Week 38

Don't worry, be happy   

Here's a little email I wrote

You might want to read it 'cause it was a crazy week

But don't worry

Be happy  

It feels like so many things happened this week! It went by so fast and so slow, and it was so so good and also hard all at the same time. So bear with me as I figure out how to tell you about all of it! 

But first, and as always, a scripture to start us off 

 Scripture of the Week 

"And again, be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls." 

DyC 54:10

Buckle up!

Lunes ~ Love who you serve, serve who you love  

~ Today was super chill. We got together with the district in the chapel and played games and called our familias. The elders had the keys and showed up 1.5 hrs late  so we did our compras in the corner supermarket while we were waiting haha

~ Did our first of many noche de hogars here in Almendroza! It was really good! We did a message about listening to the Holy Spirit and played a game together (it stressed me out, I was sweating by the end of it ). Then we made completos! I barely ever had completos in Machalí but I'm proud to say that I have successfully eaten them 4 times this week (sorry mom )

Martes ~ Life change starts here

~ Consejo de distrito! In the first consejo which we had last week, nobody really had any hype, so I started cheering every time a compañerismo went up to share  Well it was kinda cool today because they thought it was fun and now we're all hyping each other up for everything!! 

~ Had my first INTERCAMBIOOO as an Hermana leader today! I was with Hermana Humphreys, a new Hermana in our district who just got to the mission like 5 days ago. She is SOOOOOO awesome and I loved spending the day with her! It was also cool because I got to lead the sector and I figured out a little bit more of where everything is around here haha. My map wasn't working so I definitely got us lost a few times in the process, but hey it's more about the friends we make along the way anyways, right? (We found some really cool people today!) 

~ Got perros calientes with the LZs at the end of the night!  

Miércoles ~ Dios. Sabe. 

~ Today was crazy. In the morning everything was busy, but normal - referencias, intercambios, mission devo, lunch, etc.

In the evening, we had a meeting with the young women's president to talk about how we can support her as her new consejeras! But on our way there, my comp remembered a member that she hadn't seen in about a month, who had always been coming to church and all the activities for as long as he'd been in Santa Cruz. So, we decided to go visit him after our meeting. We had made other plans, but both of us felt a very strong, very profound impression in our hearts that we needed to go visit this member.

Well, long story short...we went to visit him, but he didn't answer the door. His neighbor came out and told us that they had been worried about him because they hadn't seen him in a long time. She let us in and we all went together to try and find him. His house is a little one-room shack hidden behind another house. We walked through piles of trash and old hoarded objects to get to the door, which we spent several minutes knocking with no success. 

Eventually, my companion tried the doorknob and cracks open the door, which immediately whips open from the inside to reveal the person we were looking for - laying in bed, propped up on his arms, alive and aware that we were there (gracias a Dios), but unresponsive to anything we said to him.

The room was horrific - filled with trash, horrid smell, clothes and random objects piled on the bed with him. Getting a good look at what was going on, we thank the neighbor for her help and immediately leave to call President Robinson. He thanked us for following the Spirit's promptings and told us that he would take care of it. He later told us that they took the member to get medical attention - he suffers from severe depression and few other sicknesses. They are also gathering a team together to help clean up his house.

All this to say, it was just a super crazy experience - following the Spirit, even though we had other plans and weren't exactly sure that the impression was from God, to eventually find and save a person who would've otherwise been forgotten and possibly in medical danger.

God loves His children. Everywhere. 

And if in this moment - or any other - you feel like you've been forgotten... I promise you that your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. He knows. He sees you. And He will send an army to come find you.

Jueves ~ PURE. JOY!!!! 

~ Today was probably my favorite day of the whole week... We did our blitz with the Hermanas capas!!! And holy cow, it was SO. FUN.     

I was with Hna Johnson, and she is literally just such an angel. I love her with my whole heart. We had so much fun together, but we also spent every spare second talking about Jesus and I ended the day just feeling so filled up and so inspired. And we saw SOOOO many miracles too!

