Today was transfers day, so we had a few missionaries leave our area and some new ones come. Unfortunately one of my best friends in the mission Elder Mitchell got transferred to Hermosillo, but hopefully I´ll get paired up with him sometime down the road...
Some highlights of the week:
1. We had a special conference this week with Elder Johnson of the seventy who is the president of the Mexico Missions. He was awesome. We spent a large majority of the time talking about how important it is as missionaries to have strong personal testimonies of God. There is power behind a testimony, and everyone needs to continually strengthen there testimony with each day if they want it to have an effect on others. Having faith is not to have a perfect knowledge, but to believe in something that you cant see, but is true. Alma 32, where that scripture is found, was a chapter that really resonated in me this week, and is one that I encourage you all to give a second look at.
2. I started teaching English lessons to Elder Mejia, which consisted of reading the book of Mormon in english and clarifying words he cant pronounce. It took us 2 HOURS to finish two pages! but it was actually pretty fun, and helped him understand a little bit better what I am trying to do with Spanish.
3. The coolest thing I got to do this week was give a blessing to a family that hasnt been to church in a few years. There were a couple things that made this special. It was the first blessing I was going to give on my mission, and the first blessing I would give in Spanish (for those of you who dont understand, a blessing is essentially a prayer of comfort to someone who needs it). What made this even more special was that I would be giving it to the familys daughter. Her name is Ivon, shes 27, and she has a severe case of down syndrome and other illnesses. Shes been in a wheelchair her entire life, and has the body of an 8 year old. When Elder Mejia told me that I was going to be doing the blessing, in all honesty I started to worry. I didnt know if I was going to say it right, i didnt want to say anything in spanish that would have been uncomfortable for the family, I was just all around nervous. But the second I put my hands on her head and began saying a prayer, I had a feeling of peace overtake me, one that took away all feelings of nerves and worries, and in that moment I know exactly what to say. The words just came right out, without any second thought, almost as if i didnt even realize that it was me saying it. What I took away from the experience was an even greater understanding that the Lord loves all of his children equally. Every single one. Homeless or healthy, poor or rich, disabled or not, God is no respecter of persons. All of us have trials that are unique to us, and we cant understand why they have to happen. I dont know why Ivon has to be one to suffer from these disabilities, or why other people have hardships in their lives that seem unfair, but all we need to know is that God loves all of us the same and has a purpose behind everything. It was an awesome experience, and I hope it gave Ivon and her family a little more peace that they had been needing. They all made it to church that Sunday.
This Wednesday makes 6 weeks, but whos counting? Talk to you all next week!
Elder Bernal
No comments:
Post a Comment