Learning to see the miracles

Hey familia mia,

I just want to say that I am sorry that I wrote kind of a downer letter last week. I was just having a little bit of a lapse of faith. But I want you all to know that I really appreciate your letters and your pump up. It helps a ton. I really can´t thank you all enough for your support and faith in me.

I am glad to hear that things are really going alright back at home. I am pumped to hear about all the missionaries going out from our stake. That is AWESOME! I need all the company I can get up on that bulletin board .

Well, this week was such a great blessing in my life. I think that I really learned some great lessons this week. Remember how last week was just hard? This week was too....we didn´t really see much difference until Saturday. I decided to just buck up and buckle down. We worked really hard this week. We tried to plan really well, and make sure that we had people planned out to back up our goals. Every night I was just wiped out. It felt so good. The week was really not looking that great, but Saturday it took an incredible turn. We went out with the Zone Leaders to a cita. And one of them fell through so we were knocking doors. We split up. We found a mom, daughter, and granddaughter that are AWESOME. The mom´s grandmother used to read from "this book" about Jesus. I asked her what book it was, and she didn´t know (I don´t think her Grandma was Mormon...but just had a Book of Mormon). I pulled out the Book of Mormon to show her and she lit up...she said "eso es!!!" That was the book! It was neat. We are really excited to go back and teach. They are named Bernarda and Daniela. Pray for them. They are prepared. The zone leaders found some people, too, that may or may not be promising...we went to teach some of them and they weren´t hugely receptive, but maybe it was just bad timing. We´re going back to try and teach again this week.

Then yesterday, everything in the afternoon fell through again. But it led us to someone that was a miracle. A young mother named Alejandra and her 9 year old son Pablo. We started the lesson, and I just told her...you know, we are going to ask you to be baptized, but really we want you to understand why. I don´t know why I started the lesson like that. I never have before, and initially we were just going to teach about the Book of Mormon. She began to talk about her life and how it´s been very difficult. The father of Pablo was abusive to her and so she left him when Pablo was 3 and began working in a job that, as she explained, "no woman should ever work...if you understand what I´m saying." She said that she soon quit, and just felt so ashamed. She said that every day since then she has pleaded with the Lord to forgive her. She told us that she just doesn´t know what she can do to be forgiven. My heart broke for her and the pain that she has felt for that sin. She said that all she really wants is to be an example for her son and raise him well. Needless to say, we taught baptism and the remission of sin. We invited her and her son to be baptized together. She seemed so excited. I can´t wait to go back and teach. She seems very happy to learn more. She thanked us so much for being missionaries and teaching her. It was neat.

Later last night we taught Claudia´s friend Cristina. Awesome. Between the two of them, I am picking up a lot of signs...I signed for her during Sunday school the other day, and I surprised myself that I knew so much Gospel words in signs! (OH! Parenthesis: So yesterday during testimony meeting Claudia stood up and bore her testimony. That was a miracle. She spoke and signed at the same time. She has such a powerful testimony, and we were all (us and the members) were just in awe...crying and so impressed with her and her spirit. SO rewarding to see that.) Anyway...yeah, so last night we taught Christina. She is living with her boyfriend right now (and actually he was baptized when he was a boy, but has never really gone to church), but we invited her to get baptized on Christmas day! How cool is that!? We figured that that would give us enough time to teach them all that they need to know and also get married, or move out...whichever. But it was a neat lesson. We invited her to be baptized in sign language....who´d have thunk!? :)

It was a good week. Many lessons learned. Many miracles seen. We are so blessed to know what we know. Fight for it. Fight to keep the Spirit and the Faith. Never let it go for anything. Para nada.

Well, that pretty much sums up my week. Good stuff. I love the mission. Full of good stuff.

I love you all tons. Thank you for it all. Miss you. Keep up the good work. Don´t for get to be member missionaries!!!!! Help the missionaries. They need it. Happily serve them, because they are happily trying their best to serve you! LOVE YOU ALL.

-Hermana Bertagnole