Tica in Costa Rica: 11/23/15

Hi!

I know this is crazy, but I completely forgot what day Thanksgiving is.....MY BAD! Thank you for reminding me! hee hee. What are you going to do for thanksgiving this year?

There are so many things to be grateful for. Something that has been in my heart is the gratitude for the Savior. Lately Hermana Diaz and I have been showing the video Because Of Him to members and investigators to remember the Savior. It doesn't matter how many times I see that video, my heart is full of gratitude for Him and everything He has done for us. We don't need to worry or fear because of Him and we can become clean and start new. We can find strength in good times and in bad. We will all live again. What beautiful and amazing promises!

Well, being in Tejar again is such a blessing. I feel like it was the Lords way of letting me make sure my converts were okay and being able to learn more from these amazing people...including my companion. Hermana Diaz is very special. A mission is a good opportunity to learn how to get along with a lot of different people.

We have seen a lot of opposition this week and a few shocks, but we are going forward. One of our families doesn't want to get baptized now, because they don't want to get married. Its hard to accept when you want so badly to help someone, but that is part of Gods plan to let people have their agency. Jesus Christ walked with the people and showed them the way. The only thing that we can do is show them the treasure and teach them the truth.

Kimberly and Alexander are doing really well. They have such a hunger to know the truth. When we teach, they drink in every word and ask so many questions. The other day we were teaching the restoration and all of a sudden Alexander told us that they weren't married! We thought that they were because we asked them and they said that they were married for 13 years, but I guess we weren't clear enough in asking. So they can't be baptized quite yet.

We met an awesome couple this week! They are deaf, and I used the tiny, tiny bit of sign language that I knew! The whole time I was thinking....Marisa would love this. I learned new words and we invited them to church and they said they would come! It was really special to be able to share the gospel even though we couldn't communicate perfectly. There were lots of smiles shared and there was a special spirit there.

There is also this hilarious older man that we are teaching who asks so many questions and has a hard time concentrating, but he has come to church 2 times, and his name is Alvaro. He is so brilliant! We have to study a lot to know how to answer all his questions. We taught in his family's house. He is the grandpa of a family of members. The lesson turned out really interesting because it turned into a family argument and so we had to calm that down! hahaha ohhhhh the experiences you see.

We went on divisions this week! I went to Villahermosa with Hermana Santos and it was really special because the Lord blessed us to find many people and invite them to be baptized.

Guess what? Jairo received the melquesedic priesthood. (I have no idea how to spell it.) With tears in my eyes, I realized that one of the reasons I am back in Tejar is to be able to see such happiness. Claudia and Jairo always talk about going to the temple! They are now one step closer!!

Well, that is my piece for today. Everybody over here is decking out for christmas! i am going to teach people how to bake! yay! (and obviously the gospel. hahaha) Thank you for everything. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with the most amazing family and friends. I love you all and have a great week!