milagres são reais!

Here's the lowdown on my life recently...

So the past week we've started to teach the mom of a member in our ward. Her name is Edna. She really didn't like the church for a really long time because her son, Dino, wants to serve a mission and she doesn't want him to leave. I remember visiting her one time when I first got here and seeing that she wasn’t interested, but last week we invited her to read 3 Nephi 11 anyway. We were doing a service project for her with electricity, and when I asked her if she had read and she said no, we decided to read with her. Sister Ochoa was working in the other room and I started to read with Edna. The Spirit is a powerful being I'm telling you because as we started to read and stop every couple of verses you could see the understanding she was receiving on her face:) She said that she was feeling goose bumps as we read about how Christ came to the people. But my favorite thing she said is that she feels like she understands only a little piece of how Christ feels for us because like when a mother sees her child hurting, she wants to do anything to comfort them, even take the pain upon herself. And this is how Christ felt for us. How he FEELS for us. That He came to the Americas and showed the marks on His hands and feet so that the people here could know that He died for them too. 

I almost cried. Edna too. We continued reading and the next thing Christ did was give the people the authority to baptize, in His name, in the way that he was baptized.

 33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Edna stopped reading and said to me, now I understand why your church talks so much about baptism. I want to be baptized.

I can't even describe the joy I felt in that moment. And now since then she's been making amazing progress. What's even greater is how happy Dino is:) He's helping her a lot too:)

And so that's the result of many many missionaries passing by her house, her son sharing the gospel when she at times didn't care, and people never giving up on her. Not only am I gaining a huge testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon, but I've seen firsthand that you never know who has been prepared to hear the gospel.

I love you all! 

Read your Scriptures because there's power there!

Get ready for G Conference!

Eat peanut butter in my honor;)