Becoming converted

HI FAMILY!

Well, let me tell you, it was the best gift in the whole world being able to see you on Christmas. Christmas as a missionary is the best. Even though we miss our families, we´re just so happy because we get to walk around talking about Jesus with everybody. And now that Christmas is over, we get to keep doing the same thing :)

I just have a small thought to share with you guys today. In the mission, we don´t just go out looking to baptize people. We go out, looking for people, and our only purpose is to help them come unto Christ and be converted to Him. The definition of "conversion" that is found in the scriptures says the following:  "Denotes changing one’s views, in a conscious acceptance of the will of God (Acts 3:19). If followed by continued faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism in water for the remission of sins, and the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, conversion will become complete and will change a natural man into a sanctified, born again, purified person—a new creature in Christ Jesus (see 2 Cor. 5:17). Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing. 

I remember that I shared this during the last talk I gave at church, about 17 months ago. Becoming converted - that is the whole point of what we do as missionaries. Obviously, we work on helping others in their conversion process, but at the end of the day, the goal is that WE become converted. Really, truly converted - a conversion that LASTS or endures. I feel like that´s happening to me. I feel like it´s definitely already happened, but it´s still happening. It´s an ever-lasting process. It never ends. But it´s the coolest thing in the world.

I know my Savior, and I love Him. He´s my friend. He´s my Savior. I feel that He is with me, and that He´s been here for each and every one of these 17 months. He´s definitely going to be able to be there for one more, don´t you think? :) He loves me, and He loves you. Even more than I do, and that´s saying a lot.

Have a great week! I love you so soon and I will talk to you soon!

All my love,

Hermana Scott

Happy Christmas!

Hello family and friends!

I am so grateful for all of the birthday and Christmas wishes that you have sent me, thank you SO much! If I didn´t reply to you, I am so sorry! But know that I am thinking about you and hoping that you also all have a wonderful Christmas. Thank you, I love you so much!

I have been thinking about one of my favorite Christmas songs the past few days. I can´t listen to it, but it´s been ingrained in my memory ever since I was 6 years old or something like that, so I can still sing parts of it in our free moments. It always helps me to 1. cry like a little baby and 2. remember what Christmas is all about...

"Sir I wanna buy these shoes for my mama please, it´s Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size. Could you hurry, sir? Daddy says there´s not much time. You see, she´s been sick for quite a while and I know these shoes will make her smile and I want her to look beautiful if mama meets Jesus tonight."

These past few days have been some of the sweetest days of my whole mission. First, my birthday, I felt SO much love from you guys, the people here, and my Heavenly Father of course. It´s been such a wonderful week, the people are happy and a little bit more willing to listen to us. We went caroling the other day with some members of the ward, and we visited all of the members that are a little bit less-active. It was so sweet to see how their faces lit up as they listened to us sing. I got choked up a lot, and I´m sure my voice sounded beautiful, but what really mattered was that these people could feel the Christmas Spirit.

I received some great news the other day! We had a little meeting in Cieneguilla with the bishop and the Elders, and as we were leaving one of my old investigators, whom I loved SO MUCH, just showed up out of the blue. We were teaching her for about 5 months, and when I left in May up until now she has been listening to the missionaries. We said hello, and she said, "Sister Scott, I have some news for you. I´m getting baptized on Saturday!!" I couldn´t believe it, I just started bawling out of pure happiness, and a bunch of the ward members came up and said hello. That same day, the brother of one of the people I taught was getting baptized, and the Spirit that we felt was so strong. We never know what can happen to someone if we share the gospel with them. Maybe we see the consequences right away, maybe months later, or maybe even years. But I feel like a genuine testimony is something that someone doesn´t forget. What a great birthday/Christmas present, right??

I just want to share with you my testimony of the Savior. I want you to know that I know my Savior. I know that He lives, and that He came to save us. I can´t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than talking about Him everyday. I love Him so much. I´ve felt His presence with me in the mission; I know that He´s always been here to keep me going. Remember Him this week; remember why we celebrate.

