As missionaries we like to celebrate our month marks as if they were our birthdays. Here's some photos of our silliness. Sister O turned 9 months in the mission (hence the "pregnancy" photos), and my companion, Sister B celebrated her 1st (and only) missionary birthday! The time that we have to serve the Lord full time truly is short, and it goes by so quickly. I'm grateful for every minute I have to serve.

p.s. In case you are wondering I am 11 months old :)

 

 

 L is a 10 year old girl who decided all on her own that she wanted to be baptised. We taught her whole family for many months, but she was the only one who diligently prepared for baptism. She read the Book of Mormon and prayed every single day looking to find

We continue to teach the whole family, and now L is an example to them as the first member of the church in her family. She is also an example to me. It is amazing how quickly children can learn and gain a testimony of the gospel. I have learned so much as I have taught L.

She has such a strong testimony for such a little girl. At first I was worried about her being baptised without anyone else in her family- wouldn't it be difficult for her to stay active? But then I realised that if a 14 year old Joseph Smith could be entrusted with the responsibility of restoring the Lord's church to the earth than surely a 10 yr old girl could be trusted with the covenants and responsibilities of baptism and membership in the church. God trusts the young with great responsibilities. 

 In the Book of Mormon we learn that we must become "as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19). Children accept correction and are quick to learn. I know that as we strive to be more humble, submissive, and childlike that the Lord will bless us. 

Alma 7:14-16 (The Book of Mormon)

 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.

We found H on the bus one day on our way to another appointment. We were going to meet our other investigator at the big mall/ underground station near the chapel and then take him back there to teach him. Just as we got there he cancelled the appointment. The miracle is however, that because he cancelled we were able to teach H that day instead. 

We taught him the message of the restoration. He accepted everything we taught him! It was amazing. Two months later he was baptised, and two weeks after that he received the Aaronic Priesthood.

It is amazing to see how the gospel can transform a stranger on the street into a priesthood holder. Preaching the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ -- faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end-- is a beautiful privilege and blessing. It truly changes the lives of others, but most of all it changes my own life. 

Here are the photos of H (our trip to the temple visitors' centre, his baptism, and one day when he made lunch for us). 

Our investigator took us to her favourite Colombian restaurant and told the waiter to bring us a surprise. This is what we got.

Also heads up to anyone with read hair and blue eyes, if you go to any Latin American restaurants and speak in Spanish everyone in the whole place will stare at you. It is so funny. Every time we go with members or investigators to eat, I get a lot of strange looks. 

 As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we believe that the bodies we have are sacred gifts from God, and that they have an important part in the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us. Therefore, it is important to take care of them. Heavenly Father revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith a commandment outlining how we should take care of our bodies. We call this commandment the Word of Wisdom. To follow the Word of Wisdom we need to abstain from five substances: alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, and illegal drugs. Keeping the Word of Wisdom is a requirement for baptism in the Church.

The photos are of an amazing woman who we taught. She had a desire to follow the Savior Jesus Christ by being baptized, and therefore abandoned all of her coffee and tea. She is from Colombia, and coffee is a very big part of Colombian culture. She had drank coffee and tea her whole life, yet in one day she gave it up completely.  The photos are of the day she threw it all in the rubbish. It was a wonderful and empowering experience, both for us and for her.

I am really behind on sending pictures, so I'm going to try to send a whole bunch today. These first ones are from January... sorry for getting so behind.

I treated everyone to Nando's while the Peckham Sisters were on an exchange so we could all have dinner together. 

Sister K is from Thailand and thinks that extra extra hot is too bland :) 

We have a tradition to put the stickers that come with the food on the back of our badges.