These last few weeks of Sister Cendreda's mission are really so special and sacred for me. We were both able to bear our testimonies yesterday in Sacrament Meeting. I was so filled with gratitude for everything the Lord has done for me..and especially my companion. It is sad to see her go soon, but what I have learned from her is something I will cherish forever. I have learned that I can give EVERYTHING to God. Literally, everything. And He will take care of me, He will give me so many blessings that I won't know what to do with them. Sister Cendreda felt the truth of the gospel and she trusted in God. Now she is willing to give her all for Him, and He hasn't and won't let her down.
Blue Skies!!
I was able to study the talk Music of the Gospel by Elder Anderson this week from 2 general conferences ago. I studied it for Jacqueline's son, Jeremy because he has been struggling so much. It is so hard for me to see him change...and not in a good way. He was baptized in December and now can't remember anything. He seems to be so filled with darkness, when he could be filled with light. So as I was praying one day, Heavenly Father told me to read this talk. What I realized is that our individual happiness depends on our own ability to feel the Spirit or in other words, hear the music of the gospel. We cannot just go through life doing the steps of the gospel, they must be accompanied by the Spirit. If not, we will quit dancing. So what can we do to get the Spirit?
1-We must walk the same path that we walked when we first heard the music of the gospel or felt the Spirit. So ask yourselves, "Are we doing the things that helped us hear the music in the first place?"
2- Try our best to have the Spirit in our homes. It is where we practice. I remember an RM saying once that she never really liked the world because compared to the sweetness of her home, the world was so bitter. "It does little good to scold the darkness. We must displace the darkness by introducing light." If someone in our family makes it hard for us to feel the Spirit, we cannot scold them, we must introduce the light by our examples and our fervent desires to do what is right.
3-Be Patient and keep practising- the promise of this is "With God's help, the day WILL come when the music of the gospel will fill your home with unspeakable joy."
1-We must walk the same path that we walked when we first heard the music of the gospel or felt the Spirit. So ask yourselves, "Are we doing the things that helped us hear the music in the first place?"
2- Try our best to have the Spirit in our homes. It is where we practice. I remember an RM saying once that she never really liked the world because compared to the sweetness of her home, the world was so bitter. "It does little good to scold the darkness. We must displace the darkness by introducing light." If someone in our family makes it hard for us to feel the Spirit, we cannot scold them, we must introduce the light by our examples and our fervent desires to do what is right.
3-Be Patient and keep practising- the promise of this is "With God's help, the day WILL come when the music of the gospel will fill your home with unspeakable joy."
So I have very exciting news! Rita has been doing much better, we have been in contact with her every single day and she is so thrilled for her baptism on Saturday. I think at the end of my time in Vancouver, I felt much like Joseph Smith right before God and Jesus Christ appeared to him. I felt like I was in a dark place, like Satan had a great hold on me. And in that moment, I wanted to call upon God to help me, but I didn't know if He would. I didn't have the faith sufficient to do it. But now I see in these last two transfers, here in Surrey, I have gained my faith back and so much stronger too. I know God will answer and I know that just like Joseph's experience of having darkness be cast out by the light, God is shining the light on us now. We are having miracles and one of the greatest of all is Rita. It has been a blessing to teach her again. She is so special and so strong. And we found out this last week that she is 80 years old. Proof to all the people that tell us they are too old to change, that they are wrong. We can always change. So please pray for Rita!
Oh my goodness! Exciting news! I met David Archuletta.......'s aunt and uncle! Haha, they are missionaries serving her. Haha, so funny! Now Sister Cendreda and I have plans to go to their homecoming..to see David. Haha. But really.
Dad...you're going to love this. The other day we saw a Seattle Seahawks sticker on someone's car and Sis. C got so excited and was like, "Oh my goodness, Seattle Seahawks...that's a soccer team right?" haha. Then a few days after that we saw another sticker on someone's car and she was like, "Okay..I know they're a football team. Go Seattle Seagulls!!!." Haha, I died laughing.
Our goal these last few weeks has been to testify of the Restoration, especially the first vision. It has been incredible to share it with our members and everyone we meet. Our commitment has been for our members to memorize it. And so my invitation to you is to memorize the first vision. I know that as you do, you will gain a stronger testimony of it and God will give you the opportunity to share it with someone. God will never deny us an opportunity to share the gospel or to strengthen our testimonies. We must have the courage to take all of those opportunities.
With the Moro fam
I would love to share my testimony with all of you. I know that this is truly Jesus Christ's work. I feel so much like the apostles of old going and teaching, ministering, and proclaiming. I know that Joseph Smith was called by our Heavenly Father to restore the church. Joseph saw God and Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. It has the power to change us. I pray that you will let this knowledge change you. I knew the gospel was true before my mission. I felt the Spirit burn deep in my heart. And for that I am serving a mission. Now, I KNOW the gospel is true. I know it and I boldly live it and teach it.
Love,
Hermana Hoth
