Week 5: What is Time?

Title of this week´s email is what it is cuz it´s RIDICULOUS that I only have ONE MORE WEEK here. Wait, what? 

Yeah. Weird. So weird. AND I hit my month mark last week! Psch. Where the heck did the time go - I just don´t know.

Thank you for the letters MOM and ELDER HOUSARI!!! So awesome to hear from you guys! To receive news from home and from the Ohio Columbus Mission! He gets home next month! Shout out to him and his loving family :) Thank you to ERIC SCHOFIELD for the package of chocolate chip cookies! You guys are so thoughtful - thank you for all the love :))

Okay. Lots of cool and random stuff for this week but I only have 5 minutes to write it all!!!

Now 4.. 

Okay, first of all. There is an Elder in my district who is pretty sick- please pray for him! His name is Elder Reynolds!

I feel like this is the most important thing to share so that´s what I´m going to.

So this week I met an hermana who just got baptized a year and a month ago. She gave me permission to share this story because I think it applies to a lot of people I know. Here´s the run down.

She decided to join the church after the first meeting with the missionaries. She was baptized 2 weeks later. Then a month later her parents (strong Catholics) kicked her out of the house and took all her privileges (car, insurance, money for school - everything). She moved in with a family in her ward and worked up enough money to buy her own car and pioneer to Provo, Utah. There she had many cool experiences all pointing to her serving a mission. She decided to use the money she had saved for college to fund her mission. Then she was blessed to be placed in the path of an elderly couple who paid for half of her mission. And now here she is. I could not believe it. I don´t know if I could do it without being FULLY supported by my family.

I felt impressed to share this because I know there are people who will read this who need to hear it. Her faith was such a testimony to me of the truthfulness of this gospel and the promised blessings we will receive if we remain obedient to it. I asked her how in the world she got through it. She told me that it was hard at the time because she couldn´t go into the future and see all the blessings she was going to receive, but she told me that for every one bad thing that happened, she received 20 blessings.

I was just amazed. I love her story. She had to trust in the Lord so much to endure those hard trials with her family and I´m sure tons more trials. I know the Lord will provide. Trials are tough - but we will be SO blessed for following the promptings of the Spirit and making decisions that we KNOW are what we are supposed to do, even when in the moment a way doesn´t seem possible. She knew and knows that this church is true and she was willing to give it all up in order to be a member of it and receive it in its fulness. She is such a great example to me.

I know when we trust in the Lord and we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, the Lord cannot withhold ANY blessings from us. Trust in Him. It can be scary and it will bring us out of our comfort zones. But our gains will outweigh the losses 100000000 fold. 

Follow up time. I challenged you all last week to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Please email me WHEN you do this!!! Notice how I didn´t say if?  haha I want to hear about all these witnesses of the Spirit. Just please read and pray with an open heart. The Lord will give you an answer. I promise you that. :)

Random stuff:

-Tons of mosquitos here. They fly super slowly and don´t bite. Weird.

-I sing in the choir here! and last week they didn´t have it and I was actually super bummed...there ya go Daddy! haha

-I had a dream that we had oatmeal one morning (never happens) and we got oatmeal! I´m a visionary.

-I had a dream in SPANISH!!! I think I was teaching. A counselor in our branch presidency said that that means I'm actually HERE. I loved that :) Hope it happens more!!

-A teacher here in the CCM (not my teacher, but our district´s teacher friend guy thing...? anyway) he brought us Krispie Kreme donuts one night and it was the best thing ever. People are so so nice.

-I LOVE reading the scriptures in Spanish. It´s getting easier and easier everyday if I pray before I read. There are just words that have different connotations in Spanish than in English and it´s really really awesome to read. Anyway, it´s hard to express, but I love the Book of Mormon!!! and the Bible!!! I know they are the words of God.

-I love being the Lord´s missionary and working everyday to better myself for Him and to be better qualified to do His work in His way with His children.

I am so blessed to have this opportunity.

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The church that Christ established while he was on the Earth has been restored IN IT´S FULNESS by the prophet Joseph Smith - TODAY!!! It´s the most fantastic, joyful thing ever. I know that obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to have true joy in this life and eternal life (living with God) in the life to come. The blessings it brings into my life are innumerable and I cherish them always. Read the Book of Mormon. It will bring you closer to Christ. Oh how I love it :)

And oh how I love and appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you for all of your love and support and your prayers. Missionary work is the best :)

Con todo mi corazon y mi amor,

Hermana Shumway