I love you SO MUCH and I can´t wait to see you on Skype this Thursday!!!! I love you so much, and I am grateful for all that you have done for me.

Merry Christmas! Or better perhaps, as Harry Potter & friends would say, "Happy Christmas." :)

All my love,

Hermana Scott

Happy 21st Birthday!

HELLO FAMILY! I hope you are happy! This week is going to be a good one, so get ready :)

A little bit of news for you guys: So next week, we will be celebrating Christmas as a mission. Half of the mission on the 22nd and the other half on the 23rd. The half of the mission that DOESN´T celebrate Christmas on the 22nd will call home to plan a time to Skype, and the opposite for those on the 23rd. So if I go on the 22, I will call you on the 23 and I will also go to internet that day. BUT, the inconvenient part is that tomorrow we have transfers, and I have no idea if I´m leaving or staying, so I don´t know which day I´ll be calling. So, you´re just going to have to wait patiently. :) Sorry about that. But I´ll be calling either the 22 or the 23, so make sure your phones are on! :)

Today I just have a little bit that I want to say. First of all, thank you so much for wishing me a happy birthday! I am really feeling the love, and I´m really grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life that love me so much! I love you so much too, just so you know :) I have a feeling that this, my 21st birthday, is going to be cool. Not because I´m going to receive lots of things, but because I know what really matters. Life is good, and I´m still living it! 21 years down. Almost.

The other thing I wanted to say is that this time of year is so special. I feel the Christmas Spirit every day! I get to talk about Jesus all of the time, and in this time of year, remember Him and all that He did for us. I wear His name, and I have the great blessing to represent Him at this time in my life. As we read in the Bible, HE is the gift. He is our gift. 

I love you all so much! And I can´t wait to talk to you and see you! Have a wonderful week, and I will be talking to you soon!

All my love,

Hermana Scott

An interesting P-day

HI FAMILY! I have very little time to write you. How many times have I said that before? Sorry about that :) 2 things -

1. We share a bathroom with 2 other sisters, and that bathroom just happens to be right next to our bedroom door. Today, they left early to go to use the internet, and we were still studying in our room. All of a sudden, I looked up and noticed that our room had been converted into a lake. Isn´t that cool? The toilet overflowed. But when I say overflowed, I mean it OVERFLOWED. Completely. So we got to clean that up today. But somehow, we found a way to enjoy it. Another one of those moments that God gives us to learn how to laugh, and enjoy life despite all of it´s imperfection. The good news is that we had an excuse to clean up all the dirt on the floor :)

2. The elder sitting next to me is finishing his mission next week. This is the last time that he´s going to come to an internet cafe to write his family, because next week he´ll be stepping off the plane and seeing them face to face! He was telling me all about his plans for the next few weeks. His mom and his brother are coming to Peru, and they´re going to Machu Picchu and to a bunch of other places before he actually returns to home. He is so excited! It´s kind of funny to see his reactions. He´s like "This is my mom´s last email. This is my girlfriends last email." He said that next week it´s going to be raining and thundering in the jungle. I told him to shut up because I really miss rain and thunder. And my mom. Hahaha it was just a joke. :) But then all of a sudden he got really quiet, and I noticed that he was crying, so I didn´t say anything. The feelings that a missionary has at the end of the mission are indescribable. Next week, I start my last transfer! Can you believe it??? I feel like the time has gone by so quickly, but I feel like I´ve been able to live, learn, love and feel so much. I´m so excited for this last little chunk of time, and I know that God has a perfect plan. There are lots of things that I don´t know, but of that I am sure.

I love you so much! Keep being wonderful, remember that I love you! I´ll tell you next week about when I´ll be calling and everything. I love you!!!!

All my love,

Hermana Scott

We can choose to be happy

Hi family! How are you?! I am good, like always. Actually I am GREAT.

