Semana 30 en Ceres and Transfers

Querida Familia y amigos --
      So transfer calls were this past week. I have been in Ceres now for 5 transfers! I can't believe I have been able to be here this long. It truly was a blessing. But, sometimes we get surprises as missionaries. So for this next transfer I will be in......DRUM ROLL.................

 
CERES AGAIN! I get to stay with Hermana W in Ceres for another transfer! Yay! I love the Ceres Branch and the people that live here! The missionaries are all wonderful and we are working hard to strengthen the branch. What a blessing!
      This week has been a great week! Hermana W and I are so excited we get to stay here in Ceres together for another transfer! We have made goals for this  transfer  that  are really going to push us. It is going to be very hard, but I am very excited to help us both grow more and more.
      This week I went on an exchange with Hermana M. She is a wonderful missionary! Every time she opens her mouth I can feel the Spirit testify of what she says. I love teaching with her!  
      This week I have really increased my testimony about Preach My Gospel (a teaching guide missionaries use to teach about Christ). The lesson plan has us to bear testimony and bring in the Spirit. As we bear testimony of the basic truths that we know, the Spirit is able to teach the investigators, less actives, and members what they need to know. At times as missionaries we do not know what the people need, but the Lord does. When we are teaching by the Spirit and with Preach My Gospel, we are able to get out of the way of the Spirit and allow Him to be the teacher in the lesson. 
       Early this week we met a couple of less actives that nobody knew. They were so thrilled to be in contact with missionaries and with the church! It was so great to see their excitement. As we have been doing our daily finding time we have been learning from the people that we have been meeting. This week we got marriage advice and advice for life. It is so wonderful to talk to everyone!   
       We had a wonderful lesson with the Familia O this week. We decided after our last lesson with them that we needed to switch gears and teach in a way that was more interesting to them and in a way that made sense. We did an activity to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ--it was a pathway. We are really loving this activity. It is so simple, but it makes people really think. Hopefully they will come to church this next week.
      This week we met a woman named Silvia. She is so wonderful! She is truly a prepared person. The Elders talked with her outside her house a while back, but haven't been back since. So, they told us we should stop by. We went and knocked on her door and she immediately recognized us as representatives of Jesus Christ and quickly invited us in. We had a wonderful lesson with her. She told us all about her life. As we talked with her and testified of the basic truths of the gospel, the Spirit was present even before we said a prayer. She started to become emotional and asked us if we could say a prayer with her. We quickly agreed and shared a scripture how hard times are to help us in our lives after we had offered a prayer for her family. As we talked we learned more and more about her family and her life and the feeling inside her home was one that was very special. I know the Spirit is there when we teach, but as we completely rely on Him as we teach, it becomes His lesson. I love being able to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to allow others to feel of the love He has for them!
       We taught her again later this week--this time I was with Hermana McArthur. We taught her the Plan of Salvation (God’s Plan for our Happiness)--she had so many questions about life here on earth and why we are here. Silvia asked so many questions throughout the lesson and they often were about exactly what we were going to share with her next. She was so interested and what we shared made sense to her. What I love most about teaching is the opportunity to see everything "click" for the investigators, less actives, and members. I love helping them understand more about the Plan God has for us. 
     J came to church again yesterday! YAY!!!!!!! We were so excited! It is so great to see the chapel filling up with less actives and investigators. That is one of the most rewarding things about missionary work.  I love this work! It truly is the Lord's work.  I love being able to see the hand of the Lord in my life everyday and see the change in people as they come to recognize Him again.
      I know God truly has a plan for each one of us and as we strive to do our best, He will always bless us. I am so grateful His plan allows for us to see our families and loved ones again after death and that we can live with them for eternity if we keep the commandments and do what is right. How grateful I am for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for me so that I can have an opportunity to learn of these Truths and apply them in my life so I can return to live with Him, My Heavenly Father, and family someday.
        Thank you for all the love and support that you give me and all the other missionaries.  

Los quiero mucho! Con mucho amor,

Hermana VanWie