The Rock

August 4, 2014

[Whew!  You should’ve seen this email when it came in!  Davi said the space bar wasn’t working, so wow—this was hard to read!  It was like the world’s longest hashtag!]

Gosh, Dalton is such a rock star, isn’t he?  There is a little boy named Dalton here. I love him.

This week at church, the capilla [chapel] was full.  A ton of people who haven’t been to church in a long time came to church. Families are starting to come back.  It’s such a blessing.  And they felt like they belonged.  It’s like, of course you belong!  We all have the same Dad, and we are here with Him!

This week we found Antonio. Found him while we were looking for a recent convert who doesn’t live there anymore. He and his wife are so great. Antonio has started reading the Book of Mormon, but get this--he actually wants to!!! I feel like that is such a sign of preparedness. If they WANT to read the Bookof Mormon. He has a date for the end of the month, hopefully with his wife.

I feel like I am in one of those sports movies. The other team really put up a good fight, and the home team is tired. It seems impossible that they will be able to win. But then, the coach gives them this great pep talk.  In this case, Heavenly Father directly in prayer, through the Book of Mormon, and through letters from people who follow the Spirit.  And the home team gets this energy out of nowhere, and knows that they are going to win! And I felt that happen this week! Got a pep talk, and I am determined to kick the un-home team out of here. God gave me energy and the power to win. Now, I just got to do it. And that’s what we are doing. Every day, as missionaries. Winning.

I know repentance is real.  I know He loves me.  I know it with my whole heart. I know He doesn’t think that we are who we are when we are sad and discouraged.  His opinion is the rock that I need, and when I get scared, I just need to go stand and meditate on that rock. Sometimes it is really hard to get to that rock, though, and I had never felt that before. We all need a little help getting there.  So grateful for that experience, and many more. He is so patient in my sufferings.  Knowing who I am makes all the difference in the world. Get help getting to that rock, and then help others to get there. That’s what I want to do with my whole life. 

Love you guys!  Pray for Antonio and Micaela Bastidas and fam Chaupi and Teresa and fam Montenegro and fam Mejia and Eduardo.

Thanks!  Love you!

Hermana J