Alright, this is gonna be a long one, so buckle up haha.
Two big dates have come and gone this week! I hit 11 months in the mish, and it’s now been one year since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. PR still has a lot of regrowth left to do, one year later. I’m really grateful to finally be here and be a part of the regrowth, spiritually!
We have had a crazy, eventful week. On Thursday morning we set out on foot, but we accidentally locked the keys in the apartment! We decided to deal with it later, forgetting we would need the keys to get into the church for English class that night. After dinner, our member’s mom offered to drive us to the church. We pulled in and she was about to take us home to grab them, but just then the maintenance guys that had been working on the yard pulled away and locked the gate! We were locked in the church parking lot! It was actually pretty funny and we all sat there laughing until Hermana Cartagena could bring us her keys and free us haha.
On Saturday, we were super blessed! We set out to find 4 new people and found them all within like half an hour! It was an awesome day, even though we got absolutely drenched by rain like 3-4 times.
Last night, we had some very cool experiences as well! We went to go visit Bolita and Totino, and they had actually kept their commitment to read in the Book of Mormon! Bolita really liked it and had questions, and they both wanted to read a lot with us last night. The Spirit was strong and they were so excited when we started telling them that there is a living prophet on the earth today! I love seeing how a knowledge of the restored gospel just fills and comforts people who have been seeking for the truth.
Now, I want to share with all of you some cool things that were really impressed upon me in church yesterday. One is the idea of immediate repentance! This is something so important to me that has really blessed me so much. We never have to wait or procrastinate! The very second we realize, by the Spirit, that there is something keeping us from being closer to God, we can pray for forgiveness and change our actions! The Savior will help us change our hearts over time as we consistently keep trying to be better. Another related topic that was discussed by an hermano yesterday is that when you are unsure about whether you will be obedient to a commandment or not, give a self-evaluation: Do I love God? Can I see how much He really loves me? All of His commandments are for our good, our benefit, OUR safety. He doesn’t tell us to do things and command us to repent because He is controlling or hateful. He does those things because He loves us and knows what is best. He provided a perfect plan centered around our Savior to give us a way to learn and grow and one day, experience eternal joy with our families. Never lose sight of that goal and your purpose here on earth! Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Hermana O’Barr
P.S. I am so old!! I turn 20 next Wednesday and then hit a year in the mission on the 18th! Yikes!