Today, a lot of dumb, little things happened. I forgot something in our room, and we had to go all the way back and go up those 5 flights of stairs again. The bus guy saw us running to catch up, and he sped up, leaving us behind to wait another 20 minutes for the next one. There weren´t enough computers, so we had to go find another internet cafe. Those are the moments when I normally lose my patience AND my mind. But I´m getting better at choosing to be happy. Did you know that we can literally CHOOSE to be happy? Sometimes it´s easier to just get ticked off and be grumpy all day, but that´s no fun. It´s a lot more fun to laugh and smile and enjoy the day. Right? So right after getting upset for a few seconds, that´s what me and my companion did - laugh about it and move on. And I just wanted to tell you that because everything is okay, and here I am writing you a letter. :)

Wanna know something hilarious? The guy who is working here in the internet place was just watching the Walking Dead, which just happens to be my FAVORITE SHOW EVER. I couldn´t see it, but I could hear all of the weird zombie noises and the sounds of guns and knives and other weapons, so I knew it was the Walking Dead. The guy all of a sudden shouted "Noooo!" and he walked out of his little office literally crying. It made me chuckle a little bit. Just a little moment of excitement for me...I´m a little bit excited to see my zombie friends again. :) Although I might be a little bit more sensitive now than I was before...we´ll see.

Anyway, this week has been amazing! I just wanted to tell you one thing of the hundreds of things that happen to us every day. This week, I was able to really feel that I am a daughter of God, and that He loves me. ME, just one of the 6 billion people living in the world in this moment, not mentioning all of the people that have lived before me and all of those that will live after. Isn´t that cool? God loves each and every one of us. 

One of my favorite questions to ask people when we talk to people in the streets, in the bus, or in their houses, is WHY they believe in God. That´s a weird thing to think about..some random person coming up to you in the street saying, "HI, I´m a missionary! Do you believe in God? WHY?" It´s kind of a personal question, but it makes people think for a minute. A lot of times they say because their mom always told them that there was a God and that they should believe in Him. Sometimes they say, "I don´t know." Some people share incredible experiences that they have had that have been testimonies to them that there really is a God. It´s so amazing listening to what people think of Him, our perfect Father. This week I learned more about what He thinks of me, and all of His children. And all I can say is that HE LOVES US. It´s more than something that I know; it´s something that I have come to feel, and I feel it in all that I do.

I think it´s so cool that the church is publishing that Christmas video everywhere! We are supposed to pass a little card to everyone we see that has the website on the back of it, navidad.mormon.org. It´s so fun talking about Jesus and Christmas all day! Daddy and Daniel look up the video also, because it´s the best.

I´m going to miss you guys again this Christmas, but I feel really blessed to understand the true importance of this time of year. My Savior and my family, the two most important things in my life! And I get to see your faces in 24 days!!! Enjoy these next few weeks , and remember why we celebrate this time of year.

I love you all so much! Have a great week!!! Talk to you soon!

All my love,

Hermana Scott

Why did God choose me?

¡Buenos días familia! Espero que estén bien y que hayan tenido una buena semana :) Ustedes tienen que aprender a hablar español para que me acompañen a Perú un día cuando vuelva a visitar estas personas tan increíbles.

Yeah, well you should look that up on Google translate :)

Before I tell you about all of the amazing things that happened this week, I wanted to tell you something hilarious that happened the other day. So learning a new language is super hard, right? When you´re learning how to speak a new language, there are just SO MANY things that you don´t understand. In my zone, there are a ton of new American missionaries, and a few of them are struggling a little bit to learn. The other day, one of them was sharing a scripture in the Book of Mormon, in a book called Third Nephi. In Spanish, the word for third is "tercero". So the elder confused that word with another word and said, "Vamos a buscar en trasero de Nefi" instead of saying TERCERO. The bad news is that trasero literally means "rear" or "buttocks". So instead of saying "Let´s look in THIRD NEPHI", he said ....well, you can figure it out. Let´s just say that his spiritual thought turned out to be a pretty good one. :) :)

Well this week was absolutely amazing! One of the General Authorities of the Church came to visit the mission. Elder Waddell, from the quorum of the seventy. We had a conference with him on Friday, and it was SO COOL! The night before, one of the elders called us and told me that I was going to have a personal interview with him before the conference started in the morning. Holy cow, let me tell you that I was pretty nervous. But I felt like it was a huge answer to my prayers, because I was going to be able to talk to someone who knows a lot more than I do.

