Are we already in December? I can't believe it.
Well, we had transfers this week and.. I lost my dear companion, Hermana Ortiz. We are almost certain that none of us would be transferred, but when we returned to our house, sure enough, our District Leader, Elder Hugie called. Yes, yes, we cried. Hermana Ortiz is now serving as a Sister Training Leader in Tejar, Alajuela. She will be dearly missed. Although we only had 6 weeks together, I learned so much from her and she has become like a sister to me. The Lord really does know what He is doing when he puts companionships together.
My new companion is Hermana de Leon! She is from Guatemala as well (my 3rd Guatemalan companion!). She has almost 6 months on the mission, 2 days with me, and I already love her! She has a strong testimony of the gospel.
This last Sunday, I came to church! Sadly, her children didn't come, but we will keep working with them.
S and J are preparing for their baptisms this coming Sunday and we are so excited for them! S is struggling a little with dropping coffee, but is improving so much. J really likes the mutuals and has become friends with the leaders. He even comes to church with a white shirt and tie! This last Sunday, we came to their house to take them to Stake Conference. It touched my heart to see J shining his church shoes when we walked in.
Not much else to report. Just that I love you all and that I know this Church is true!
Con amor,
Hermana Whitman
-----------------
A couple experiences I forgot to include:
This week, we visited a young woman that we talked to on the street. We were also able to talk to her sister and cousins. We all felt the spirit very strongly as we testified of the love of our Heavenly Father. One of the young women, M, started crying. We asked her how she felt and she explained that she had been going through a trial in her life and that she really needed to hear our message. We will hopefully be seeing them tomorrow.
Later this week we also visited someone we had talked to on the street. Her name is M. We spoke with her and her two granddaughters. The older granddaughter, G, is 10-years-old and she is blind. During our visit, we asked G what God meant to her. It touched my heart to hear her beautiful testimony. She said that she knows that God gives her a little bit of sight everyday and that she knows that God loves her.
This is the kind of gratitude we all need to develop. Most days, we don't take into account the amazing ability we have everyday to wake up, breathe, see, and walk. It's the attitude of gratitude. When we look for and realize the blessings we have, we will be able to see the hand of God in our lives.
This week in my personal study, I was reading in Matthew 6. Read verses 34-44!
So what I was able to learn from this is that the disciples wanted to send the people elsewhere to find food. But Christ told them:
"Dadles de comer vosotros. "
The disciples then went forth and brought all they had to Him. When they did, he took their 5 loaves and 2 fish and multiplied it to feed 5,000 people. How amazing, right? When we bring all that we have to the Lord, our heart, might, mind, and strength, HE WILL MULTIPLY what we bring. You have so much to offer. Give all of your strength and heart to the Lord and He will multiply your strengths.