Week 47: I KNOW THE BOOK OF MORMON IS THE WORD OF GOD

Goal: No English. Here on out. With minor exceptions, like when the new missionaries come. They need to feel comfortable and not completely lost & drowning in a sea of Spanish. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Hermana Zelada! I call her Hermana ¨Helada (ice cream), ensalada (salad), enchilada.¨ :) With her, the mission is what I expected it to be. We have powerhouse studies, we are both learning a language better, we laugh all the time, we pray reverently seeking divine help... she is amazing. I am so grateful to be her trainer... errr...to finish training her. (what am I going to teach her??) I love it, because it causes me to re-analyze EVERYTHING I do and do it BETTER, because I want her to have the BEST mission. I don`t want to give her any bad habits, any casual attitude... I want the best best best for her. (Maybe for that, in the mission when someone is training they are called the `mother` of the new missionary. Because truly, you want the absolute best for her.) Someday I`ll stand before HEAVENLY FATHER--not my Zone Leaders, District Leaders--- HEAVENLY FATHER--and give accountability for how prepared His children were for baptism. How effectively I taught them. 

First night together: locked out of the house. Well, the door has two locks (that`s not counting the padlock on the other door. Nothing like super security.), and the bottom lock is broken. We accidentally locked it, but it`s broken and so we were outside, without a way to get in. As we laughed of our plight, I was contemplating where we would be sleeping that night, and how we could remedy the situation in the next day. We said a prayer, hoping for a miracle, but not seeing any real way to get back into the house. Then..... the door handle broke. 

Oh, great.

Nice answer to a prayer, right?

Well, thanks to that, and some inspired fiddling around with the key in the dark, the force of four hands, two hopeful hearts, two giggling sister missionaries, the door OPENED! Yes, I believe prayers are answered. 

Now..for the subject line... ¨I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God.¨Those are the most MAGICAL, most UPLIFTING words to hear from the mouth of an investigator of 4 months. After a loooooong process, after many prayers, fasts, focused lessons, the first words he told us in our lesson on Sunday were, ¨I KNOW the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I don`t have any doubt.¨ There truly is a difference when someone READS the Book of Mormon and when they only SAY they have read. There`s a peace about them. A light. I feel SO grateful to see, at last, his declaration, his acceptance of the Book of Mormon.

A little GEM from Hermana Zelada (I`m telling you, I love this little Guatemalan!) is in 2 Nephi 4:20---that ¨My God has been my support, He has guided me through my afflictions in the desert, has preserved me on the waters of the great waters.¨ (Note: that is my Hermana Francisco translation from my Spanish scriptures to English.) She asked the poignant question: What are MY deserts? What are MY great waters? 

As we were walking yesterday (… a lot, mind you. J ) I thought aobut how much potential there is in this area--how deeply I love it, I want to know EVERYONE. 

PICS OF PDAY. Crocodiles!