iPads Next Week

We are officially set to receive iPads on June 2nd! In about a month and a half we will be able to use Facebook for missionary work :) 

Sister Martinez and I made it through another transfer! We will be together again until July, which we are very excited about. 

This week, I can truly say that I love being a missionary. I love it! It's so hard, but I think I have started to rely more in the Lord and forget about myself. 

A few weeks ago, we received a referral from other missionaries for a woman named Barbara. We knocked a few times but she never answered. After several times of trying to contact her, we gave up. But we decided again that we were going to try one last time. And thank goodness we did. Barbara's mom answered the door and long story short, she poured her soul out to us and we shared a very spiritual and personal moment with her as she expressed the feelings of her soul. We were able to teach according to her needs. I felt so connected to her and I felt as if I had already known her. It was a very special moment for me to realize that you really never know who the Lord has prepared and our job as missionaries is to always work as though everyone is prepared. 

To be honest, I don't really remember a lot of what happened this week other than just really really good stuff. 

I've killed a lot of bugs in our apartment this week, including a roach the size of my head (kind of). 

We got a new washer this week, and after our kitchen minorly flooding twice, a genius invention by Sister Martinez to prevent water damage, a broken washer, and a very amused maintenance man, we will be receiving a new washer and drier this week :) 

Also this week I was told by a family I love that I would make a great daughter in law to them. They cook delicious Peruvian food so I told them after the mission, we could talk.  ;)

Les quiero! ! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Abram

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"It's easier to find yourself because there is so much more of you to find" - E. Bednar

Buenas Tardes!

I have had a crazy week, including a new haircut, 30 mosquito (we think) bites, and a new apartment!

We moved this week and our new address is 1311 Chattahoochee Cir, Roswell, GA, 30075.

WOW! This week I saw a lot of tender mercies.

I was assigned to give a 20 minute talk in my branch this week. I was so scared. I don't have time to type a 20 minute talk, so I had to somehow talk for that period of time in a language that I am still learning. Honestly, I cried all night and I prayed for a very long time. And guess what? I did it. I talked in church in a language I still can't really understand and I didn't die! It was a tender mercy to me because I saw how the Lord really will provide the way, even if you make mistakes and say a lot of really wrong words :)

This week, we also visited the Hernandez Flor family. They haven't been to church in over 3 years, and no missionaries have been able to see them. We were able to get in, and Sister M pretty much committed him to go to church this Sunday. He said he couldn't because he had to work (painting homes) and he didn't have a tie. He told us that if it rained on Sunday, he would come. So we all knelt down to pray and each one of us (4 kids, 2 adults, 2 missionaries) offered individual prayers asking for Heavenly Father to make it rain. Then on Saturday we put a nice tie on his door and said, "Nos vemos en la iglesia!" AND THEN IT RAINED. Sister Martinez and I were so happy.

Hermano Flor didn't come to church. However, we are positive that that was the sign he needed. It was also the sign I needed.

I know that it was probably supposed to rain already and it was a very natural event. However, I also know that God is in each of those things. I know that Heavenly Father knew it was going to rain. I knew that somehow, He was in that.

I am starting to love this more! I've been hesitant to say that because it has been hard. But I am growing to love these people and this work. I feel myself growing more and more everyday.

Next week is Memorial Day (WOO!) so we will not be online! However, we will have our Pday on Tuesday. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I will talk to you again on Tuesday!

Con amor,

Hermana Abram

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Low Lows & High Highs

It's been brought to my attention that the title of my last email has left many people on a cliffhanger. My eyebrow is not nearly as bad as I thought it was, plus my glasses cover up my mistake, so all is well. :) 

 

This week I experienced a moment of very low, and I also had the happiest experience on my mission thus far. All on the same day! Sister Martinez and I were tracting after many of our plans fell through. We were talking to everyone and we were treated very rudely by many people. One man flat out said "NO" when we said hello and refused to talk to us while he was packing up his car. Another woman came out of her house as we were walking up to the door and loudly shouted "no" at us as well. I have never felt so down and so rejected so far. It was painful and I didn't want to keep going. We knocked on another door and a kind Brazilian woman named Juliana answered. She invited us in and we were able to teach the entire 1st lesson to her in English. She was so amazing! When we told her about the Book of Mormon she was very excited and gladly accepted our invitation to read it and pray about it. I have never met someone so sincere! Her friend came after we got there and we taught her about the Book of Mormon as well. They treated us so kindly and they are expecting visits from the Portuguese Elders. 

