October 5, 2015

Well I just stuck my memory card into the hard drive send pictures to you guys and long story short it is stuck in a little tiny hole and I can`t get it out... so we are trying to call someone and take it apart.  I am trying to not let it worry me... the fact that it has every picture of my whole mission on it (I have a thumb drive with most of the pictures, but not all of them).  Lets pray so that we can get it out okay!

We had a good week.  We are in the process of helping a couple get married and baptize their family... but it is hard because she smokes a lot and he has had many problems with Cocaine.  I´m not going to lie... it is hard to see them go through so many challenges, and to see the effects of addiction and poor choices made by parents.  The mother of the woman that needs to get married (we will call the woman Wendy and her mom Martha) had her when she was 12-years-old, and her dad was 18.  Martha died when she was 34-years-old from HIV, leaving behind 5 children.  We are teaching three of these children... and I have never seen a light so strongly as I have in some of them.  They YEARN to learn more about the gospel and do things right... they set their own goals and try to accomplish them.  We are constantly going by their home... trying to help them trust in the Lord and strengthen their relationship with Him.  I feel like a cheerleader... telling them not to give up every time that they fall down.  And they fall down A LOT.  They are hard changes that they are trying to make... last night we went over after the General Conference.  We were so filled with the spirit, and we sat down with them and had the children leave the room so that we could talk with the parents. It moment, I began to feel scared and that I couldn`t possibly speak with the authority and power that I needed... and I thought, "I wish that I had one of the apostles here to do this work."  And immediately another thought, not made by my own being, said, "You are called here to do this work."  I felt the strength come to me.. to the both of us.. and we trusted in the Lord and were given the words to say to help counsel a couple in things that neither of us have experienced before.  There were tears and hugs and shouting at times... but we kept ourselves close to the spirit and I have rarely seen a movement in the atmosphere such as I saw last night... as the spirit shifted everything and made us all aware that God has a plan far greater that our own.  And that the Atonement is can unbind us from any sickness or sin.  And that Godly love is stronger than that of any other being.

I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost.  It is what moves between and within all of us, allowing us to do the will of the Lord and be greater than we ever could be alone.  It testified to me that the Elders Redlung, Stevenson, and Rasband are truly called of God to do His work here on the Earth.  And that God expects us to love Him always and serve Him even when we are going through hard things.  I know that He lives and directs this church.

Love you all so much.  

Love, Hermana Eleanor Briggs

Zone Conference!