Hello family!!! I hope you are all doing well and that this has
been a great week. I feel like I always say that, but I really mean it!
Well, I´m writing you with tears in my eyes. But good tears; really
good tears. I feel so happy and so blessed, I don´t even know where to
begin, I don´t know how to explain how I feel.
Right now, I´m sitting in Surco. The place where I started my
mission. I´m here because we had to do divisions today so that my
companion can go to the doctor. So I´m here, in my very first area,
almost a year later. As I was walking in the streets, I realized how
different I am. When I started the mission, I was still so stubborn, a
little too confident, and super prideful. Now, that doesn´t mean that
I´m not still a little stubborn (still got lots of flaws....) but as I
was walking around in these streets that I know like the back of my
hand, I really felt that in the course of my mission, I have changed and
grown and learned so much. It´s been over a year! Sometimes I can´t
believe that a whole year has already passed, and I feel
like it was just yesterday that I stepped off the plane, taking my first
steps in a foreign land. I feel so happy, and I feel like God has
blessed me SO much! It´s really just incredible.
I wanted to share an experience that we had this week. On Wednesday
morning, we received a call from a sister that lives in a different
area, but she had communicated with the missionaries in her ward and
they gave her our number, and she called and told us that there was an
emergency and that she needed us to go visit one of her friends. She
lives in a city called La Molina, and we live in San Luis, but she works
in our area with this guy. She explained what was happening, and her
friend´s dad had already had cancer for a while, but it had gotten
really serious and in the past few days it had really taken over his
body and he was going die within a few hours. So she told us to go to
her friend´s house at 6 in the evening, and we went with the elders so
that they could give the dad a blessing, as well as the members of their
family. So remember that in the church, men hold the priesthood of God,
which is the power to act in His name with the intention of blessing
God´s children. They literally can bless people in God´s name, the
blessing being the words that God wishes to communicate with the person
receiving the blessing. (I hope you understand my horrible
English...it´s getting bad, sorry). When we walked into the house, it
was such a sad scene. The dad was lying in his bed, perked up by
pillows and attached to an oxygen tank thing, and he was already
unconscious and totally out of it. It was really hard to see. And his
kids, who are about 25 and 30 years old, just looked so sad. The look in
their eyes was one of real pain and sadness, and tears just sprung to
my eyes. We explained to them what we were going to do, what the
Priesthood is and the reasons why we were here as missionaries...to be
able to serve all people and invite them to come unto Jesus Christ. The
Elders gave a blessing to the dad, and afterwards gave a blessing to the
son (Jose) and the daughter (named "Lluvia" which means "rain" in
English. cool name, right?) As soon as the Elder said the word "Amen" in
the last blessing, the whole atmosphere of in the house changed. We all
just kind of sat there for a minute, and looked at each other almost in
shock for how strongly we felt the Spirit. It was a feeling that I´ll
never forget. Afterwards, we sat down and spoke with them for a little
while, explained a little bit about the Plan of Salvation, and scheduled
another appointment to go back another day. Jose and Lluvia thanked us,
and we left. When we were all outside (the 4 of us, with the elders) we
just stood there for a minute smiling, with tears in our eyes. It was a
moment when all 4 of us really felt that God had led us to that family
and that they were ready to receive the gospel.
A few days later, we received a call from Jose and he told us that
that same night his dad passed away. But in his own words, he said
that he "felt a great peace" and that after we left, a feeling of calm
and peace had filled them with hope. When at one point they were so
devastated, they felt that they could accept the passing of their
father, and felt that they had been changed by what happened that night.
So, now what? You can probably assume that we are teaching this
family. You´re right! :) We visited them yesterday, and explained to
them how the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored in these days by
the prophet Joseph Smith. We taught them from beginning, and when we
finished, they were all smiling and kept saying how they had been
searching for the truth for so long and that they´ve finally found it.
We´re going to keep visiting them and help them reach the point when
they decided to follow the Savior and get baptized in His church.
That´s just one of the miracles that I´ve seen on my mission. But
it´s a real miracle! THAT is a miracle. We have to find the sister who
called us and thank her, and tell her how much has happened since that
call she made, looking for someone to help her friend.
It makes me think of how my dear friend Emma Lattin invited me to
church not so long ago. And, how even before that, Shelby
Barton had invited me. I too was one of those people that needed to find
God and find the truth. Through Emma and the entire Lattin family, all
of the members of the Orchard Ward, and the missionaries that had so
much patience with me, I too was able to come to know the truth.
Do you not see how true it all is? To me, it´s just too simple. I
feel so blessed to be a missionary, to be able to testify of Jesus Christ
and get to know so many wonderful people. Life is hard, and we all of
trials and weaknesses and temptations and doubts. But God knows His
children, and He has a plan for them.
I just want you to know that I am so happy. I love being a
missionary, and I wish this time of my life never had to end. I also
understand that someday you´d like me to come home ... ;) Just don´t worry
about me. Everything is great here; I´m happier than I´ve ever been in
my life.
I hope that you can learn to trust in God, and look for answers to
your questions. Have faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and always
believe in miracles. One of my favorite scriptures says it all
perfectly: "...this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people... yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land. Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen." (Alma 26 36-37)
That is literally exactly how I feel. I am a wanderer in a
strange land, just like Ammon was so long ago. But it´s okay, because
God is mindful of me, just as He is of each of you.
I hope you each have a great week! Remember that I love you SO much!!!
All my love,
Hermana Michelle Scott
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