~ It was POURING down rain the whole day - even with a rain jacket & umbrella, all of our folletos and scriptures got soaked through, and I had water filling my rainboots the whole day 

~ Went to get perros calientes again with the APs (I forgot how much I missed Elder Whiting's hype ) and took an Uber home

~ Tonight as I was talking with the Hermanas, we realized that there are a TON of rincón spiders all in the corners of our house... And with a lot of screams, insect-killing fumes, and flip-flop whacking... I think we got most of them. But we are si o si still calling Elder Jimenez to tell him we need to fumigate the house 

(Check out my Google photos for videos from today... It was so fun ) 

Viernes ~  When it rains, it pours 

~ Lately I have been SOOOO tired - I think there's just been a lot going on and the rain absolutely takes it out of me. It's so fun but I definitely need to go to bed early tonight  

~ Today we went to chomedahue (a little pueblo about a 30 min bus ride from the main part of our sector). We visited an inactive member familia there, and then immediately after we got a call from Elder Jimenez saying that the house of some of the Hermanas in our zone got flooded, so they're going to stay the night with us. Aaaaand that they would be at the church to meet us in 15 minutes.  We panicked, called an Uber, and ZOOMED over to the church.  We ended up spending the night helping the Hermanas, buying food for them, and making some calls from the house.

Sábado ~ Nothing more precious 

~ Today was more tranqui compared to every other day this week haha. We got a message this morning that they repaired the hermana's house, so we got them on the road to there sector right before lunch 

~ We had lunch today with a family that's passing through a bit of a hard time. We shared a message about the hope and healing that comes through Jesus, and especially through our covenants with Him. The familiy cried together as we all felt the Spirit and the truth of the scriptures we had read. We truly left that family stronger than we found them, and that is what I love about being a missionary. 

^^ el sol salió  

Domingo ~ ISRAEL IS HERE!!!! 

~ One of our friends that came to church today is SUPER cool - we found him on my blitz with Johnson this week, and he's a goat! He told us that as he was walking home that day, he accidentally dropped the Folleto we gave him without realizing... So he went back out in the pouring rain to look for it! He also downloaded the Book of Mormon app by himself and has been reading it. Pray for Francisco! He's awesome!

~ We won the mission reto for the world cup, so we got to watch the partido today! Elder Hart and I were chilling but for my comp and the other LZ (who are both from Argentina) it involved some sweating, yelling, and a couple tears at the end haha 

 Spiritual Thought 

This might be a little long, but I wanted to share with you a poem I wrote during my personal study on Sunday, as I was praying and preparing to take the sacrament. I invite you to say a prayer down on your knees, just like I did, and I invite you to let go. And I promise, you will feel Him by your side. I promise that He will hold you in His arms, as long as you let Him. 

"With nothing to prove

And One to please

I humble my heart

And start on my knees

To thank my dear Father 

For all that He's done

For all that He is

For the gift of His Son

And with a soul deeply broken

For the vastness of its sin

I watch the heavens open

I feel the Spirit sink in

And through a still, small whisper

He pierces my soul

To gently remind me

That I can let go

His hand is outstretched

His mercy is near

I'm safe within my covenants

I have nothing to fear

And with a heart deeply humbled

I reach my hand to His

To partake of the emblems

That for me He freely gives

The heavens are open

My hope is secure

My Savior stands beside me

I'll trust in His word

So that each time I fall

I'll fall on my knees

I'll fall into mercy

Embraced by His peace

I don't know it all

Or even that much

But I do know His voice

And for me, that's enough

Encircled eternally

In the arms of His love

Empowered by His grace

Which He promised from above

With nothing to prove

And One to please

His hands hold my heart

And I found Him on my knees."

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Thanks for listening! I love seeing your updates too. Now get out there and go do hard things! Jesus loves you and is with you! 

With all my heart, 

Hermana Geary