The Lord knows us.
That's for sure. You'd think that after 15 months of dedicated service in His name I would have learned to understand this simple fact. I am blown away time after time after time at how true it is. I mean, dang! He really knows us!
For the past three months we have been sharing our area here in Nashua with a set of elders. We are serving in a very small group of Spanish members with a very limited pool of people to meet and teach. The momentum we had with four of us was necessary to get things going in the beginning and still they are able to do twice as much as us. They are rock stars on bikes. Absolutely nothing gets in their way when it comes to scheduling and every day they get it done! It's inspiring. It really is. I didn't know either of them very well when we got moved here together in February and it's been an incredible time getting to learn from them and get to know them better. I wish them the best of luck in their next assignment -- Opening a group in Lowell, Massachusetts! They have what it takes and I'm so happy for them! I'm also happy to finally serve alone with just Hermana Lewis and myself. Gee it's gonna be nice. It's kind of like a relationship. If it's everything you hoped for then you get married. If it's not perfect but it's worth it, you get married. If it's God's plan, well then you get married regardless. If it's awkward, stressful, or frustrating more than once a day then you break it off. And even though the goal is still marriage, and you wish that you could have made it work out better, you feel good once it's over. That feeling you get right when you realize you don't have to stress about it anymore, the breeze that hits your face as you're walking away from her house for the last time, and that energy that hits you as you kick your feet up behind you and fist punch the air... that is a priceless feeling. SING-LLLLE, my friends! We're single. And we're lovin' it. It'll be really sad to see them go because they've helped a lot of people here. Everyone loves them. We know that they are excited for their new assignment, though, and we are too. It's clear that God knows each of us because he didn't let us get away easy on this one. He made us work hard for it. We had to learn to love each other, and serve each other, and work with one another. As soon as we figured it out, he continued on accomplishing his purposes with this new change. He's good.
Maybe I shouldn't be posting this publicly. But hey, it's real life. The mission ain't easy.
However, it's more than worth it. I was able to talk to my mom and dad yesterday and it was so much fun to make plans for when I come home. It made me realize how much I still have to do here, though. Let me tell you what I mean.
ERIK - Is a twelve year old autistic boy who is very tall, very strong, straddles me on occasion and sometimes doesn't wear pants. He's a genius. He figured out how to back up his mom's phone to his iPad and when her phone crashed she found out that she didn't lose anything!
JORDY - Is Erik's eleven year old brother. He is getting baptized in a few weeks and he's very, very hyperactive. The only way we can get him to read scriptures with us is if we all take turns and use funny voices. He responds very well to rewards, and games, and he loves when we come over. So do we because it means games and treats for us, too!
MARIA - this is Erik and Jordy's mom. She is very strong, very independent, very loving, very funny, and very tried in life. She has had to face many trials throughout her life and she continues to give her all to her sons. She re-patches and repaints her house every year because Erik picks at the walls and eats the paint. She grows a garden every year simply because it's beautiful. She is selfless and yet secure, self-conscious and yet brave. She joined the church 30 years ago and left pretty quickly thereafter when the missionary that baptized her died in an bike accident while still on his mission. Now, she has a friend that she wants to share the gospel, and her life with. We're helping her regain her faith so that she can help her sons and friend follow.
ISAIAH - Is one of the member's boyfriends. Natalie and he are about to graduate from High School and as soon as we met him we knew he was a good guy. Of course life has not be easy for him and as we get to know him better we are more impressed by his ability to overcome and rise-above. He is getting baptized in a few weeks. Since coming to dinner at Natalie's home with us one evening, he has been at every activity and every church service. He even got a suit to wear to church on Sundays. Like a boss.
KEYLA & JOSE + 5 - this is the crew of kids who spit on us last week. We still love them, though. Keyla has more spiritual common sense than I've found in anybody. The closest comparison I can find is her cousin Makeicha who we used to teach. She gets the relation between spiritual growth and temporal blessings and she's making progress at home as she's made progress within herself.
