The Gospel Makes Us TRULY Happy‏!

29 Febrero 2016

This week has been full of miracles! Seriously, I am so happy to be here in Lovely (bipolar weather) Potosi teaching such amazing people about the joy that the gospel of Christ can bring to our lives! It truly amazes me how the love of God and His gospel are so connected! He wants us to be happy and He wants the best for us. He gives us so much direction for our lives and what we can do to be happy and return to Him after this life. That’s why He gives us commandments and things that we need to complete in this life. It is our everyday decisions that we make that decides if we are truly happy or not. I’m not talking about a short little burst of happiness but long term happiness that lasts for all this life and afterwards as well.

I am seeing this change in the lives of all of the people that we are teaching right now... It is AMAZING to see that according to how much they learn and act on the gospel principles that God has given us that they have so much more happiness in their lives. A happiness that is profound and truly can only come from our loving Heavenly Father.

To update you all- Estefani is doing great! We are getting her ready for her baptism and although some of her family doesn’t support her, she truly feels the support and love of the members here and is preparing herself to be baptized. And Katia seems more and more happy every week. It’s just great! I can’t wait to see more of her progress and how this gospel gives her joy in her life!"

Love you all! have a great week! From Lovely Potosi,

Hermana Mather

CARROTS!!! YUM

Our kitchen is full of fruit and veggies to make our dinners! Yay!

This is when we had a bunch of time so we make face masks out of cornstarch.
I think it worked ;d
At least we had a bunch of fun!

A few of the people that we are teaching! I love these kiddos!

The juices are in little bags here!
They are SOOOOOOO good!
Love Pilfrut!

The FREE Love of God‏

22 Febrero 2016

This week has been a little different from the usual. There were re-elections in Bolivia to change the government and it was quite heated for a few of the days. We were stuck in the house doing nothing... or finding things to do ;D




We are teaching AMAZING people right now! I honestly love the people here! Two of the people that we are teaching right now are Stefany and Katia.

Stefany is a miracle! Her friend brought her to a church activity to see the movie ´Meet the Mormons´. The first time that we talked to her she told us all about how she is part of another church but never felt full going there. And how, when she when to the church and saw the movie and then when to church the next Sunday, she felt full and that it just touched her heart. The first time that she came to church she stood up to introduce herself in one of the classes and she talked about how she loves how she feels in the church and after learning more she would like to be baptized! So GREAT!

And then there is Katia. She is going through so many hard times right now. She is pregnant and has 2 other kids (ages 14 and 4) and her husband left her. Right now she is struggling and works super hard trying to make ends meet, but she is so open to the love of God and the plan that He has for her. I love her so much and want the best for her. I can only imagine Heavenly Father and how much He loves her and what blessings He is saving for her in the heavens.

This week I have learned a lot more about the love of God for all of us. It is free. it is unconditional and it is perfect. For every single one of us it is available and ready. We just have to reach out to receive it. There are times where it is hard in this life to feel of His love, but I KNOW that He loves every single one of us and wants the best for us. He loves us so much that at times He watches us go through hard times because He knows that we can become better and rely more on Him through these experiences. His love is there for you and for me and for everyone that surrounds us. We just have to be ready and waiting to receive it.

I love you all and wish you the best this week!

Hermana Mather

The Purpose of Weaknesses

15 Febrero 2016

This week was great! In a lot of South America, it is the time of Carnival (where the houses and cars are decorated and during this week EVERYONE tries to get everyone else wet. There are kids in the streets with water balloons and foam spray and it smells like BBQ everywhere because everyone eats ´parrillada´ during carnival. Its super fun ;D  One day we were told that we couldn’t work because EVERYONE would be getting us wet. So, when we went to lunch at our pension we joined in on the fun!

To update you on the people that we are teaching, there is one girl that her friend brought her to an activity and ever since she has said that being there really touched her heart. She is amazing! Her name is Stefany and she has such amazing goals for her and her life. After she learns more about the gospel, she wants to share it with all of her family and she is going to be baptized soon!

Another family that we are teaching (I still don’t have pictures with them- I’ll send it next week) is the family Pimentel. They have been through so much in their lives. They lost their dad, one of the daughters was run over by a car, and one of the little boys was sick in the same month a year ago. These huge events in their lives changed their perspective on life.  They realized that they had to turn to the Lord to have the strength to go on.  And now that they are learning more about the gospel.  They are so happy and so ready to learn more!

Wow. It is so amazing what I learned this week. I feel like I´ve always known but it didn’t really click until now...

