not just spiritual muscles here folks...did you know in 2nd grade she did 16 pull-ups???!!!???
work it.
saying goodbye at Marta's apartment
saying goodbye to Evelin and Claudia
______________________
What do I say about this week? I am literally sitting here ... drained. I question where I'll get strength for the next 8 months of my mission .... let alone ..... rest of my life. This week was a week of amazing miracles and some very hard goodbyes.
We did not have the baptism of Claudia and Evelin. Evelin loved girls camp but went to Mexicali two days later. Claudia went to California Saturday (?) .... still a little up in the air because she's hard to get a hold of ... but could just be gone. Though we were extremely sad, we realized it is much better for them to simply get out of Mesa and start over in California. Claudia was sad when we told her we will not be able to go to her baptism in California, but we all agreed to meet at the temple in a little over a year :D Bitter sweet. The branch will miss them, her neighbors will miss them, we miss them! It is all in the Lord's hands though.
Marta, Jenny, and Melissa are progressing. We taught lay de castidad this past week and made sure to prepare well. We really focused on the temple and its beauty and purity and the Spirit you're able to feel there. It went well in that they didn't just kick us out of their house (they love us! They fed us last week!) but they weren't quite ready to live their law. It will take a big change. They will though, soon. They know it is on the agenda. On Saturday we went by to confirm someone will be coming by to pick them up for church on Sunday and they were outside .... packing their things in their truck. They moved, yesterday, to Phoenix to live with Marta's sister for a while until they can get on their feet again. On Sunday we helped them clean their apartment for a few hours. Why is everyone moving? They will grasp the gospel one day soon. I can see it. I'm hoping to serve in Phoenix in my short time here .... but there aren't any Spanish sisters there right now so that might not happen. Like I said before, they're in the Lord's hands.
We had an incredible miracle this week, just one example. This week we seemed to have miracle after miracle after miracle. We felt so ..... fumbled as to why so many things were falling into place, at least for the moment. Here is one example. We serve in two stakes, Hermosa Vista and Mesa East. Our branch is in the HV stake so we live in it and eat in the stake. It is a pretty wealthy stake .... very wealthy I'd say. Lots of people remind me of Summit .... if you know what I mean. We constantly see people in our neighborhood on golf carts. It's funny because it doesn't surprise us. In that stake, we rarely go anywhere but the trailors. The other day we were driving through it though and noticed some apartments we'd never seen before (or at least taken notice of). Just about 24 apartments, not too many. We had some time one afternoon and planned to search a member out and ask them what their neighbors are like (we're stalkers ... pretty much). We found there was only one member that lived in them (that's really low for here in Arizona......) so we knocked on the door. He answered and was in the middle of something so we asked him really quickly if any of his neighbors spoke spanish. She pointed to the door next to his and so we knocked. A little boy answered the door and then his mom came and chided him for answering the door (all in spanish .... yay!) She hadn't heard and had told him not to open the door for anyone. She saw it was us though and immediately invited us in. After a minute she told us she had just gotten back from Salt Lake late last night. They had visited Temple Square and just loveeeeed all of it! They love the Visitors Center here and she was so excited to see us at her house. Apparently in Salt Lake none of the Sisters spoke spanish so they weren't able to see any of the presentations. [I have a feeling they didn't ask .... ] We had a lesson set up for last night and she wasn't there, but something I've found is that everything happens in the Lord's time. The miracle was that she has been found (she might not be excited about that .....). Everyone is known by the Lord.
We went by a woman's house this week who we've had a hard time going by. Her name is Isela. We taught her about the Restoration in some caois ... I have no idea how to spell that right now ..... but finally were able to see her again this week. She was so happy to see us, though she confided, she hadn't read any of the BoM. We talked about it a little and we testified of families and how important they are. She has been struggling with her 16 year old son, he ... like most .... rebel. We talked about families. By the end, she fed us delicious fruit and had showed us pictures of her entire family! We are excited to go back this week and give her even more hope in God's plan for us! She was like a breath of fresh air and such a joy to testify too! She, like many, is seeking for something and she doesn't quite know where to find it. I feel so humble to say that it is here, the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in full. It is here for the taking, come and enjoy!
It finally got hot this week. YUCK. YUCK. YUCK. Remember summer time when you go to the pool and you've been working outside for a few hours just sweating and you look at the pool just before you dive in and think, this is gonna feel sooooo good. Well, that's how sweaty I feel everyday in a skirt and shirt, but there's no pool I want to go in as a missionary. [Liza wants to go swimming .... but then I remember that's not my name right now....] Oh man it is draining in the heat! Yuck! Luckily though, Hermana Nielsen and I took a trip to goodwill last Tuesday and we got some awesome Arizona summer missionary clothes! Horray! So, yeah. Everytime you walk out, it hits you. A wave a heat. It feels kind of good for all of a minute, and then you feel bad talking to someone and telling them you have this amazing message, while you look like a popsickle. Never before have we glistened so brightly as missionaries! hahaha No it's not horrendous .... but it kind of is.
I love you all! Thanks for your love! We went to the temple this morning and sat in the Celestial Room for .... oh about an hour and a half. :) I love Hermana Nielsen and I pray next week I am not going somehwere else. We will see ..... it's all in the Lord's hands!
Love always, Hermana Clark
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