Before I continue with the story, whenever we go to a conference or to a meeting, our leaders always tell us that we should go prepared, with at least one question in mind. So the night before the interview and the conference, I was thinking about something that I could ask him. For a really long time now, I´ve been wondering something. Why God chose ME, out of 6 billion people, to find the truth, accept it, and teach it. So that´s the question that I took to the interview and the conference..."Why did God choose ME?"

...And so that´s what I asked Elder Waddell. It´s kind of a goofy question to ask to a general authority, who could have answered any other question about profound doctrine, but that´s what I asked him. And he really helped me understand. He shared with me a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants, which is a book of revelations that the Lord communicated to Joseph Smith during his time as a prophet. In the last part of that book, we read something very important - 

"Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men."

So we can understand that there are no coincidences. We were all prepared at one time to come to the world, with the hope that we would come to the knowledge of God and His gospel. There are lots of things that try to make us forget that we are children of God - lots of people, influences, temptations. But God knew that it would be like this. We were prepared before, and we`re here NOW for a very specific reason. 

I can`t explain exactly all of the things that I felt in that interview. I felt like God had heard my request, and He helped me to understand. As we all listened to Elder Waddell talk that day, we all felt that he is really a servant of God, called in this time to help guide God`s children. 

Is it weird that I love being a Mormon so much? I really love being a Mormon, and I also really love being a missionary. I am so happy! And I am really excited to talk to you in about 1 month!

Have a great week, and know that I love you SO much!

Con TODO mi amor,

Hermana Scott

We must have hope

Hello family! I just thought you´d like to know that in this small internet room, we are a huge group of missionaries. The Mormon jokes that are told in a group of missionaries are unbelievably nerdy and hilarious. We just laugh at our weirdness. It´s a good time :)

In other news, when I read mom´s email about the snow, I got so jealous. I love the sun, but I miss the snow so much!!!! I can´t wait to see snow again. But I´m also okay with working on my awesome farmer´s tan lines. :)

This week, we visited Maria Julia. Remember how I told you a little bit about her and her son Flabio? Well, it´s hard to get her to church. Even though she genuinely wants to go, the situation with her husband is really difficult. He doesn´t like her to leave, because dealing with Flabio alone is really complicated. She still hasn´t gone to church, but we keep visiting her. We were feeling a little bummed the other day, because she isn´t able to progress very much if she never makes it to church, to feel the Spirit and keep learning about the Gospel. We planned a little lesson about how to ask God specific questions, and how to feel that all of what we learn in the church is true. We started talking about what a testimony is, and all of sudden she says, "I already have a testimony. I know that this is true." She started to talk to us about how things have gotten so much better in her house, and that she feels happier. She says that before, she just felt hopeless, broken, and lost, but that she feels like there´s a purpose for all that has happened in her life. She says that the thing she wants most in this life is peace, and she says that she´s finally starting to feel it.

We read a scripture with her in the Book of Mormon, in Ether, that says.  "And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.

 And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men." 

Here, the prophet Moroni is talking to the Lord. I absolutely love the promise that we receive here. There is a place prepared for us, and it´s all because of what Jesus did. There, we won´t feel sadness or heartache. We will be perfect, and we will finally be able to understand all the things that we don´t understand right now. He loves us SO MUCH! It´s incredible. 

I just want to tell you that I love you so much! I try to understand what Jesus felt as He taught people in ancient times. His love was so perfect; I want to feel that kind of love for the people I teach. My love may never be as perfect as Jesus´ love, but is sure is GRANDE. :) I love YOU, I love the people I teach, and I love my Savior.

We are still working hard here in Las Viñas and loving it more everyday. Have a wonderful week, and say a little prayer for Maria Julia and Flabio.

I LOVE YOU! All my love,

Hermana Michelle Scott