Week 7: A Free Store with Immeasurable Joy

Hola!

So a super cool scripture I was reading this week is in 2 Nephi 9:50-51, where it says that anyone can come to Christ, and buy milk, water, and wine without money. I was thinking, ¨Oh yeah, that´s so wonderful¨ But then I also thought, how would my mom react if she knew of a store that had free food and drinks. She´d tell my aunt and all of her friends. Who would tell all of their friends. If you knew of a store that would give you this opportunity, you´d want to mention it to your neighbors (even if you didn´t know them well.) ¨Oh, by the way, there´s this amazing place where you can get food.¨ That´s how it is with the gospel, only instead of having food, we have the fountain of righteousness, the living bread and water, the light and life of the world--Eternal Life through Jesus Christ. How much more will we want to share this Good News?

We met some cute girls (daughter and friend of an investigator) who wanted to know all about New York... City. I´m glad I visited it once so I could describe it a little. :S.

District meeting was great. Mostly because I don´t feel as intimidated talking in spanish in front of them. It´s been cool, as I rely on the Spirit, I can feel the gift of tongues, but when I just try to think of things and words, I get flustered and confused.

We had lunch is the friend of the relief society president--she´s a sweet lady who´s blind, but very independent and very close with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. She mentioned the scripture in James 1:5, and the scripture in Isaiah 29 about God{s thoughts higher than our thoughts. She teaches in schools, and helps children who have family problems to learn better. She´s funny and we´re going to visit her again this week.

Wednesday was the Día de Amistad (day of friendship). There were a lot of people in the park, and a member we met gave us these cute little butterfly brooches, but more importantly, she gave us the information of her niece, who´d listened to the missionaries before and wanted to listen again, had a new baby, and was ready for us! Yeah! 

I read an amazing talk by Holland this week, about the scriptures (Safety for the Soul) and how in these days, mens hearts will fail them, but if we´re anchored to the gospel through the Book of Mormon we will be able to be strong. He also bore a powerful testimony of the book of mormon.

We met a sweet woman, who said that the sister missionaries always find her when she needs them and that they´re like angels. Aaah... We had an appointment with her, but found out that she doesn´t live in our area! Thankfully, we were able to call the sisters in the other area, and they were able to go visit her.

Another connection between the Atonement and Missionary Work: The first thing that Alma and the Sons of Mosiah did after repenting was going about preaching to the people, and the sons of Mosiah even went to the Lamanites because they couldn´t bear the thought of anyone not experiencing the repentance that they had experienced.

True to the Faith on the Atonement: The Savior was willing to be beaten, humiliated, and executed so that we might enjoy immortality and eternal life.

We had exchanges again this week, and I got to be in our area with Hma. Latoja from Chile. We tried to start our classes of english, but no one came :(. But it´s winter vacation here, so next week we have some members that are going to come and bring their friends! :D

Also this week, I found out that I was saying ¨Raro¨ wrong. I was saying ¨rado¨ ... thankfully the rs and ds sound almost exactly the same. ;)

We weren´t able to meet with the aunt of the member that we met last week, but were able to talk with the cousins. They are also willing to learn, but don´t have a religious background, so it´s different trying to teach them. I hope that they can come to see how happy the gospel can make them, they´re so sweet!

We also met the family that we taught the first day I was in this area. It was interesting, because I can now understand what the little girl is saying when she´s chatting with us!! (most of the time) We were able to go over the Book of Mormon again, and are going to talk with them again tomorrow. 

As I´ve been trying to talk to more people in the streets, I´ve decided to try and follow the Spirit first, and be afraid later. Of course, deciding and doing are two different things, but deciding is the first step. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

 

 

Caring more than you Fear

"My wife and I were reading in bed, when our five year old daughter came in. She was very upset. Putting down our books, we asked what was wrong. She told us that her two year old brother had fallen asleep on the couch downstairs, and now it was dark. Both she and her brother were afraid of the dark. I told her that he would be alright, and that she didn't have to worry. With that, she left and my wife and I went back to our reading."10 or 15 minutes later, my wife decided to go check on our little girl. On entering our daughter's room, my wife saw that she wasn't in bed. After a quick search upstairs, she went to check the dark downstairs."There, on the couch, was our son. Sleeping next to him, with an arm protecting him, was our little daughter. When my wife approached, she saw that our girl had been crying. Terrified of the dark, she had gone down anyway to help her little brother if he woke up."

My mom shared this beautiful story with us this morning. I know I've felt this way before. And I've had others show this kind of love towards me.

When Jesus said, "Thy will, not mine, be done," He was also showing this kind of love. He might have felt scared during His final days on earth. But He went through it because He loved you more than He was afraid.

I know that He cares deeply for us, and is always there for us.