RAQUEL - "have your kids early" is what she makes sure to tell us every time we come over. She has the chubbiest three year old, Daniel, that I've ever seen in my life. He looks like a Kindergartner. She claims to not have the energy to truly care about what he does because toys and trains don't entertain her. But I've seen how she looks at him, and even how she talks about him, and she loves him more than anything. We love her, too. Her husband has no religious ties but she recently came back to the church this year. She's made a complete change in herself in just a few months and I'm learning from her more than she learns from us.
OSCAR - Is a guy we've only met once. He lives at home with his son, and his ex-wife... super strange. They rest of them decided they weren't really interested in the gospel at all but he has continued to read the Book of Mormon on his own. He's almost finished now; coming up on the last few books before the end. He gave the elders a tiny pink guitar with 5 strings and thought it was the best instrument in the world. It is, because it has a big flower painted on it. I don't think it's quite time for that baby to make it's way to any stage. But oscar is. He's on fire.
CANDELARIO FAMILY - From the bronx, 28 years old, five kids, one on the way, their kids know the gospel better than sports and hair bows which is impressive because they're champions at all of that, too. They serve everyone. They love everyone. She answers, "Sup Gangstah's" when we call. I can't even express to you how much we love going to their house. They are being sealed in the Temple as a family in July. It's been a long time coming, even though they've been members for only four years. We're all super happy for them!
This is the tiniest list ever. I couldn't count the people here that we love. But I can say that I know that God knows all of us personally. He knows what we're going through and I truthfully don't care what your preferred church is, as long as you know that he is there. The moment you open up to his help is the same moment that you will see the good in the bad (and I mean from ALL the bad), the lightness out of the darkness, and the change of a lifetime take place as you make steps to follow Him. My dad was talking about my grandpa in a letter I read recently. He said that when he contradicted his father, he'd stand on his toes and poke his chest as he'd yell "HAVE-I-EVER-LED-YOU-WRONG?" to which the answer was always, "no". Well my grandpa is an angel in my eyes, but maybe you wouldn't like to get poked in the chest if it were God's hand. But I can promise that he would say the same thing if you asked him. He will never, ever, lead you wrong. He has only your best interests in mind. Trust him.
I love you all
Make it a great week!!
Hermana Hileman
LIFE IS GOOD
That's for sure. You'd think that after 15 months of dedicated service in His name I would have learned to understand this simple fact. I am blown away time after time after time at how true it is. I mean, dang! He really knows us!
For the past three months we have been sharing our area here in Nashua with a set of elders. We are serving in a very small group of Spanish members with a very limited pool of people to meet and teach. The momentum we had with four of us was necessary to get things going in the beginning and still they are able to do twice as much as us. They are rock stars on bikes. Absolutely nothing gets in their way when it comes to scheduling and every day they get it done! It's inspiring. It really is. I didn't know either of them very well when we got moved here together in February and it's been an incredible time getting to learn from them and get to know them better. I wish them the best of luck in their next assignment -- Opening a group in Lowell, Massachusetts! They have what it takes and I'm so happy for them! I'm also happy to finally serve alone with just Hermana Lewis and myself. Gee it's gonna be nice. It's kind of like a relationship. If it's everything you hoped for then you get married. If it's not perfect but it's worth it, you get married. If it's God's plan, well then you get married regardless. If it's awkward, stressful, or frustrating more than once a day then you break it off. And even though the goal is still marriage, and you wish that you could have made it work out better, you feel good once it's over. That feeling you get right when you realize you don't have to stress about it anymore, the breeze that hits your face as you're walking away from her house for the last time, and that energy that hits you as you kick your feet up behind you and fist punch the air... that is a priceless feeling. SING-LLLLE, my friends! We're single. And we're lovin' it. It'll be really sad to see them go because they've helped a lot of people here. Everyone loves them. We know that they are excited for their new assignment, though, and we are too. It's clear that God knows each of us because he didn't let us get away easy on this one. He made us work hard for it. We had to learn to love each other, and serve each other, and work with one another. As soon as we figured it out, he continued on accomplishing his purposes with this new change. He's good.
Maybe I shouldn't be posting this publicly. But hey, it's real life. The mission ain't easy.
However, it's more than worth it. I was able to talk to my mom and dad yesterday and it was so much fun to make plans for when I come home. It made me realize how much I still have to do here, though. Let me tell you what I mean.
