"So last
time I told you that I couldn't understand any of our investigators, but I've
been making progress! Hallelujah for the gift of tongues. The hardest one to
understand is an African guy named Bruno, but our last couple of lessons went
really well, and he even brought a couple friends to church last Sunday. I've
also gotten lots better at talking to people. That was probably what I was
afraid I would have the most trouble with, but the Lords looking out for me.
This helped me a lot, It’s from a talk that M.
Russell Ballard gave called "The Atonement and the Value of One
Soul"
"Brothers and sister, I believe that if we could truly
understand the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we would realize how
precious is one son or daughter of God. I believe our Heavenly Father's
everlasting purpose for His children is generally achieved by the small and
simple things we do for one another. At the heart of the English word atonement
is the word one. If all mankind understood this, there would never be anyone
with whom we would not be concerned, regardless of age, race, gender, religion,
or social or economic standing. We would strive to emulate the Savior and would
never be unkind, indifferent, disrespectful, or insensitive to others."
That has definitely struck me on my
mission. I've met people from completely different backgrounds than mine and
been unsure of what to do, except try to love and help them. And it's the same
for everyone we meet. It’s by the small and simple things, and we can all do
small and simple things. So do your best to help family, friends, or strangers,
the atonement applies to EVERYONE, including you :) There was lots of cool
stuff in that talk, I would definitely recommend it.
Sis. Miri
Reber
Minnesota,
Minneapolis mission
When I was in Lima I wrote that the people had won my heart.
Now that I have a little bit more time, I want to explain what happened. I
finally learned two lessons that I should have learned a long time ago, and I
think it's pretty sad that I had to move to Peru to figure these out.
1: It's not about me.
2. I don't need to take myself so
seriously.
It started with a man named Luiszea. He was the first person
I met when I got here. He is a recent convert of my companion before I got
here, and he has a little booth set up in the streets everyday where he
fixes watches. The first words I ever heard him say were to my companion "What
happened to your other companion?" Being me, I instantly put a wall up and
was certain that he hated me. He never, ever talked to me and I wouldn't try to
say much because I thought he didn't want to talk to me. In my rotten head, I
thought that it made matters worse that he bought us coconuts almost every
single day because I have never liked to drink coconut milk.
Then, as I sat in a lesson with him for the first time, I
had a huge realization. He wears the exact same outfit every single day. He
sits at his little booth, but I've never really seen him have business. When I
spoke to him, he looked surprised and I had the strongest feeling that the
reason he hadn't spoke to me before was because he thought I didn't speak
Spanish and didn't want to embarrass me.
Words cannot describe the way that my heart broke. Here I
was thinking this man hated me when every day, this man who has absolutely
nothing insists on buying me a treat. To make matters worse, I was always
silently complaining that he was doing it. I felt awful for who I was and how I
was only thinking about myself and I was putting walls up to these people who
had done nothing but love me. Yes, I talk to him quite a bit now and I sure as
heck ENJOY my coconut.
After I came to the realization of how selfish I had been, I
prayed super hard to have a better perspective. Heavenly Father helped me
realize that the members here are on my side. I've been working so hard
thinking I needed to prove myself to them when really they already accept me.
They laugh at me often, but why do I need to take myself so seriously and get
offended? They treat me like they treat family. They laugh and joke, but most
of all they love. I just got a completely new perspective of the whole world
that week.
It's funny how things can change. One Sunday I was standing
in the church crying my eyes out to Elder Gondara saying that everyone hates
me. The following Sunday I was sharing my testimony and sincerely thanking
people for showing their love to me. No, the whole world didn't magically
change in one week. I changed. Here I
was thinking everyone else was the problem, when really the problem was myself
and all I needed to do was change my heart, and I feel like I'm leaving in a
totally different world right now.
I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. At lunch one day, one sister in the
ward literally got choked up when I told her how delicious her food was. I
asked one man how his son was doing and he lit up and thanked me for asking as
if I had just handed him a grand gift.
When my blood sugar was low one Sunday night and I got super shaky, my companion made a phone call and in just a few minutes a sister in the ward was there with a full on meal for the both of us.
We gave a case of Spanish Hymns CDs to a lady and she cried
like it was a big deal. When someone was missing yesterday that was supposed to
give a talk, I was the first person the President came to and after I had so
many people coming up to me and thanking me and telling me how beautiful it
was.
When I was in Lima, we were talking with this sister and she
was having a really hard time and she and I really hit it off as I shared
experiences where I had to trust in the will of the Lord and shared a scripture
or two. As I left, she hugged and kissed me and started crying and looked me in
the eyes and said "I
am different because you were in my house today."
I finally understand
my calling. I want to make a difference in these people. Not because it's my
calling, but because I
love them."
Love Always,
Hermana Simonson
Peru, Lima mission
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