I don’t know about you, but I really want to be perfect sometimes and when I fall short I think to myself: ´Why?´,´Why can’t I do it?’, ‘What am I doing wrong?´. But I know why we have weaknesses. If I didn’t have weaknesses I wouldn’t confide in the Lord. I wouldn’t need the enabling power of the Atonement in my life. Through my weaknesses I am strong because I confide in the Lord and not in the arm of flesh (there is a scripture in the biblia that says that ;D)

It’s just like in 2 Nephi 4, Nefi [Nephi] is someone we all think is patient, faithful, strong in his testimony and he is a prophet of the Lord! But he too had weaknesses that made him feel sad that he too was human and made mistakes. BUT we are not here to fail! We are here to succeed triumphantly (Realize Your Full Potential by Elder Richard G Scott). The love of God can fill us until it can perfect us.

We are not perfect, but we are not meant to be. We are meant to search for the word of God, follow His footsteps, put our confidence in Him and ALWAYS progress forward. The purpose of this life is not to become perfect but to become complete, become better, and become more like our Father in Heaven.

I love you all and wish you the best in your week! If you want to read more about this, read 2 Nephi 4:33-34 (or the whole chapter) and The Challenge to Become by Elder Dallin H Oaks.

We ate pears and cactus! Cactus is delicious!

Mi and my compi with pollitos (chickens)!

You Raise Me Up‏!

8 Febrero 2016

This week has been so amazing! I have to be honest the other week was probably one of the hardest weeks in my mission, but I can now say that there are times where the Lord has to bring us low so that the can raise us up! We have been working SO hard and it has been hard to see the results of all our labors and we went through a lot of problems and trials that we couldn’t control. We didn’t know what we were doing wrong, but I can now say that the blessings of the Lord have come. There are times where we want all of his blessings right now but it doesn’t work that way. We were able to see just a little bit of how this area is changing for the better and see that the Lord's hand is in all things. This week we found so many more people here that are prepared to hear our message and we have been blessed with so many miracles that didn’t come at the time that we wanted them but at the time that we needed them!

There are times where we don’t understand the full purposes of God for us but I know that He knows what’s the best for all of us and I trust in Him and in His grand love that He has for us. I know that He wants the best for us and at times our faith can waver in him but His faith in us never wavers. He knows who we are and why we are here. He saved us for these days in which it is SO hard because He knew that we could make the most of it and that we could take it. It may be hard now but we can do it. His blessings, miracles and mercies are waiting for us at the right time and place when we need them.

Quotes that I LOVE:

"When you push against the boundaries of experience into the twilight of the unknown, the Lord will strengthen you. The beauty of your eternal soul will strengthen you. The beauty of your eternal soul will begin to unfold." -- Elder Richard G Scott

"Everything that you are learning now is preparing you for something else." -- Marjorie Pay Hinckley

You guys are amazing! I love you all and know that you have SUCH great potential! Live your lives to the fullest and remember WHY you are here!

Love,

Hermana Mather

The Baptism of Donata!
Her rebirth (February 4 is her birthday and her baptism date)!
Do I ever love her!

My companion and I with Potosi in the background

Becoming Perfect in Christ‏

1 Febrero 2016

We are planning on a baptism this week!!! Woohoo! I am so excited! The sister missionaries had been teaching her before I got here and she was a little scared to get baptized, but now she is going to get baptized this Thursday--HER BIRTHDAY! She thought that it would be perfect to be reborn on the very day of her birth! How cool! Just like John 3:3 says baptism is a rebirth that we have to have to enter into the kingdom of god. Baptism is such a beautiful step to take. It is where we can feel clean and new just like little children and where we can take upon us the full relieving power of the atonement.

I have been focusing-in more on Christ in my scripture study and learning more about his birth.  Its never is too late for Christmas! I read an amazing talk, Becoming Perfect in Christ, which is all about how we are imperfect here on this earth but we can become better through Christ. This talk helped me better understand that we shouldn’t be perfectionists and the atonement can even free us from self-imposed expectations of perfection that cannot be reached. We have the atonement for a reason! To learn from our mistakes, repent of them and grow to become better. We can’t just expect to become better in just one day or one moment. A beautiful glorious tree doesn’t grow in one day; it takes time. Sometimes we have growing pains, but in the end it is all worth it. Being perfect is to be complete, finished or fully developed and I know that through Christ I can be completed and perfected in him.

I hope that you all have a great week and look at your imperfections in this light of that we are here on this earth to learn and grow and take advantage of the atonement of Christ!

Love ya!

Hermana Mather

Cemetery of trains! Cool, right?

My compi shrunk!

... and so did I!

Salt hotel! Super cool!

Mi and mi compi!

Our zone of Potosi at the Uyuni salt flats!
Everything is made out of salt!

We also had a birthday party this week! Little Joseline is 1 year old!