Why We Have Christmas

A couple weeks ago, we adopted two little kittens: Tsunami and Noemi ("No-Amy"; it's Hungarian). We were heading out of town, so on Wednesday we dropped them off with their supplies at a friends house. Just as the second group of us were heading out, the friend called us saying that Noemi was looking sick, and that we should come pick her up.
I thought that it might just be the motherly instincts of the friend seeing things that weren't there, but when I went in to pick up the little kitten, she was laying stretched out on her towel while her sister climbed around her. The friend told us Noemi had diarrhea, and needed to stay hydrated.
For the two-hour drive I cradled the prone little body in my hands, feeding her water through a baby dropper one drop at a time. I watched for each sign of improvement: She blinked! She kicked her leg! She rolled over!
While I chose to take these as good signs, I also knew that they may also be signs of her final struggle.
Finally, we made it to Andover where we'd be spending the weekend. I handed off the little kitty to her owner, my nine-year-old sister. At first they took the cats (we'd brought both) to the barn, but then in order to give Noemi more water more often, our friends let us bring them into an outer room in their house.
Despite almost constant care, little Noemi died that night while I was holding her.
As she started leaving, I burst out crying. I'd worked for hours to keep this little kitten alive. Why couldn't she stay?
Comforting me, my mom said, "At least we were able to give her love and a home before she died."

Another woman told of her experience. She was finally fulfilling her dream to go see Mother Theresa. When she landed in India, she went off in search of the famous nun. The woman was directed to a hospital. When she entered it, she found herself in a long hall. Along one wall were 10 or so rocking chairs, and on the other side were dozens of babies lying on the ground.
The door at the other end opened and Mother Theresa walked in followed by some nurses. As she slowly advanced towards the woman, Mother Theresa would point at a baby and then point at a nurse, saying "That one. You. ... That one. You. ..." Obediently, the nurse would pick up the child and rock it in a rocking chair.
At last, Mother Theresa was standing in front of the woman. But as the woman opened her mouth to say something, Mother Theresa pointed at a baby. "That one. You."
Without another word, she left the hospital, leaving the woman who'd come so far to meet her.
Stunned, the woman stood there for a moment. Then she angrily began to leave. "Wait!" a nurse called. "You have to help."
"I'm not a nurse, I don't know what to do." The woman protested.
Quietly, the nurse explained. "There isn't enough care and medicine to save all of these babies. Mother Theresa knows which of these babies are going to die today. Our job is to rock them, and make sure they feel human love before they leave this world."
The woman looked back at the little baby that Mother Theresa had assigned her to love. Then she went over, picked it up, and then rocked it until it slept.
By that time, she needed to rush to catch her plane home, and she never saw Mother Theresa again. But she said that it wasn't a wasted trip. She learned what she needed to learn.

Mosiah 16: 7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.
8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

Overwhelmed?

Oh my goodness. Talk about divine help. I just finished a long, exhausting day. Got onto my email, and what did I find? A list of more things to do :S.

Also in my email, I found this quote:

"My dear brothers and sisters, there will be days and nights when you feel overwhelmed, when your hearts are heavy and your heads hang down. Then, please remember, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, is the Head of this Church. It is His gospel. He wants you to succeed. He gave His life for just this purpose. He is the Son of the living God. And He will help you.” —President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The very presence of the quote in my inbox was a manifestation of His awareness of me.
I'm so grateful for the Holy Spirit and inspired leaders who are able to send us comfort and guidance.

More Scriptures

Death is a scary thing.
So it might be weird that I've spent the last five minutes looking up scriptures on death.
But the scriptures offer a lot of comfort.

If you've lost a love one recently, have moments of grief remembering someone who's passed away, or if you have a friend who needs help coping with loss turn to the scriptures. They provide simple truths about the reality of death; not the giant wall our human minds have set up, but the doorway it is meant to be.

Here are some of the scriptures I found, and a basic summary next to them:

Alma 14:11 (those unjustly killed)

24:21, 26 (those killed as civilians in a war)

40:12 (state of paradise)

46:39 (having faith)

46:41 (those dying of old age)

56:11 (soldiers)

D&C 42:46 (righteous death)

101:36 (joy after death)

122:9 (days are numbered)

12 Days of Easter Day 12-- The 2nd Coming

I decided to share a paper I wrote quite a while ago about the Second Coming, and what my feelings were.
http://2ndcomingfearsandfun.blogspot.com/

I hope you had a wonderful easter; that you were able to feel the Spirit and appreciate the Savior and His Atonement.

Fear vs. Faith, Hope, and Charity

FEAR is a scary word. It paralyzes our potential; it stops our success; and it can contaminate our character.
Fear is one of the devil's main weapons. How can we fight against it?

I have three words for you: faith, hope, and charity.
Any one of those principles will get rid of your fear, and lead you on to the next principle.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

"Power of Hope"

Faith of Abinadi
Through the years we learn that challenges to our faith are not new, and they aren’t likely to disappear soon. But true disciples of Christ see opportunity in the midst of opposition.

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Abinadi was bound and brought before the evil King Noah. Although the king vigorously opposed Abinadi and eventually sentenced him to death, Abinadi boldly taught the gospel and bore his testimony anyway. Because Abinaditook advantage of that opportunity, a priest named Alma was converted to the gospel and brought many souls unto Christ. The courage of Abinadi and Alma was Christian courage.


1 John 4:18 
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.


Finally, the perfect example of fearlessness: Christ.
    One of the symptoms of fear is sleeplessness; Christ could sleep through a storm. Think about that.
Calming the Tempest