Snow, transfers, and conference, oh my! It’s been quite the week here in Portland. I’ll give ya the rundown.
Tuesday–It snowed a good 4 or 5 inches! We also had to carpool with elders to dinner (40 minutes away) and that was quite the experience. Thankfully Elder Tenney didn’t kill us. We were able to arrive safely and just in time to have a little snowball fight! That was a first for Hna Vazquez so we had a lot of fun. On the way back home our cars got grounded, so we had to spend the rest of the night inside.
Wednesday–We had transfers which almost got canceled because we got more snow. Hna Cornwall left for Vancouver West, and now it’s just me and Hna Vazquez! We are SO excited for this transfer and we have a lot of really great goals! We also just got new Spanish elders in our ward! One of them was just assistant to the president and he served here a year ago, so he’s really excited to be back in a Spanish area. Him and his trainee are both great! And the good thing is, he’s our district leader now, so we can do our nightly phone calls and parts of our district meetings in Spanish!
Thursday–We had zone conference and Elder Carl B. Cook came to visit! It was insanely spiritual and he just asked what our questions were and then answered all of them! During the conference Hna Vazquez and I both received revelation for one of our investigators at the same time! We learned so much and hopefully we’ll be able to apply what we learned into the work here in Portland. Also, we got even more snow on Thursday!
Also on Thursday, we had a lesson with Ali, and now he’s on date for baptism!!!
Friday–Some of the sweet elders made breakfast for the the whole zone! It was good to talk to some people I’ve been with for two transfers, and then start to get to know the ones who are new.
We also spent a good portion of our time in the hospital with a family in our ward. They are probably going to lose their 3-year-old soon and it was such a difficult moment for them to fully realize that. However, I think many people will be impacted by the strong faith they have. A really sweet social worker came in and passed out “prayer rocks” so that when they bury their daughter they can leave one with her and have one with them. That way they can always have a “connection.” It was so kind of her to offer support in this way, but I just couldn’t help but think that what the hospital could offer was so little in comparison to what a knowledge of God’s plan can offer. They already received the best comfort one can have when the missionaries knocked on their door a few years ago. How grateful I am that this amazing family has a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation to carry them through this life, that they know they will see their little girl again. And yet, how sad it is to think that others don’t have this knowledge. They may only have a prayer stone clutched in their hands, when they could be reaching up and taking the hand of the Lord. That’s why I’m out here, so that I can help people gain a testimony of this knowledge and develop a hope and a joy that shines bright, no matter the circumstance.
Saturday–We had our weekly lesson with Luz, which we were actually kind of nervous for this time. She left church in tears last week, and this week she gave us the news that her job is trying to make her work on Sundays. We weren’t sure what we were going to do or say to help her with this problem, or the other difficulties she is facing right now. But, the lesson was actually perfect and so spiritual! Life is just really tough for her right now, but she has developed a strong faith in her Heavenly Father! We assured her that things are going to work out if she keeps acting in faith and doing the daily “small and simple” things God has asked her to do. Then she told us she’s been thinking about how she’d love to have the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide her through difficulties like this! So of course, we asked her if she’s still been thinking and praying about the decision to be baptized. Luz said that she has, and that she wants us to teach her son more so that they can both get baptized together! What a special moment. I love this little family and I really hope we can continue guiding them towards the goal of getting baptized and entering the holy temple.
Oh, by the way, the headline is a direct quote from Dorothy, a hilarious primary child that loves the missionaries. I hope everyone decides to heed Dorothy’s advice! Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana O’Barr
Not pictured: the completely naked guy that we saw on the way home from church!!! In case you ever start to think Portland isn’t as weird as people say it is, I have plenty of stories to change your mind. 😂