Blessed

Hola Familia, The weeks just go by so so quickly. I dont even know what to do. We have had a good week other than the fact that I have a little cold. I have had some really special experiences this week that are moments that I will remember forever. It is amazing how much one can learn in just one week. Ill give you a little update about the investigators and everything that is going on in the area. Adan really is such a golden investigator. We had some special moments teaching him this week. He is still on track to be baptized February 14th. This week we taught him about the plan of salvation and he really liked talking about his purpose that he has in this life. He is like 62 i think and he always is joking that he is going to live atleast for 50 more years because God has a plan for him haha. But after the lesson we asked him if he had any questions about what we had taught and he said no but he was like "well i dont have a question about this.....but well the other night i had a dream and i dont know...in my dream Hna Timoteo was hear teaching and reading the bible with me, but hna groneman you werent there....i dont know....why wouldnt you be there?" ....me and hermana timoteo just looked at each other and i definitely started to tear up and then i continued to tell him that im finishing the mission in a few weeks and we explained to him that missionaries will always be here to support him and everything, but as we told him that he started crying too. It was a really touching moment and hard to realize im going to have to leave people. But after when we were leaving he was like "but these are happy tears because i know that you have helped me in my life". the whole experience was something to remember. Also he has been doing good stopping to drink coffee :) thats been the only thing but he wants to drop it completely so its not a problem. The other day we asked him "what do you need to do hermano to prepare for the day when we will all be judged?" and he was like "well i need to stop drinking coffee" hahah thats a first that someone actually really understood the importance to drop that. He is so great and he loves church. Also this week the familia posadas went to church again. I wasnt actually sure if they were going to go. I dont think they are going to end up getting baptized before i leave but iknow one day they will. They just have sooo many questions and they just want to be sure. We have some good plans for how we are going to help them with their testimonies. But they are such great people. It is just patience. They are a family super special to me and I know one day they will be baptized. Everything is going super well with my companion hna timoteo. We had some special moments together this week. She is getting really nervous for me to leave and be in charge of the area but i know she´ll do great. This week we had intercambios with the hna leaders and I went with hna murray (who also goes home with me) to her area and hna timoteo stayed here in the area with the other hna leader. She did a great job leading the area. but she is just so cute and im glad to know i have made a difference in helping her. the other day she kind of yelled at me saying "what are you thinking?? you CANT just leave me like this!" hahahahhaa. she is such a sweetie. Anyways all is well Im just feeling so so grateful for all of the blessings the I have received in this last week. We really are so blessed to have this gospel. Love you all so much! Hermana Groneman

The Highs and Lows

Hola familia, I have come to the conclusion that the hardest weeks are always the most spiritual. And also the weeks that we end up having the most miracles. And that was definitely this week. To start off the beginning of the week was pretty tough. After tuesday and wednesday I was feeling pretty discouraged and down in my faith. The days are so tiring and I just didnt know what to do. Thursday morning we had a normal morning studying and all and then we had lunch and as we were getting ready to leave the house I was just feeling so down. I felt like I had no faith and I knew I couldnt leave the house like that. So I went to Hna Timoteo and I asked her if she wanted to fast. She happily agreed and we decided to fast specifically that we could just bring people to church this sunday. As we knelt down and as I started to pray I literally felt the faith grown inside me. i dont think I have ever felt anything like that before but i felt the faith fill my whole body. It was a testimony to me that God will help us in our weaknesses if we come unto Him. As we left the house I felt more hope and was ready to work. Turns out after that we had one of the worst days the whole week. The whole afternoon we walked and walked and walked. The sun was blazing and the only people who received us only let us in because its "la palabra de Dios". Really they didnt want anything. But the whole day I focused on my purpose to fast to bring new people to church. at the end of the day all of our appointments and plans had fallen through and all of the people close to us in that area had already told us they couldnt receive us. it was 8:15pm and we left some recent converts house. Honestly in my mind I just wanted to head in. I felt like there was no one who would receive us and i honestly felt like I couldnt walk another step. but i knew that wasnt an option. I knew we had to keep working to the last hour and that the Lord would bless us. As we left the house of the converts I also knew that I had to show more faith to my companion and be more positive even if it was just to be an example for her. So as we left I said "We are going to find a family!" even though i had no idea where. we started walking and we knocked two doors. The second door a lady answered and let us in. Inside was her husband and their kids. I knew it was an answer to my prayer. Turns out she was baptized when she was younger but her husband isnt a member. They have passed through some really hard trials and i know God sent us there for a reason. We are going back to visit them tonight. I felt so grateful when we ended the day for everything I had learned and really because I know the Lord is at my side helping me through. Then to end the week we had lots of miracles happen that I know were for our fast. We had a guy named Adan who came to church. We contacted him last sunday and he is golden. he has had lots of addictions in his life but he has managed to get rid of them all. in the past 4 months he been going to a group for Alcoholics...and he says it has helped a lot but he knows he also needs to search for God. He had a great experience at church. He knew a lot of people, he says its different from the other churches, and he says he really felt the spirit there. When we got to church in the morning he was waiting outside the church reading the book of mormon. Sunday afternoon we went to visit him and he has accepted to be baptized February 14th! i am just praying that all goes well, but he is so great and open to us. He is like 66 years old or something like that and he lives at the very top of a hill that we have to hike up. My comp loves it when he prays because he always thanks God for sending him the "dos angelitos". Also saturday we were out visiting with a member and he wanted to go visit the familia Posadas ( i dont know if you guys remember them) we kind of have stopped visiting them for a few weeks because we werent really sure if they were progressing. When we got there they were super excited to see us. Mario shared that he is really grateful for us and that we are really special people in our lives. he told us that he prays for our safety every day. also Carmen when we were leaving told me that she has missed going to church and that they were going to go tomorrow. And what do you know Sunday they came to church. I wasnt sure if they were actually going to come. When they were leaving Carmen asked me "where do they do the baptisms....and when do they do them??" So I showed her the baptismal font and she told me that during sacrament meeting she felt like she wants to get baptized. That was a huge turn for them. they have always been so doubtful about everything. We visited them with the elders sunday afternoon and we invited them to be baptized on the 7th of February. I am praying with all my heart because this family is super special to me and I want to be here for it. The elders also gave them blessings because they have had lots of problems with their health. Anyways things turned around this week. Im super excited for these people and I feel so blessed to have met these people. All is going well. I love the mission. I love how hard it is because in the end it makes it all worth it. Love you all. Take care! xoxox Hermana Groneman