September 28, 2015

I am out of time, but I wanted you to know that this last week was amazing.  We have been working hard and Heavenly Father is blessing us so much.  Roberto and Joana and there whole family went to church on Sunday... they took up an entire bench and we handed out coloring paper and pencils to draw and stay still... and it was so amazing to see Roberto and Joana look so attently and listen to the speakers and the spirit.  In Relief Society they announced their marriage and that we will be having a little party here in the church... and Joana thanked everyone and began to cry.  She told about how she grew up in the street and begged for money and washed cars and was raised in an orphanage because she was abused by her family.  She didn`t go into much detail, but said, "When I didn`t want to exist anymore, and didn`t know if God existed, I came here And I feel so good here and I am so grateful. And now I have the energy and patience that I need to raise the children in my home and sit down and do homeowork with them, and keep working in the little store we have (kiosko)."  Easy to say there was not a dry eye there and the whole room was so moved... and I love the work of salvation with all my heart.

Love you so much... Hermana Eleanor Briggs

September 21, 2015

Just pictures this week! :)

Melani turned 8 years old! We are teaching her and her family. 

Flying a kite hahah (it's called a comet in Spanish)

My companion made me Arroz Chaufa...so yummy 

September 8, 2015

Hola familia!  I don`t have my card reader to send pictures today... but next week I will send a bunch.

We had transfers and I stayed in La Florida!! I am so grateful... I know that this is where I need to be.  We have a lot of work to do and I love being here with these amazing and humble people.  My new companion is Hermana Valencia from Lima, Peru!!  She is so cute and sweet and tiny... and is an amazing cook and missionary!  We will be sister training leaders together still... which I am still loving as well.  

This Sunday in one word would be MIRACULOUS.  I know that when we keep the commandments, defend what is right, and work hard.... the blessings come.  They really do.  Three months ago when Hermana Knapp and I arrived to this area together and didn`t know anyone or anything, we found this family... I wrote about them one time... the two boys are named Nico (14) and Jesus (12) and are living with their older sister because both of their parents died.  Well all of them and their little sisters have been begging us to baptize them... though the parents didn`t want anything to do with us.  But Saturday night, right before transfers, we passed by the house and talked with the mom.  And she said, "Yes you can baptize my children." 

"We aren`t going to do anything unless you come to church... because you at least need to know what it is that your children and brothers are doing," the words just came out.

Sunday morning we went by the house... and thye were all ready to go!  They were all brushing their hair and putting their tennis shoes on!  The sun was out and it was so beautiful as we walked to church together.  And when we got their, and Joana (the mom) walked in, she said, "Wow their is a lot of peace in here."  

We sat down in the sacrament room and the members were so sweet and said hi to them.  When the time came for the testimony meeting... a little boy that is 10 -years-old named Jeremìas went up.  He is deaf and severely handicapped... and he went up and tried his best to speak.  And the spirit flooded the room... touching every one of us.  We could see that he had so much to say... he knows so much... and the spirit testified of the little noises that he was able to make with his mouth.  When he finished, his little brother (8-years-old) went up and said, "Amen," to close his brothers testimony.  I looked at Joana and she was crying (along with everyone else in the room).  And Delfina, the little investigator that is 10-years-old, leaned over to me and said, "Can I go up there?"  I told her she could but I asked her what it was that she wanted to say... and gave her a few ideas of how to share her testimony.

She walked right up there, and through her tears, said, "I am grateful that my mom is here and for the missionaries that brought us here.  Because the truth is... I feel really good and I am so happy. Amen."

It was so amazing... needless to say one of the greatest moments ever.  We talked to Joana after the meeting and asked why her brother Nico didn`t come, and she said, "He was embarrassed because he doesn`t have shoes."  All this time we thought that he was avoiding us because he felt pressured... but it was because he has been embarrassed about not having shoes.

I am so grateful for prayer... I know that the prayers of the children are strongest.  And that God heard the prayers of the little kids in this family... and sent us to teach them the way back to Him.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

August 31, 2015

This week was amazing... and Sunday was one of the best weeks of my life.

So we had a Stake Conference with a live satelite feed where Elder Cook and Elder Hales were speaking to the area.  And I am in the Rosario North Stake... which is where three of my areas are.  Here.... I will give you a visual.

Capitan Bermudez________________La Florida________Alberdi__________________mission home

The line is the main street that takes you all the way to downtown... and it is a straight shot to my three areas.  So I went to the conference... and EVERYONE was there!!  Investigators and converts and members... it was so beautiful.  I got to hug so many people that I haven`t seen in so long.  Lots of tears.  Daniela Carballo and her family sat next to me! It was so amazing.  This is the family that I met in Capitan Bermudez in the beginning of my mission.  They had been inactive for a long time... and at the end of my time there they began to attend the meetings.  Her husband is now Ward Mission Leader, and Daniela is in the Relief Society Presidency, and her son is going to be baptized this week, and her other son is going on a mission!!

It is an unspeakable and indescribable type of joy.  Heavenly Father allowed me to see some of the fruits of things that have happened... and they were much greater than I could ever have imagined.  Also, one of our investigators came IN A SUIT!!  He got all dressed up and went with his wife... who is our Relief Society President!  His name is Julian, and last week we had a Family Home Evening with him and Presidente and Hermana Zanni.  It was so amazing... the spirit was so strong.  Julian has received his witness many times that he needs to be baptized... for ten years he has known and spoken with the missionaries.  He has repeatedly told us that he wants to be baptized, but says that not right now.  Some of the most powerful lessons I have ever had have been with him and his amazing wife, Mariana.  She works so hard to help all of the hermanas as relief society president!  Last week we spoke to her and she told us of her saddness that she feels when she goes home and knows that she won`t be able to be with her family forever... it was one of the most heart-wrenching but empowering conversations I`ve ever had.  

We taught about "Why we need the Atonement" and shared personal experiences and read John 3:16. President and Julian talked for a while, and I held Mariana`s hand because she was so nervous for what was going to happen.  At he end, he didn`t pick a date to be baptized... but he is praying for one.  I know he will be a leader in the church one day... he is so hard-working and sensitive to the spirit... we are just waiting for the day that he calls us up!  Mean time, we will keep on teaching him and his sweet family.  The spirit tells us to keep going with them.

I am so grateful for these experiences.  I wish I could express the love and joy and hope and faith that I have felt... but I can`t.  Maybe some of the pictures can show it!  I think everyone has experienced little things like this... glimpses of what is to come in the Celestial Kingdom if we endure to the end and help others along the way.

Love, Hermana Eleanor Briggs

August 24,2015

It was a week of many travels and good times.  I loved being with some great hermanas when I went on divisions to a couple of different pueblos, but it was nice to get back to my area for the weekend and see the faces of so many people here that I love.  When I pulled up to our little tiny barred-in house in the taxi, I almost started crying because it felt so good to be "home."

One of the highlights of this week was seeing the little 10-year-old girls hug each other in church when our investigators arrived.  The little children are so perfect!  They just become fast friends and are quick to forgive and don`t judge anyone.  They sense a good person.  It was so cute to see Bianca, who has been abused and hurt by her family from the time she was little, be taken in loving arms from the primary teachers and her new friends.  She had such a wide smile on her face, and skipped to her class.  

These are things that I will never forget.