I'm sure that I am learning more than "mi hija"

Feb 26, 2011

Hello there family,

These have been some of the best few days of the mission. I can feel a change happening me. It´s pretty neat. I thought I loved the mission, but the last few weeks, I can just feel even deeper every day the blessing of this service. I wake up so happy every day, to get up and get out there and share this message.

The last few days of training have been such a great experience. I know that I am learning more from her than she is learning from me, but at the same time, she is learning so MUCH! (I´m just learning more...is that unfair to say?...I don´t know, but I´m sure it´s true). It has been such a testimony to me that the Lord calls those that have the desire to serve, and then He qualifies them for the work. She has grown leaps and bounds in just 3 days. I tell her, and she humbly denies it. Maybe she can´t tell, but I have the front row seat and I am just amazed at how great the learning curve is on the mission. I can already tell her Spanish is improving, her teaching skills, her sensitivity to the Spirit, her testimony, her understanding...she is growing so much! It is really cool to stop and think about. I think of the past year, and the progress that I have made in only one year. Not just as a missionary, but as a person, as a daughter of God. Now I know why we serve missions. If I had chosen not to serve a mission, I think that it would have taken me many, many, many....MANY years to make this progress. I have been changed...and it really has nothing to do with me. It has to do with the Atonement. Thanks to Jesus Christ, we can change. We can be better. We can get up every morning and try our best, and go to bed every night and promise to try even harder the next day. What a blessing! Tell the world about it!

We have a new bishop in the ward. Obispo Pablo Muñoz. Last night we had a really great reunion with him, the Soc Soc presidency, and our Ward mission leader. He is very passionate about getting the members to be missionaries. He is having every organization think of ways that they can help those that we teach, and even more give references of those that we can teach. I am SO impressed with the fire that Obispo Muñoz has for the work. He served in this mission many years ago, and so he knows what it takes to have success. I am very excited to really get the ward excited for the work. Hermana Baum and I saw some great progress the last cambio, and with this new push for the work from the Obispo, I know we´ll continue to see it grow. I KNOW that if every member of the Church obeyed the commandment given to be a missionary, there would so much less problems. Just think if the whole ward acted, served, prayed, studied, testified like missionaries do....how much better off would we be? How much happier would we be? A lot. Think about it. It´s a commandment. When we obey, we receive great blessings. BE MEMBER MISSIONARIES! IT¨S SO WORTH IT!

I am just so happy. We are seeing a lot of great progress here in this sector. I feel blessed to be a witness of it. I am grateful for the miracles that we see every day. I love this. And yes, it is all that I hope for, and so very much more. Thank you for the support and love and letters of encouragement for the last year. Thank you for making this possible for me, and thank you for preparing me for this for the last 22 years. I love you all. Have a great week, and please keep praying for us. (We found 2 more families this week...de oro...milagros) Prayers are answered.


--LOVE--

Hermana Bertagnole