August 20, 2012

Hola Familia!

 

So, I am finally getting "the Boot" i will be transferred this week to a new area. I am having very mixed emotions about it, but i know that it is for the best. I had a great last Sunday with the branch too! This past week just was a really good one! We went to the Fair, moved apartments, found a couple really cool new investigators, learned a lot, ate a really good salad from the Marketplace... life was really good this week. :)

 

I am really sad to be leaving Des Moines though... I have been here forever and have come to love the people so much! I guess that is what happens, you leave the people at home you love to come on a mission, then you meet new people- love them! and then you have to leave. Good thing I will be coming back to visit the BEST MISSION IN THE WORLD!!! (which is Des Moines, Iowa for those of you who need clarification)

 

Holy cow! The fair was so fun! Everyone in our Zone was there including some other Zones AND President and Sister Jergensen were there too (my mission President) It was really fun! We enjoyed a really long corn dog, a deep fried snickers bar (SOOO YUMMY-PS) and a deep fried hot dog rapped in bacon. hahaha!!! Hermana Baird and I didnt eat for the rest of the day and went on a nice little jog the next day.HAHA! We also saw a lot of the animals. Hermana Baird got her horse fix... well, kind of, she said she really misses riding them. :) Anyways, it was a blast!

 

So, here is something that I have had on my mind a LOT this week! One of our new investigators is from Cuba. And if you know anything about Cuba, you know that they are a Communism country. Well, he was telling us how the people in Cuba have no idea really who Jesus Christ is. They cant read the Bible and if you hand out any kind of material about Jesus Christ, you get thrown into prison (which happened to him). When we introduced the Book of Mormon to him, he just kept saying, " I have never heard of this Book." We both testified that it really is what it says it is, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. He just ate it all up. We read the Introduction with him and he was just in awe about it all. He just had such a firm grip on the Book of Mormon and just thanked us over and over again about sharing this knowledge that we have with him. We both bore testimony again to the truthfulness to the Book of Mormon and that is why we invite everyone to read it and then to pray about it so that they can receive this witness for themselves. Because that is how we gained our testimony and knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.  Then, we invited him to offer the closing prayer. In the back of all of the pamphlets that we hand out there is a little explanation of how we pray. He read it over, and than began his prayer. It was the most simple, heartfelt prayer i think i have ever heard in my life. Then, he ended the prayer and looked at us and said, "I have never prayed before, not like that", we asked him how it felt and he said, "Magnificent, beautiful,... i dont have many words to describe how i feel right now" WOW! Hermana Baird and i after that lesson were just blown away! That was worth it! Even if we didnt teach anyone else in our entire mission, that would make our missions worth it!

 

How many of us really are thankful for the religious freedom in which we have?! How many of us read the Book of Mormon as the BEST Book, the BEST gift that the Lord has given us?! How many of us really pray with all our heart for the people we love and for the things in which we need?! I know that i have not been as grateful for the freedoms in which we have, especially religious freedom. Or about reading the Book of Mormon with a thankful heart that we have another Testament of Jesus Christ and the reality of His Atonement. I need to change the way I pray to my Heavenly Father with all my heart. My life has been changed in so many ways through my experiences I have had here in Des Moines! There are so many people who are starving for the truth! So many amazing people here in Des Moines and in Iowa! I love being a missionary so much! It makes me so happy!

 

I know that Jesus Christ lives! I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father, who loves us so much! I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints is the Lords Church, and that it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that we have a living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson who leads and guides the Lords Church on earth today! I know that the Plan of Salvation is real and that it is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that Families are Forever! I love you all! Thank you for your letters and all the prayers and support in which i feel. I hope you all have a great week! Dont forget that you have a missionary that LOVES YOU in Iowa!!!! :)

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Love, Hermana Wadsworth