Jersey Shore or...?

February 20, 2016

Hello loved ones!

So last Saturday I was able to go to the Provo Temple by the MTC which is absolutely incredible!! We had a sub named Hermano Figueroa who shared with us his conversion story, which he said was so personal, but felt like he should share it with the elders and I. I felt so much respect for him. His family was falling apart while he was on his mission, but because of the Lord he was able to stay and bring so many souls home. He is such a funny little man! He's from Chile so of course he's got some sass!

Sunday:

We had sooo many meetings! Also apparently if you make it to Sunday you're good to go! So I guess I'm good to go! I love being surrounded by so many worthy priesthood holders! It's such a blessing! In Relief Society there was a scripture shared that I absolutely love. 3 Nephi 9:13-14, 20-22. Check them out when you get the chance! We got to walk over to the temple and take some pictures and enjoy the fresh air. Alsooooooo I got to go to choir practice!! When I found out they had a choir you better believe I was there! We were learning a piece that happens to be my favorite hymn Nearer My God to Thee. We later had an awesome devotional by a man named Richard I. Heaton who spoke solely on converts. He asked a question that really hit me. "Will there ever be a change of heart without prayer?" We later watched a video called Character of Christ by Elder Bednar! SOOOOOO AWESOME!

Monday:

So we met with Karla again and said that because her prayer wasn't answered the first time she prayed then why would he answer her now...sigh....she did however take our next invitation to read a chapter in the book of Mormon. We asked her to read 3 Nephi 12 and then pray about it. I felt like this lesson went so much better than the previous one. We learned a quote today that is really helping me understand. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. You CAN however, salt the oats." This is so crucial to understand and remember as a missionary.

Tuesday:

The lessons with Karla are truly progressing.The spirit is so strong, but I think that she is still not seeing him yet. We got to do some service today which meant cleaning toilets! So much fun!! We also had our choir performance which happened to be at a devotional that was broadcated internationally! So like MTCs in other countries got to see us! We got the Elders to join us which was great!! Also we had a special speaker....ELDER RASBAND!! He is so awesome! We talked about his talk that he gave in April 2010 and he said something that I absolutely loved: "The leaders of this church are no strangers to the voice of the Lord."

Wednesday:

Karla is getting closer! We invited her to be baptized, but she said not yet. she wants an answer first. She said something today that almost brought me to tears. She noticed how Elder Esplin is always saying I know this or I know that and said she wants to be able to do that too! I asked her if she had a desire to know if these things were true and she said yes! Today new missionaries arrived which meant that we aren't the NOOBS!! Hahahaha!

Thursday:

Today we had our last lesson with Karla. I wanted to die. Not because she is a bad person, but because I felt like I didn't know how to help her any further. She was going backwards...well at least I thought. I was so wrapped up in the fact that because she didn't really have any faith that I was doing something wrong. Which is partially true. Gospel wise I wasn't, but the fact that I was more focused on myself instead of her was the main problem. I wasn't trying to think of myself, but that just shows you how much trust and faith I needed to have in my Heavenly Father.

Friday:

I learned a new word today! It's PARANGARICUTARIMICUARIZAR. It means to hike a mountain or something like that in Mexico. Hahahaha! Also we got a new investigator...His name is Sergio. He does online school, works at the dollar store, and his girlfriend just broke up with him. He says he is honestly just working to pay the bills and is trying to get some sort of license. He's learning English. We were doing tracking so we didn't really have time to have a lesson so we just asked if we could come back another night. He said yes, but wasn't sure what kind of condition he would be in because he has anxiety and depression. He did ask something of us that was quite hopeful. He said that if we had any time at all if we could pray for him. Our first lesson is on Lunes. Wish me luck.

I love you all so much!! I want to challenge you all to read the Book of Mormon or Reread the Book of Mormon and then Ask God if he loves you. If you already know he does...ask again.

Con Mucho Amor,

Hermana Arevalo (: