February 10, 2013

Dear Family,

We had zone conference this week. Woohoo! It was the spiritual reboost I needed. President Eaton taught us about teaching by the power of the Holy Ghost. What better way to do the Lord's work than through His power! What is the most important thing we can do as missionaries? Help others become connected with God. After that, truth makes itself known as the Spirit touches people's hearts. And guess who has told us she wants to be a member of our church....drum roll...LaChelle! She has recently been going through some awful trials, like having her pipes frozen for 2 days amongst other things. She told us she has never prayed so hard. The Spirit is working miracles in her life. It is amazing to see how when someone truly has a broken heart and a contrite spirit, the Lord can teach them. I also believe LaChelle has the "sincere heart" and "real intent" that Moroni talks about in Moroni 10:3-5 of the Book of Mormon. LaChelle's faith is growing and she can recognize answers to her prayers, because she has these qualities that qualify us for the presence of the Spirit. I want to strive more in my life to have these qualities so that I can be more receptive to the Spirit and closer to my Heavenly Father. I think back to the way I felt sitting in the celestial room in the temple and I want that feeling more often in my life. I want to feel and know that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me. The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is the way we can have these feelings to the fullest extent on this earth. Oh how grateful I am for that blessing in my life, and oh, "how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth." (2 Nephi 2:8)

So this week was the celebration of winning the Super Bowl. There was a parade in Seattle where at least 700,000 people went to go crazy in celebration of the Sea Hawks' victory. This really made me think about how insane our country can be sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I like a good celebration and being excited about things! But I was just thinking maybe we could get a little more excited about good family relationships, or the returning of a wayward son, or going to church, or the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! Sister Nilssen in the Rock Creek ward kind of sparked some of these ideas and I quite liked them. I think as a society we could strive to be as excited about things as the Seattle-ites over here but about things of eternal significance.

Some other updates.

Riley and Devaughn will now not be baptized until April, because of family scheduling. We are bummed. But we still get to work with them and teach them so that's good. In our last lesson, Devaughn really wanted us to teach him about Satan, so we did! We talked about pre-mortal life and how Satan wanted to force everyone to choose the right and how that was not part of the Plan so he was cast out and now he doesn't have a body and is unhappy and wants us to be unhappy too. We turned it into fighting a battle here on earth, so we said that praying, reading our scriptures, and going to church are weapons we can use against Satan, and that that's how we follow Jesus Christ and fight on the good side. They understood it really well then! Riley really likes Star Wars so he says Satan is like Darth Maul! Teaching them is my favorite!

We found a lady this week named Rosie who lived in the Imperial Valley for 4 years! She is looking for a church where she is comfortable, and she really wants to teach her kids about Jesus Christ. But she won't let us teach her! I think she is a little wary of the stereotypes of Mormons. But soon she won't be! She told us about all the things that seem to be lining up. She realizes it wasn't coincidence that we showed up at her door. And we know it definitely wasn't! God's hand is in this work! We are going to visit her again this week with a member and help her feel more comfortable.

Transfers are coming up. Boo! I really hope Sister Kirschner and I get to stay another transfer together. That would be beyond amazing to stay in Maple Valley. I love being a missionary. I am so excited to see what else Heavenly Father has in store for these people. I hope you have a wonderful week. Find an opportunity to share your testimony with someone who could use it. It will not only strengthen them, but it will strengthen you too! I love you! May the Spirit always be with you!

Love,

Sister Mecate