We are in the process of meeting new people and they have kind of fallen into our laps. We had been asking for references and not getting any, but this past week we met 3 new people to visit while in our appointments. We are also super excited to teach a part member family. The wife is menos activa, and the husband is an investigator. They are a really special couple. The wife is a an example of perserverance, optimism, faith, and service. Her husband is a man with a sincere desire to improve his life and that of his family's. He wants to know for himself that the gospel is true. They also appreciate good food, and we talk about that a lot as well :)
I've been thinkng a lot lately about how my time in the mission is running out, and I want to do all the work that the Lord has planned for me to do. In our meetings we've been talking about fullfilling our covenants as missionaries, and caring for the stewardships we've been given in the mission. We get our Liahon's early and in the July issue is a snippet of a talk from Pres. James E. Faust that also talks about stewardship. It's a very sad story, but one that illustrates the importance of our callings from the Lord to care for His other children:
"WhenI was a very small boy, my father found a lamb all alone out
in the desert. The herd of sheep to which its mother belonged had
moved on, and somehow the lamb got separated from its mother,
and the shepherd must not have known that it was lost. Because it could not survive alone in the desert, my father picked it up and
brought it home. To have left the lamb there would have meant
certain death, either by falling prey to the coyotes or by starvation
because it was so young that it still needed milk. Some sheepmen
call these lambs “bummers.” My father gave the lamb to me and I
became its shepherd.
For several weeks I warmed cow’s milk in a baby’s bottle and fed
the lamb. We became fast friends. I called him Nigh,
why I don’t remember. It began to grow. My lamb and I would play
on the lawn. Sometimes we would lie together on the grass and I
would lay my head on its soft, woolly side and look up at the blue
sky and the white billowing clouds. I did not lock my lamb up during the day. It would not run away It soon learned to eat grass. I could
call my lamb from anywhere in the yard by just imitating as best I
could the bleating sound of a sheep: Baa. Baa. One night there
came a terrible storm. I forgot to put my lamb in the barn that night
as I should have done. I went to bed. My little friend was frightened in the storm, and I could hear it bleating. I knew that I should help
my pet, but I wanted to stay safe, warm, and dry in my bed. I didn’t get up as I should have done. The next morning I went out to find my lamb dead. A dog had also heard its bleating cry and killed it. My heart was broken. I had not been a good shepherd or steward of that which my father had entrusted to me. My father said, “Son,
couldn’t I trust you to take care of just one lamb?” My father’s
remark hurt me more than losing my woolly friend. I resolved that
day, as a little boy, that I would try never again to neglect my
stewardship as a shepherd if I were ever placed in that position
again."
As missionaries, our calling to care for others is under a special covenant of service. I've thought about the people who I've met and served thus far in the mission, and hope that I haven't left them out in the rain like the lamb. Maybe I have sometimes, but I'm trying to work harder, and concentrate more in my service, to really serve with all heart, might, mind, and strength.
Love you all, talk to you next week,
Hna. J.
The 1st four are pictures from when Erin visited The Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration in Santiago. I'm not exactly sure what is going on with the mirrored Luchador. The next picture is the English class Sister Santiago taught. The last is Erin cutting open coconuts.
I've been thinkng a lot lately about how my time in the mission is running out, and I want to do all the work that the Lord has planned for me to do. In our meetings we've been talking about fullfilling our covenants as missionaries, and caring for the stewardships we've been given in the mission. We get our Liahon's early and in the July issue is a snippet of a talk from Pres. James E. Faust that also talks about stewardship. It's a very sad story, but one that illustrates the importance of our callings from the Lord to care for His other children:
"WhenI was a very small boy, my father found a lamb all alone out
in the desert. The herd of sheep to which its mother belonged had
moved on, and somehow the lamb got separated from its mother,
and the shepherd must not have known that it was lost. Because it could not survive alone in the desert, my father picked it up and
brought it home. To have left the lamb there would have meant
certain death, either by falling prey to the coyotes or by starvation
because it was so young that it still needed milk. Some sheepmen
call these lambs “bummers.” My father gave the lamb to me and I
became its shepherd.
For several weeks I warmed cow’s milk in a baby’s bottle and fed
the lamb. We became fast friends. I called him Nigh,
why I don’t remember. It began to grow. My lamb and I would play
on the lawn. Sometimes we would lie together on the grass and I
would lay my head on its soft, woolly side and look up at the blue
sky and the white billowing clouds. I did not lock my lamb up during the day. It would not run away It soon learned to eat grass. I could
call my lamb from anywhere in the yard by just imitating as best I
could the bleating sound of a sheep: Baa. Baa. One night there
came a terrible storm. I forgot to put my lamb in the barn that night
as I should have done. I went to bed. My little friend was frightened in the storm, and I could hear it bleating. I knew that I should help
my pet, but I wanted to stay safe, warm, and dry in my bed. I didn’t get up as I should have done. The next morning I went out to find my lamb dead. A dog had also heard its bleating cry and killed it. My heart was broken. I had not been a good shepherd or steward of that which my father had entrusted to me. My father said, “Son,
couldn’t I trust you to take care of just one lamb?” My father’s
remark hurt me more than losing my woolly friend. I resolved that
day, as a little boy, that I would try never again to neglect my
stewardship as a shepherd if I were ever placed in that position
again."
As missionaries, our calling to care for others is under a special covenant of service. I've thought about the people who I've met and served thus far in the mission, and hope that I haven't left them out in the rain like the lamb. Maybe I have sometimes, but I'm trying to work harder, and concentrate more in my service, to really serve with all heart, might, mind, and strength.
Love you all, talk to you next week,
Hna. J.
The 1st four are pictures from when Erin visited The Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration in Santiago. I'm not exactly sure what is going on with the mirrored Luchador. The next picture is the English class Sister Santiago taught. The last is Erin cutting open coconuts.