´Aqui tiene su casa´ - Here you have a home....

My dear friends and family, the hour is nigh!

I cannot believe that this is my last big sign off as a missionary. How grateful I am to have served The Lord during these last 18 months. I am truly grateful to be His missionary and His representative. I can truly testify of the white fields that the Lord has prepared for every one of His children that are willing to serve and put in the work. 

I have a confession, when I was about to leave on the mission, I packed a nice pair of pants and a cute shirt to wear just in case we would go out to eat one night or somethign like that (what in the world was I thinking?!). When I got out into the field, I quickly realized that I was crazy wrong. Looking back at that actually makes me smile cause now that I look at my clothes, I can understand taht I was sooo wrong and had such skewed views of what a mission was.

A mission for me has meant work, hard work, very hard work!  We walk everywhere, we find people to teach ourselves, we call to remind people to come to church, and then we go pick them up, and we also shed tears as we hear that not all want to recieve this great gospel in their lives. It has been the most amazing experience.

I believe that the most powerful phrase that people have said to me as we say good bye is... ´Aqui tiene su casa´ meaning, here you have a home. The warmness of the Mexican culture has greatly impacted me and really has helped me become a more refined, better person. I think on the many many times that we knocked doors, looking for a referreal or a street contact and we don't find their house, or they are not home, or they had given us a false direction, but the people who were there,  have welcomed us in and recieved our message.

In Bosques, we went to an appointment, looking for a couple that we had contacted in the street. When we knocked on the door, a little boy answered and asked us who we were, we told him, ´las hermanas´ - the sisters He dissappeared inside to tell his family. After that, he told us to come in, and as we met the family, they reluctantly listened. 

The second visit went better, and we taught about The Family, a Proclamation for the World, it was a powerful and spiritual lesson, all had tears in our eyes and we left that house with a very special feeling. As we progressed along with this family, they decided to be baptized, and were the most perepared, humble, and converted... well converts that I have seen on my mission. As the baptismal date was getting closer, one day they began talking to us about that first day that we had gotten there. They began to tell us that when thier nephew had told them that the sisters were at the door, they thought that it was just their family.  They were very suprised to see us in their living room! They then told us about the strong feelings of the spirit that accompanied us in that second lesson, and because they had seen those feelings, they had decieded to be baptized. How greatful I am for the guidence of the spirit, and I know that missionary work brings great blessings into so many lives.

I have met so many amazing, humble and really just loving people here during my mission, and I know that this work will keep moving on. We are simple intstruments in the hands of The Lord, and He will do great things with our lives if we let Him. May we carry on in faith.

I am nervous and excited to return back home, but I do so knowing that I served The Lord with all my heart. I testify that The Lord Jesus Christ lives. He loves us and knows us personally. His infinite sacrifies is something that we may never come to understand in its fullness, but I know that He did it for pure love for us. May we always honor his name with our actiones. 

Family and friends, it has been an amazing 18 months, and I have come out the greatest convert of all here!

I share this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

I will see you soon!

Hermana B


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