Hermana Warburton: Where Can I Turn For Peace?

¡Hola hola familia y amigos! Buenas tardes Gracias por todo su amor y apoyo ¡Ustedes son lo mejor!

This past week was fun! it was a little different than usual, because tuesday and wednesday we did divisions (were we switch companions for 2 days) with the Hermana Assistentes. So we had 4 hermanas in our sector and were able to do double the work! i learned a lot from the hermana i was with, hermana jorge from peru. She is so sweet and really loves the Gospel. it was neat to work with her and learn more about how to be a better missionary. :)

on wednesday we had the world wide missionary training. it was a worldwide broadcast that all the missionaries in the WORLD watched about how to be a better missionary! there was a lot of focus on teaching by the Spirit, and working with the memebers. it was neat to know that all of the missionaries in the world were watching this, and we are all doing the same things. we are all here for the same purpose and working together to bring people unto Christ.

on thursday... this was our day of tears.. haha. yep. we kind of randomly had people cry on us... haha! We were teaching Vicenta Coba, an investigadora, about how there is only 1 true church. She is Evangelica and she believes that there is not really one true church, but that the church is within all of us... we have gone over the doctrine that God is of order, and there is only 1 church many times, and still it was not sticking. after we had finished the lesson, we were a little worried that our lesson was a little harsh... but she came out with some malduros fritos (fried green bananas) for us to eat, and then started crying because she LOVES us so much and will be so sad when we leave. guess the lesson wasnt too harsh!! she loves us, and even though we are different religions, she realizes that we are doing something so important and good, and calls us her little angels. It was so sweet! :)

We have this investigador family- Amalia (60yrs) and her 2 daughters, Sahiana (17yrs) and Karla (30yrs) and her sons gabriel (8yrs) and Andres (2 yrs). They are an awesome family! amalia has been coming to church for about 2-3 months now, and has finally accepted a baptism date. The reason they want to get baptized is because Karla wants her son Gabriel to be a missionary when he is older. She REALLY wants him to be a missionary, and so the first step is baptism! karla is great! she asks so many questions, and really has a desire to learn about the church. she asks sincere questions about the priesthood, sacrament, word of wisdom, and keeping the sabbath day holy. She wants to know the reasons for things, and how she can find out if all of this is true. Her sons are adorable as well!! at times they are a little crazy.... like when they steal all the stuff out of my bag and eat my candy and try to rip my scriptures.... but they are adorable! :)

This past week we had some neat experiences where i really felt that we were being guided by the Spirit. On friday we had just gotten done with lunch and we were trying to find out where we should go after. we said some names of people that were close in the area, and casually picked the last name we said. So we went over to the Familia Valencia house. Angel Valencia Jr (30yrs), who is a member and has served a mission, had been sick, and we wanted to see if he was home from the clinic and how things were going. When we stopped by the house, the father of the house (who is not a member of the church) and his granddaughter were there and were very sad. They had just found that Angel Jr had a tumor in his stomach, and was most likely cancerous. Hermana Childs and i didnt really know what we need to say to them, and we decided to sing a song we had been practicing- "Nearer My God to Thee". We sang this song and as we sang we tried to comfort them with the music and words of this beautiful hymn. As we sang the mother came home as well, and we all enjoyed the hymn, and talked a little after about the plans that God has. and while we may not understand all that happens in this life, we know that God does, and He has an eternal perspective. Again i am so grateful for good music. it has a powerful effect on people that words dont have. truly the song of the heart is a prayer unto God. Music can invite the Spirit into a house, comfort those who are seeking comfort and peace. We felt guided to that house at the opportune time to share our love and support for this family! God really will direct our paths if we let Him.

As for some funny happenings this week....

When we were at the Familia Vicenta Coba´s house, she had me help her make the salad. well ive heard that the lettuce here can carry a parasite... and so to kill the parasite, the people here put salt in their salads, and some lime. so... i made the salad with lime juice, some olive oil, and salt. but A LOT of salt. i was worried about getting a parasite! and i wanted to kill whatever bugs may be in that salad! but turns out ... i put waaaayyy to much salt on the salad! so much that it tasted soooooo nasty! and it was a big plate of salad!! hermana childs and i ate it all though, and somehow got it all down. Vicenta ate a bite of the salad when we were almost done eating, and she was like "ah! this is nasty! wayyy to much salt! why did you guys eat that??" haha...

In my studies this morning, i read a couple of talks about finding peace. The world may try to offer peace and comfort in various ways, but the ONLY way we can find true and lasting peace is through the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ and His Gospel. There is no other way that peace can come. as we live the gospel, and obey the commandments, we will find joy and happiness. it is that simple. Where can i turn for peace? where is my solace? In Jesus Christ. As days may seem long and precoccupations cloud our views, remember that the true source of light and comfort can be found in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. He will guide us to peace and safety. Not only physically, but spiritiually as well. Each day as we turn to him, we will find peace.

I love you all lots! :) Gracias por su amor y bondad. Esperamos que tengan un buena semana. Una semama de felicidad y paz. Recuerda siempre Jesucristo y el amor que Él nos brinda.

¡les amo much!

Hermana Warburton

Food here in Ecuador (but it was actually made by a columbian.. so its kinda columbian food.. but basically its all the same.. rice and more rice... )