle in one of three things:
1) They should work under a specific mission president
2) With a certain people
OR
3) There is someone essential to that missionary in that mission
I found that really interesting. I often wonder what category my call fell in, but I know for sure I´m meant to be here!
Elder Cook taught us a lot more, but what I remember most was his testimony of Jesus Christ and the apostolic blessing he left with us. The Spirit was SO strong and I remember clearly when he said, "I know the Savior lives, I´ve heard his voice." That was incredible. I´m certain that everyone left that room edified. You could tell he loves each of us and radiates the light of Christ. After everything that happened with Carlitos and all of his doubts about living prophets, my tesimony again has been strengthened of the fact that God calls prophets and apostles to guide us because this is His restored church.
After that amazing meeting, we were headed off to get everything ready for Yessica´s baptism that afternoon and set up for her wedding reception that night! The baptism was amazing and all of the missionaries there sang the same song for Yessica that we sang for Elder Cook and it was so sweet! Seriously, our day Saturday couldn´t have been better! I am so happy to see the faith of this young family and their desires to keep the commandments. I have grown to love them so much, as if they were part of my family. We really have seen a miracle here as not even a month after we met her, Yessica is married and a member of the church! Hopefully the pictures can show better than I can explain how amazing that day was!
So yeah, the work is going well and we are really excited to see what the next few weeks have in store! We have been teaching lessons like crazy and are working to help these people put their outstanding faith into action, like Yessica and Edgar.
BTW, I got the llama b-day card from the fam and loved it! Thank you! I love my fam and friends and I wish you all the best in the things you´re doing!
Sigan adelante!
Hermana Bledsoe
Fotos:
Look who I found! (Elder Taylor)
Yessica´s Baptism :)
The wedding cake :)
The Fernandez-Baca Family! :)
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