Friends and family,
This week has brought a lot of moments of introspection and prayer. I will give you one example taken from my journal on December 19th:
"At the branch activity tonight, we were able to do an activity with the members of the branch. We bought 72 donuts for the party. Every single person in the room received a donut and they had to choose whether or not to eat it. Regardless of their decision, Elder Child did 5 push-ups for each person in the room to have the opportunity to eat the donut. It was fine at first, but they began to get frustrated as they saw how much he was beginning to struggle. Elder Child began shaking and sweating and after a while it was evident how much he was struggling. There was so much symbolism. At one point, Brother Martinez accepted the donut on the condition that he could sit on top of Elder Child while he did the push-ups. We had Eric, a struggling youth, get right up in his face and watch him cry and sweat. Alex Paguay and Israel Hernandez sat on either side of him and asked if they could help him. I told them no, he had to do it alone, to which they responded by bringing him water and a towel and sitting at his side. Finally, Sister Bailey handed me a donut, which caught me completely off guard, and into the microphone I sadly asked, "Elder Child, could you do 5 more for me please?" I tried to explain the significance of the activity, but he kept going. Finally, I told all the members to stop and watch him. There was silence for at least two minutes and everyone in the gym was sobbing. I asked him, "Ya terminó?" To which he responded, "No." He endured to the very end. The members were saying to me, "No more." But I just shrugged with tears in my eyes because Elder Child chose to do over 250 push-ups because he loved these people. When he finally finished, Presidente Ramirez wrapped his arms around him, pulled him up, and held him tight. The whole room clapped and I closed with my testimony. The room was silent. I couldn't even eat the doughnut given to me. Elder Child was our hero.
This week has brought a lot of moments of introspection and prayer. I will give you one example taken from my journal on December 19th:
"At the branch activity tonight, we were able to do an activity with the members of the branch. We bought 72 donuts for the party. Every single person in the room received a donut and they had to choose whether or not to eat it. Regardless of their decision, Elder Child did 5 push-ups for each person in the room to have the opportunity to eat the donut. It was fine at first, but they began to get frustrated as they saw how much he was beginning to struggle. Elder Child began shaking and sweating and after a while it was evident how much he was struggling. There was so much symbolism. At one point, Brother Martinez accepted the donut on the condition that he could sit on top of Elder Child while he did the push-ups. We had Eric, a struggling youth, get right up in his face and watch him cry and sweat. Alex Paguay and Israel Hernandez sat on either side of him and asked if they could help him. I told them no, he had to do it alone, to which they responded by bringing him water and a towel and sitting at his side. Finally, Sister Bailey handed me a donut, which caught me completely off guard, and into the microphone I sadly asked, "Elder Child, could you do 5 more for me please?" I tried to explain the significance of the activity, but he kept going. Finally, I told all the members to stop and watch him. There was silence for at least two minutes and everyone in the gym was sobbing. I asked him, "Ya terminó?" To which he responded, "No." He endured to the very end. The members were saying to me, "No more." But I just shrugged with tears in my eyes because Elder Child chose to do over 250 push-ups because he loved these people. When he finally finished, Presidente Ramirez wrapped his arms around him, pulled him up, and held him tight. The whole room clapped and I closed with my testimony. The room was silent. I couldn't even eat the doughnut given to me. Elder Child was our hero.
I love my Savior. I am grateful beyond explanation to Him."
Here is a quote from Elder Holland:
"The
path you say you cannot walk, you walk. The load you say you cannot
bear, you bear. The sorrow that you say you can't handle, you handle.
You are stronger than you think you are. You are more divine than you
know. How can we even know that without the trials and the refiner’s
fire? There is no other way for that to be revealed without difficulty
and a broken heart. We have to go through hard things so we can see what
we are capable of. Christ knows everything that you are going through
because of His Atonement. How he knows, I don't know. But he knows."
Estoy
sumamente agradecida por mi Salvador Jesucristo. Le agradezco por esta
oportunidad de representarlo y compartir mi testimonio. Gracias a Él,
tengo tanta dirección y gozo en mi vida. Él vive. Él nació con el
propósito de rescatarnos. E igual como esta actividad, todos tenemos la
opción de aceptar o rechazar su Expiación. Les testifico que es su Salvador y que les ama mucho.
F E L I Z N A V I D A D
Hermana Abram
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