That experience with Juliana was the tender mercy that I needed to remind me that Jesus Christ is always at the head of this work, and that there are always people prepared. When I felt so low, I heard Elder Holland's voice reminding me that "you are walking shoulder to shoulder with the most perfect missionary that has ever lived and who will ever live." 

I love the scriptures! I have just finished 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and I am also just starting Exodus in the OT! It's so great to see how we can learn so many things from the scriptures. 

I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week! 

Love, Hermana Abram

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This week I accidentally waxed off part of my eyebrow

Buenos tardes!

WOW. This week has been something else.

For starters, I have never seen more people in their underwear as I have this week. About 4/7 of the doors we knocked on were answered by someone not wearing anything but underwear. Even members of the church. Super interesting. I also realized this week how this is the only time of my life that I will be able to just randomly get into people's homes without too much effort. It's super easy to invite yourself over when you are a missionary! 

I also realized this week that this is the only time in my life that I will be so close to the priesthood! Although I am not a priesthood holder, I can promise people blessings in the same way priesthood holders can when they give blessings. All because I am a set-apart representative of Jesus Christ. It's crazy to think about, but it is also really amazing to think about too. I only have 15 more months left of this opportunity and privilege, and I can't believe how fast it is going. 

Today, I read 3 Nephi 11 and 12 in the Book of Mormon, when Christ appears to the people in the Americas. Holy cow! It is so cool. I wish I could explain more about what I felt as I read, but the only word is joy. I love the Book of Mormon and I'm actually sad that I won't be able to read it forever and ever. 

However! I have started reading the Old Testament and I have a lot of questions for any of you to answer: 

1. Why was Noah drunk in his tent, and why did he curse Canaan when Canaan wasn't even there? 

2. Why did Abram allow his wife Sarai to take out her jealousy on Hagar? 

3. Why did Abram tell Sarai to pretend to be his sister when they met with Pharaoh? 

Answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated :) 

We went on exchanges this week and I learned so much. I was working with English-speaking people in Lilburn for the day with Sister Rowe. That girl is on fire. She taught me so much. We didn't waste a moment trying to see people. We visited more people than I thought was possible! She is such a diligent worker and truly understands her purpose. Being able to separate myself from the Roswell bubble of mine helped me regain my vision as a missionary. Since working hard to be like Sister Rowe after exchanges, we saw many miracles. We felt so much more productive and I'm sure that was exactly what we needed to do. 

For language study I began to read Doctrine and Covenants 11. I had to translate it from Spanish into English and the interpretation was exactly what I needed. Here's what I heard: "Sister Abram, if you desire to learn this language, you will be the means of doing much good in this generation... you have a gift, or you will have a gift, if you desire it in faith, put your trust in the spirit... it will illuminate your mind and fill your soul with joy... but wait a little longer... keep silent, invoke my spirit... with all your heart... be patient until it comes... your tongue will be loosed... don't be afraid to stay silent, study my words until you have overcome... don't deny the Spirit... treasure up your heart until the time, according to my wisdom, you will be able to speak." 

Our humbling moment of the week was on Saturday. Sister Martinez lost her license, and I lost mine a while ago, however I have a temporary copy that is valid until June. The problem is that we have machines in our car and we have to have permission to drive the car, which I don't have yet because I'm still new. Basically, we had no way to get to any of our appointments. After much murmuring and complaining, we decided to walk to a nearby Mexican shopping center and just talk to people. The very first person we met was named Noe, and he was incredible. He listened to everything we had to say, and gladly accepted the Book of Mormon. We have an appointment with him tonight, and he plans on coming to church next Sunday. We taught him everything about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It was a miracle. If we had a car, we wouldn't have had that experience. The APs called us that night and told us that I would be authorized to drive until Sister Martinez gets a duplicate license (which we will get on Tuesday), so now we can continue working. 

It's amazing how the work is going here. We have so many funny things happen to us. We have so many lows but so many highs. I'm starting to love it. It's honestly been a challenge to be 100% committed, but I'm getting better everyday. It all starts with getting out of bed no later than 6:30am ;) 

I love you all so much! 

Yo se que esta es la iglesia de Jesucristo! A medida que he leido el Libro de Mormon, mi testimonio ha crecido muchisimo. Yo se por medio del espiritu que Jose Smith fue un profeta de Dios y que el LDM testifica del amor de Dios y Jesucristo. 

Que pasen muy buena semana! 

Hermana Abram

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