Faith, Hope, and Charity

I felt a few weeks ago like I had no faith and then I feel like I have a hold on things when poof it's another thing to work on. As a missionary I think missions are hard because you realize how sacred this is and how important  this is. I would be awful if, because of me, someone wasn't progressing. As we talked (Sister Garcia and Sister Fragoso) I had D&C chapter 4 come to mind. This work really does require faith and hope and charity. I realized that it's just part of missionary work and that sooner or later I was going to have to learn this. I realized how charity goes far more than just loving someone. It was because I loved Adriana so much that I realized I was so hurt, so frustrated with her. I realized because I love her I was allowing myself act this way. And then i realized that Jesus Christ himself isn't mad at her choices. he loves her regardless and is just concerned if she is repenting which she is. 

I know that we can do all things through Christ, Philippians 4:13 because he strengthen me. This morning as I began my personal study I prayed that I could be directed to know what to do know that I could know what I need to change, what do I need to do now? I was directed to Alma 31:31. I invite you look at it! and finish to the end of the chapter. I think it's only like 5 more verses. I just knew that all those missionaries in the scriptures also went through the same thing I go through. Thank goodness I'm not the first and thank goodness I studied faith for 2 weeks since patience is part faith. And that's what Alma does at the very end, because he prayed in faith. 

I am so grateful for the things I am learning. Funny thing is I don't realize how much I am until I write to you all or when I write in my journal. I love you all so much and I just want to let you know that I now it's through Jesus Christ that we can better. I can have better faith and more patience though him and I now God will allow me to grow and give me opportunity to do so. 

P.S we get to meet and shake Elder Cooks hand this Saturday! He's coming to the mission :) 

-Patricio got baptized! his entire family except his dad is a member . he is 8 but his family hadn't been living the gospel for much of his life and so we were asked to teach him and special prep him for his baptism and so we did and now he got baptized on saturday! so much and little. we love Patricio 

-And a Charlotte sign...haha

This week's photos

Past photos and this week's email!

This week I had an experience in putting faith to the test since I realized how much I lacked it...Late Monday we had a miracle brought to pass due to the faith of my companion. I wanted to be of more help to her and I was so grateful that she had been faithful but I realized how much I needed it to. I prayed that night for the gift of faith so that I could be of more use. 

We pulled up to an apartment complex at 3pm on a Thursday where the sun was hot and just a lazy time of the day. I park the car and and Sister Fragoso and i both pull our seats back and close our eyes and just say how tired we are and laugh at our misery. She looks at me and says, "let's knock this entire complex. 4th floor last door?" (in reference to uchdorfs Talk.) I look at her and say, "I'm trying out this new Faith thing, they said it works..." So we did it. 

I realized I couldn't just knock to get the doors done. If I wanted this to work I would have  to mentally have the faith that things WOULD work out and that there WOULD be good come from it. The apartment had 3 floors, and each floor had 4 doors. 12 total. the bottom floor had 3 doors open but they weren't interested. the last one the floor opened up and it was a 15 year old girl. she talked to us and we had a wonderful discussion about regions and about our purpose on the earth. She gave us a return appointment. 

Things like this happened all week. Things like new investigators and referrals and individuals keeping their commitments. It was wonderful and it was a learning lesson for me. Had it not been me realizing how much I lacked and how much I needed Christ in my equation, I don't think this week wouldn't have been such a happy one.

On Sunday as I turn to face the congregation after playing the opening hymn (yes I still play haha) I saw my companions face beaming and smiling as she hinted for me to look left. I saw 3 of our investigators seated by her. My heart about popped our of my chest. I then look over and there's 2 more on the other side of the chapel. We had 5 investigators come. My heart filled with overwhelming joy as I realized how much faith works. The funny thing is, it was always there for me to choose. I'm sure this miracles wouldn't have been given had we not proved to God that we were serious about his work. That we knew it would be hard but what he could trust us with this individuals to teach. Faith was always an option but it wasn't until I was as compelled to be humble that things happened. God didn't just give me faith though. I had to choose it. I had to choose to work a little harder. have a better attitude and try to have more faith. I learned of this equation in a zone meeting and it loved it. 

you + Christ=more

It's so true. It's not us doing more prayers or more study that makes us be better, it when we put Christ first that things start happening. I wanted more faith and so I had to choose to have faith in Christ would give me more energy and would lead me. Interesting how that works...

