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| Half of Teopisca |
Something
great about Teopisca is at this time of year everyone makes calavasa
dulce.... which tastes like sweet potatoes. So I ate sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, even though I didn't realize it was Thanksgiving until
black Friday. WOO!
Well
this was a week of TENDER MERCIES (finally something different than
miracles hahaha). It all started out with two of the completely golden
families we had...being not so golden... and rejecting us completely. Both
incidents happened in front of the joven we supposedly are getting excited for
the mission.... yeah that should get him excited.
We caught the first family running to a Christian festival instead of coming to church. Cool. The other family told us even if our message is true it doesn't matter because they are Catholics. Whatevs.
To top it all off the only two baptisms we have for this transfer fell through because their dad talked them out of it and now won't give them permission. Unfortunately, now the kids don't want much to do with us. Needless to say we were feeling a little down. But, we ended up going to a lesson Saturday night that changed everything.
We caught the first family running to a Christian festival instead of coming to church. Cool. The other family told us even if our message is true it doesn't matter because they are Catholics. Whatevs.
To top it all off the only two baptisms we have for this transfer fell through because their dad talked them out of it and now won't give them permission. Unfortunately, now the kids don't want much to do with us. Needless to say we were feeling a little down. But, we ended up going to a lesson Saturday night that changed everything.
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| Las Hermanas de zonas San Cristobal, Comitan, y Chojolo. |
Picture this.
A
cold, freezing guera and her companion walk into the last appointment
of the night at 8pm. She's extra freezing because she fell in San Cristobal and her favorite gray tights ripped. So the only thing she has
to keep her warm is her sweater and her leg hair.
She walks in to the cold cement room, stepping around the giant ant infested Eeyore stuffed animal that has been left outside for the past week. Avoiding the dish of hot coals in the middle of the room, she steps on an old tortilla. The crunch almost wakes up the three little ones huddled together, sleeping on the floor, trying to keep warm without a mattress.
She sits down on the tiny wooden chair. Her companion asks if they read the pamphlet. They had read it and they even prayed. It's a miracle! They are spiritually prepared to receive the message we have brought.
We sing "Away in a Manger" ever so quietly, so as not to wake up the children. They like it. They feel the Spirit. As the lesson goes forward, they understand for the first time, everything. In spite of their little education (because their mom left them as kids and their dad died when they were ten), they are answering questions. They are single moms, 19 and 21. They were never taught moral values because they didn't have parents. But they understand how a prophet can bless their lives.
Then, it's time for the First Vision. Their eyes follow the picture. The Spirit fills the room as I use the same words Joseph Smith used. God converts us into instruments of the Spirit, and at the end of the message, their eyes have changed. There is light in them. They try to express how they are feeling, but they can't. They have never felt it before.
She says, "It feels a little like when my son was born."
The cold can't penetrate the Spirit that is felt. They promise to come to church the next day, and prepare for baptism in January. They came, and they are preparing.
She walks in to the cold cement room, stepping around the giant ant infested Eeyore stuffed animal that has been left outside for the past week. Avoiding the dish of hot coals in the middle of the room, she steps on an old tortilla. The crunch almost wakes up the three little ones huddled together, sleeping on the floor, trying to keep warm without a mattress.
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| Pumpkins growing on the roof |
She sits down on the tiny wooden chair. Her companion asks if they read the pamphlet. They had read it and they even prayed. It's a miracle! They are spiritually prepared to receive the message we have brought.
We sing "Away in a Manger" ever so quietly, so as not to wake up the children. They like it. They feel the Spirit. As the lesson goes forward, they understand for the first time, everything. In spite of their little education (because their mom left them as kids and their dad died when they were ten), they are answering questions. They are single moms, 19 and 21. They were never taught moral values because they didn't have parents. But they understand how a prophet can bless their lives.
Then, it's time for the First Vision. Their eyes follow the picture. The Spirit fills the room as I use the same words Joseph Smith used. God converts us into instruments of the Spirit, and at the end of the message, their eyes have changed. There is light in them. They try to express how they are feeling, but they can't. They have never felt it before.
She says, "It feels a little like when my son was born."
The cold can't penetrate the Spirit that is felt. They promise to come to church the next day, and prepare for baptism in January. They came, and they are preparing.
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| Warming my feet by the heater...cause it's cold! |
It's a wonderful life!!!!
Hermana Hansen
