This week was so excellent for me. We didn't get a whole lot done, due to Conference and a Zone Capacitación and such, but it was a week that exercised and rejuvinated my spirit where I didn't do as much walking and physical exercise. :)
The zone training meeting thing that we had last Monday involved our mission president and his wife driving all the way up to Concepción to give us all a pep talk. Apparently there's been a little drop in ánimo since last year and we're having less success as a mission as a whole. Pte. Madariaga reviewed all the factors and possibilities for that happening, and after lots of prayer came to the conclusion that we all need to stop worrying about ourselves and start sanctifying our lives so we'll be more Christlike and have more desires to serve the people.
His amazing counsel to us was to set aside a day to fast specifically to help us identify things that we need to do away with in our lives so we can focus more on the mission. We were to make a list throughout that day, praying continually for inspiration and strength, and then at the end of the day we were to make a covenant with the Lord to not do those things for a full 40 days.
Hna. Tua´one and I weren't too excited to fast, but funnily enough just a few weeks ago I was telling her how fasting was one of those things I didn't really have a strong testimony in. I've fasted a lot in the past, but never with much purpose and never really paying attention to the results. I never understood why fasting is called a joy in the scriptures. Now, though, I do. I started that day asking the Lord to show me why fasting is so wonderful, and then that entire day was wonderful. My mind was so much clearer--so unmuddled by thoughts of buying food for lunch or whatever--and every time I thought about food I remembered that i was fasting and said a silent prayer. I must have prayed at least twenty times that day. :) And the result was I was much more focused on the work and I felt God's guidance so much easier. Now I really think I have an idea of why fasting is a joy. I look forward to doing it again--to subjecting my body to my spirit and growing in my trust in the Lord.
My forty-day goals are proving a little difficult to stay true to, but thankfully there's repentance and i'm improving every day. What I'm mostly working on is patience, optimism, and faith--the biggest challenge is not saying any sort of negative comments about the weather, the people, or anything. But I'm finding a lot more happy moments as I choose to turn a criticism into a compliment. I hope I can keep it up long after the forty days are over.
And now I have Conference notes to strengthen me! Oh my goodness you have no idea how much I love Conference. It was like Christmas, only better because here Christmas is drastically different than at home, but Conference always feels the same--AMAZING! Heavenly Father was really nice to me this time around and I didn't miss a single minute of it. I even got to watch all the fun BYUtv stuff inbetween sessions. Very inspiring. :)
Did you notice all the common themes this year? Those always intrigue me, because when there´s a theme it means that that's something the world is really struggling with. This year I noticed that they've talked a lot about teaching others the doctrine so that they'll exercise their own agency to make good choices. Also, Priesthood needs to be weilded responsibly and with love. I loved Elder Scott´s instruction on how to receive personal revelation. Several talks mentioned that. There were also a lot about having patience through physical suffering, and jumping in to help others who are suffering. Most of all, it all came back to just staying away from the things of the world and finding everlasting joy in the gospel. Man, I wish that everybody in the world listened to Conference, but I'm just super happy with the millions of members and visitors who do.
My favorite talks were by Elder Ballard, Elder Anderson, and David F. Evans. I loved how Elder Ballard talked about how good society doesn't create good families--good families create good society. If everyone focused on being good parents, could you imagine how beautiful life would be? I'm so grateful for the many wonderful parent figures I have in my life to show me that unconditional love everyone should have and demonstrate. I hope I can be a good mother someday.
Elder Anderson's talk made me cry as he talked about that poor family in Haiti. His talk was so tender and his question so penetrating: What does Christ think of me?
David F. Evans inspired me with his discussion of how we should make sharing the gospel a normal, natural thing. I hope that I really can instill that in myself and not just sit back and relax as soon as I take the nametag off.
Conference came just in time for us missionaries. Now we're heading into La Semana Santa, where all of the catholics are much more fiercely loyal to their religion than during the rest of the year. I'm praying for more patience, and I know that God teaches us patience by giving us more difficult situations to have patience in, so I'll let you know how that goes this next week. :) Hopefully it will be pretty chill, with just lots of chipa and FHE´s about Christ.
Oh, before I go, something really amazing that happened last week: Hna. Tua´one and I were just leaving to a cita when Hna. Tua´one realized she didn't have her nametag so we turned around to head back home. On the way back, a lady stopped us and asked if we'd been in Mariano Roque Alonso before. We told her rather confusedly that yes, we had. She told us that we'd taught her before. We couldn't remember her to save our lives, until about five minutes later when she finally said something that sparked our memory--her name is Mabel, and we visited her twice in Mariano. She was really receptive to the gospel and everything, but then she had to move to Concepción. We thought we'd never see her again. Now, six months later, here we are, BOTH OF US in Concepción, and who should we happen to run into? If that's not miraculous, I don't know what is. She's still receptive to the gospel and everything, and Hna. Tua´one and I are holding our breath wondering if maybe she's the reason that God sent us back together again. He obviously would know that all three of us would be here at the same time. Coincidence? I think not! :) I'll let you know how that turns out.
Well, I love you all. Thank you Grandma, Sarah, Ashley, Mom, Dad, and Laurel for your letters this week. You´re the best!!
---Hna. Springer
First, a "Welcome to Conci" sign that I thought was funny--Coke is a staple of life here. :)
2-Walking to the Stake Center for Conference and taking pictures of cows on the way
3-The pretty sunset we found after Conference
4-The "English Room" where we watched Conference. Every now and then Paraguayan members would come walking by and poke their heads in to watch us watching Conference like we were zoo animals or something. "And on the left we have American missionaries watching Conference in English." "Ooooh!"
5-Some gorgeous flowers that are in season this time of year. Can you believe they just grow so perfectly? They look sculpted to me.
---Carly
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