May we always include the savior more in our daily lives and CHOOSE to be better as he will allow us to grow.

Much love!

-Hermana Garcia 

Joy

This week i studied the defintion of joy. It was so intersting to learn more about it. I learned that joy is only possible when spirit and flesh are one.  Which would explain 2 Nephi 2:25 "Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy."

I just really realized how important it is to have a body and how as members we have the capacity to be truly  JOYOUS. Not just happy, but really joyous. 

This afternoon at Walmart we saw an interesting advertisement for eye contacts :) They said something along the following, "buy these contacts and have shinier eyes that glow!" something like that. Basically having light in your eyes. My comp and I looked at each other and she said what i was thinking, "Join the Mormon church and be baptized! Its free!."

The scriptures teach that joy is a gift to the righteous. Happiness is a regard when we do what is right and when we live a life that is according to the will of God or when we follow His commandments. I realized how much the world is yearning for it and hope to attain it by monetary means. 

I left the light on of our car on Friday night and so Saturday afternoon we discovered the car battery dead. This all happening while it was raining baaaddd. Well we called for our help and it was just so fun. We were outside while it was raining and cold and wet yet...we were happy. I thought of what Elder Nelson said, "Only saints could be happy in any circumstance." I love this and know this. I know we can be happy in any trail or circumstance that we live in. We can suffer with joy and put our trust in God and know that he will do the rest.

I love my mission. I see miracles every day and i see the hand of the Lord in all things. It makes me wonder of all the miracles i missed or didn't take notice while i was home. I encourage you all to count the daily miracles and be overcome with love when you realize how much God helps you and is mindful of you. 

CTR!

-Hermana Garcia

 (we also sitcky note our recent converts...life of a sis missionary haha)

O Christmas Tree, O Referrals, O Companion..why are you sick

Greetings Friends! This week has been interesting for sure. Its been super cold. Im way up north and closer to the mountains so its cold. None of this super hot humid stuff. Its a wet cold. This week we had a zone meeting. It was powerful and honestly, life changing. It was much needed since i felt like i was getting used to his whole mission things (2 months out! What..). That meeting was life changing and made me realize all that i needed to work on and change. Just when i thought i was doing good i realized there are things i need to be doing better. That meeting set the meeting for this entire week. My comp and I decided to be "all in."

That dedication and that drive to show heavenly father we are serious, made us candidates for blessings.

On the coldest day of the week, we had a lot of finding/tracting events planned. It was cold. So cold i think thats why my comp got sick...haha. We went to visit the people we had planned and we did brave things. We approached a non hispanic lady walking her dog (so wild) and asked if she knew her neighbors. We knocked on all doors that had the slightest look of hispanic decent haha. We knocked on houses that had toys laid out, dish 500, and all those fun things. When we didn't find hispanics we asked if they knew their neighbors and if they were hispanic. At the end of the day there wasn't a whole lot of success. BUT! The next day...

At our branch christmas party we a member come up to us and say, "sisters, im bringing a friend to church. I just asked him to come and he said yes! Just so you sister know." We were in shock! 20 min later a member come up to us and says, "I have 3 families i want you to teach." I about wet myself. Was this really happening? The fun doesn't end there. We get to our apartment earlier than usual. My comp is dying from a cold and we get a text from a member not in our branch. He says, "sisters i have a friend coming over to my house for dinner tomorrow. i want you to be there. i feel like you should teach her. I feel like sister missionaries will do well with her. come to my house for dinner tomorrow?" Im not making this up people. As i was reading that text message to my comp, she thought i was kidding. She said, "this is something you hear and see in the Mission District videos! what is happening!!?" Miracles. I have such a testimony of the blessings that come from obedience. When we obey God's commandments, he is bound to bless us. It is his law and his promise.