ERIK - Is a twelve year old autistic boy who is very tall, very strong, straddles me on occasion and sometimes doesn't wear pants. He's a genius. He figured out how to back up his mom's phone to his iPad and when her phone crashed she found out that she didn't lose anything!
JORDY - Is Erik's eleven year old brother. He is getting baptized in a few weeks and he's very, very hyperactive. The only way we can get him to read scriptures with us is if we all take turns and use funny voices. He responds very well to rewards, and games, and he loves when we come over. So do we because it means games and treats for us, too!
MARIA - this is Erik and Jordy's mom. She is very strong, very independent, very loving, very funny, and very tried in life. She has had to face many trials throughout her life and she continues to give her all to her sons. She re-patches and repaints her house every year because Erik picks at the walls and eats the paint. She grows a garden every year simply because it's beautiful. She is selfless and yet secure, self-conscious and yet brave. She joined the church 30 years ago and left pretty quickly thereafter when the missionary that baptized her died in an bike accident while still on his mission. Now, she has a friend that she wants to share the gospel, and her life with. We're helping her regain her faith so that she can help her sons and friend follow.
ISAIAH - Is one of the member's boyfriends. Natalie and he are about to graduate from High School and as soon as we met him we knew he was a good guy. Of course life has not be easy for him and as we get to know him better we are more impressed by his ability to overcome and rise-above. He is getting baptized in a few weeks. Since coming to dinner at Natalie's home with us one evening, he has been at every activity and every church service. He even got a suit to wear to church on Sundays. Like a boss.
KEYLA & JOSE + 5 - this is the crew of kids who spit on us last week. We still love them, though. Keyla has more spiritual common sense than I've found in anybody. The closest comparison I can find is her cousin Makeicha who we used to teach. She gets the relation between spiritual growth and temporal blessings and she's making progress at home as she's made progress within herself.
RAQUEL - "have your kids early" is what she makes sure to tell us every time we come over. She has the chubbiest three year old, Daniel, that I've ever seen in my life. He looks like a Kindergartner. She claims to not have the energy to truly care about what he does because toys and trains don't entertain her. But I've seen how she looks at him, and even how she talks about him, and she loves him more than anything. We love her, too. Her husband has no religious ties but she recently came back to the church this year. She's made a complete change in herself in just a few months and I'm learning from her more than she learns from us.
OSCAR - Is a guy we've only met once. He lives at home with his son, and his ex-wife... super strange. They rest of them decided they weren't really interested in the gospel at all but he has continued to read the Book of Mormon on his own. He's almost finished now; coming up on the last few books before the end. He gave the elders a tiny pink guitar with 5 strings and thought it was the best instrument in the world. It is, because it has a big flower painted on it. I don't think it's quite time for that baby to make it's way to any stage. But oscar is. He's on fire.
CANDELARIO FAMILY - From the bronx, 28 years old, five kids, one on the way, their kids know the gospel better than sports and hair bows which is impressive because they're champions at all of that, too. They serve everyone. They love everyone. She answers, "Sup Gangstah's" when we call. I can't even express to you how much we love going to their house. They are being sealed in the Temple as a family in July. It's been a long time coming, even though they've been members for only four years. We're all super happy for them!
This is the tiniest list ever. I couldn't count the people here that we love. But I can say that I know that God knows all of us personally. He knows what we're going through and I truthfully don't care what your preferred church is, as long as you know that he is there. The moment you open up to his help is the same moment that you will see the good in the bad (and I mean from ALL the bad), the lightness out of the darkness, and the change of a lifetime take place as you make steps to follow Him. My dad was talking about my grandpa in a letter I read recently. He said that when he contradicted his father, he'd stand on his toes and poke his chest as he'd yell "HAVE-I-EVER-LED-YOU-WRONG?" to which the answer was always, "no". Well my grandpa is an angel in my eyes, but maybe you wouldn't like to get poked in the chest if it were God's hand. But I can promise that he would say the same thing if you asked him. He will never, ever, lead you wrong. He has only your best interests in mind. Trust him.
I love you all
Make it a great week!!
Hermana Hileman
LIFE IS GOOD
No comments:
Post a Comment