About the Christmas tree...we didnt have one. I was pretty upset. We found a saw in our closet the other day while looking for a christmas tree. As a joke we said we would cut a small one out in the woods. Towards the end of the week we actually considered it, we were getting pretty desperate hah. But no worries, no law as broken. A member who we had dinner with this week overheard we didnt have one and so this sunday they  brought us one. Another member who is moving and cleaning out her house gave us a box of Christmas decorations. We now have a christmas tree :)

I love being a missionary. I realized this week after zone meeting, while i was feeling overwhelmed with the changes i had to make, that never again will my life be dedicated to this. To bettering myself in developing Christ-like attributes. I dont have school or work or anything else to worry about but the gospel. The gospel is my life. I love this. I love being in this work. There is no greater work. I love seeing how true the gospel is everywhere you  go.

I hope you all have a wonderful christmas and serve others. Light the World!

-Hermana Garcia

Gate City Branch (SP)

1. My Oliver slippers  and the tree, yayyy.

 2. With Jose Octavo. He was baptized the week before I got here. We have been teaching him the lessons after his baptism.

3. One cold day we were passing by a Baptist Church y saw the sign for the pastor and well...

4. Rogelio! Oh how we love him. He couldnt come to church so we spoke with him through Facebook and we read the Book of Mormon. We asked him to smile for the photo. Doesn't he look happy?

The Lost Name Tag, The Chicken in the Rain, Using FB to Teach, 1 month In NC

I needed an interesting title to intrigue :)

This week wasn't super eventful, which did make things kind of frustratig since i felt as if i wasn't doing anything. I'll share some of my favorite things that happened.

-On Tuesday i couldn't find my favorite nametag (i had a backup) and i was really sad. I prayed and prayed i would find it, but i felt as if i found the nametag in parts. I found  the magnet part of it one day, but not the actual thing. This taught me to pray fervently and to pray not only to find it, but to for the belief I actually would. 4 days passed until i actually did find it. It had dropped in a memebers yard, proabably while i was taking my shoulder bag off. It was such a miracle and i knew that this week i was suppose to learn the importance of prayer.

On saturday night, as my comp and i were planning, she said we needed to pray for new investigators. With Rogelio being baptized soon, we need new progessing invetigators.  With that in mind, i prayed that we would be blessed with the willingness to work and find, and for us to prove to God that he can trust us with new people to teach. On Sunday, we had 3 invetigators come. Because they fulfilled their commitemet and they accepted a return appointment, that day we gained 3 new progessingn invetigators. Miralces happen :)

-This week it rained a lot. It was cold rain and we were walking in the trailer park neighbourhood since we had several people in the area. No one was opening and we were both cold and wet and a little tired. Just then, as we're turning from the door to the street...comes a chicken. A chicken :) I can't help but laugh at how strange it is. My comp and i started laughing and joking and start taking pictures and have a blast, in the middle of a rainstorm with a chicken on the road. I love the tender mercies we see during the day. The way we laugh at the most random things, the way our conversations become something inspired and meaningful, and the way all things denote there is a God.

I am blessed to be part of a mission where we are allowed to use Facebook to proselyte. Only 10 mission in the world are FB missions. Our on date investigator wasnt able to come to church, but we were able to fb video chat and read the Book of Mormon! It was so fun and such a neat experience.

I learned this week that missionary work is something that should be enjoyed. Although not all weeks will be super successful, or eventful, its important to laugh and have fun and enjoy the minor details of our life. Im grateful for facebook, for the chicken who crossed the road (hah) and for the power of prayer. I know that through prayer we connect with our Heavenly Father. That time is so sacred, so personal and so needed in our lives. We need prayer because God needs to hear from his children. I love being a missionay and having lived in North Carolina for 1 month! Such a beautiful state :)

-Hermana Garcia