Mud bath....

Weeeeellll.. This week rocked. We have had a bunch of rain, and I have fallen in the mud four times. And it isn’t small bits of mud! One pile, (which, to my defense, looked like it had hardened,) was up to my mid-thigh. I think that is the end of that skirt...guys, if you ever want to exfoliate your skin, please, come to Bolivia for a mud bath! ;) It is the funnest thing in the world!!!!!..... Ish. I wish I could send pictures, but none of the computers have worked with my camera.... I hope I can send some soon!!

So this week was filled with emotions. Helen can finally be baptized again!!!!! Her boss gave her the rest of her Sundays off during her pregnancy, then she has to have a three month rest period for after her child is born to recoup.. and she already has another job lined up so she won’t have to work Sundays!! SHE CAN BE BAPTIZED!!! It is now just a matter of when she can get time off during the week to have the baptism, and she is struggling with her testimony a bit. We are putting in all our efforts! She is wonderful, really!

We started teaching a woman who lives in the area of the Elders in our ward. She has gone through three sets of elders, and hasn’t accepted the baptismal date. So we went a little scared, and said a prayer right before we went... And guess what?? The Spirit took that lesson to a whole new level! BEST LESSON EVER. The spirit was so strong! And in the end, we felt like we needed to put the question RIGHT THEN. So we did, and SHE ACCEPTED. Guys, miracles happen when we let the spirit take control over a lesson! I testify! haha:)

My lunch Saturday looked like the Lady cut it right off the cow and put it on my plate. seriously, it was still breathing!!!! So Saturday I was a bit sick... We came back to the house and I just slept... I was supposed to give a talk Sunday, so I went to bed just praying that I would be able to give my talk Sunday... and two miracles happened!! I woke up PERFECTLY FINE and I didn’t have to give my talk cause the Stake president came and spoke instead!!!! :):)
I love you all, and I hope you all have a wonderful week! This week is transfers, so just hope and pray I stay here! I love my area!

LOve you all! Hermana Arave

Miracles!!!

So, I'm sure you all have heard "obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles". Well, I have a testimony of that! Me and my companion work hard. We try our best, but then the Lord shows us we aren't doing everything we can... I woke up one day just sad and down. I had no idea why! Then I was thinking about it, and I realized... I am not doing everything I should be doing. I´m obedient, but I´m not doing everything I can to be EXACTLY obedient. I cant go home regretting my mission knowing I could have seen more miracles, but I didn't do my best. Mostly, I was starting to regret coming on a mission. twelve weeks in the field, and we haven't had a single baptism. We have come close, but we haven't gotten it yet. The mission is really hard! And it starts to get to ya.. well, Satan starts to get to you. And he works hard. So anyway, I went in and talked to my companion. We decided things had to change. We are praying for help in our work, but what are we doing to help the  Lord help us? Not enough! So that day we decided to change and do everything we could be be EXACTLY obedient. Sometimes, we can be obedient without having that same exactness. And this day, we saw miracles. The other hermanas we live with had a baptism, and if we bring investigators we can go! So we called all our investigators.. and They went. MIRACLE. THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED. Our lessons were so much better, my Spanish was so much better, the Members could go with us.. literally, everywhere we turned we saw a miracle! small, big.. whatever! they were miracles! then the baptism came. the bishop was late.. so the baptism started late.. and we have to be in the house at 9. 9:30 on special occasions... crap. the baptism finally starts at about 8:45. it ends at 9:15. We have a ten minute walk to our house... we book it out of the church as fast as we can! then, we realized we have a key to get into the gate, but not a key to get into the house. Our key doesn't work, it is a bad copy. We have tried every day in hopes that one day it will work. and it hasn't. so we get home, 9:28. A little voice came to my head "just try the key."

"no, it doesn't work. we know it." 

"just try it" 

so me and my companion pray. We were EXACTLY obedient today, and we did our very best. and because the other hermanas have the only working key, we cant keep this obedience with exactness. we have tried so hard, and done so well all day, and because of this, we will have failed. 

again, "JUST TRY THE KEY." 

And the key worked. 

If we are exactly obedient to the laws and rules given to us, we will see the blessings. With this story in mind, Read 1 Nephi 3:7. The Lord provides a way. I know that to be true!! Especially because the key hasn't worked since then either! The Lord blesses us when we are obedient with exactness! 

I love you all, and hope you have  wonderful 24 of July! Happy celebrations!! 

Love, Hermana Arave

We took third!

 Sorry this is short! We had some great experiences this week! we have a handful of new investigators, and a handful of tender mercies with all of them! This week was good! Mirium, who is new, is reading twelve pages each day in her book of mormon.. TWELVE PAGES. That lady loves this book! and i do too! so much so, that I FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON IN SPANISH FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!! Yeah, you can say i was excited! haha
we were planning for the next week, and we had the strongest impression to call the YM president and ask if they needed us to do anything for them, and turns out, they did! they had a festival that night and were no where near finishing with the costumes! so we glued and sewed and taped and painted and all sorts of stuff! it was soo fun! I it so rewarding to be able to follow the impressions of the spirit and see how much the Lord loves his children! They took third place as well in the festival!!!!!! WOO! Go 1ro de mayo!!! and FIRST in the number of youth who were re activated through this. Man, the Lord is good!

We decided to drop one of our investigators, then did a role play in our district meeting and... we have to go back! we missed something. he didn't seem to be progressing at all, and he lost his book of Mormon, and doesn't want to find it... but we have to go back! We missed something huge, and he needs our help! So i will send that update next week!

I love you all, i Hope you have a wonderful week! remember who you are!!!!

HermanaArave

Caren´s testimony!

This week was so good! I am learning a lot about agency and the HUGE role of the spirit! 

We taught Yocari again, and man.. That lady has such a strong love of the bible. hahaha.  She is starting to love us coming, and asked us if we could come every day.. hahahah she rocks! She told us how much she loves when we come, because it is the only time her kids will sit still! They love listening to us too! I love being able to teach families! It is my favorite!  She asked us if she could "go preaching" with us one day! She loves sharing her growing testimony! Every chance she gets, she shares a bit more!   

We taught Jandira and Caren as well! And it was such a special experience. We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and from the moment we said the opening prayer there was a different spirit in the room. Everything we said, I could FEEL the  Spirit taking  control of our lesson. We said things that never would have otherwise crossed our minds. Words can’t describe the feeling and the   Spirit that was there.  Then, towards the end of the lesson, I felt the need to ask  Caren how she was feeling . (She had been sick the week before, and so I thought it was just that) and she said the most amazing thing I have ever heard. “I am feeling something I have never felt before. And I just feel like crying and I don’t know why.  I can’t describe what I feel" THAT IS WHAT IS CALLED THE BEGINNING OF A TESTIMONY!! The spirit was SO STRONG. Words cannot describe   what we experienced as we sat there, all crying, and as we testified that what she was feeling, was the  Holy Ghost.  That it was testifying to her in that moment that what we had shared was true. That she had received the answer to her prayers. And she is getting baptized!! 

It was such an amazing experience. I love the mission. it is difficult, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. These experiences are what make everything worth it! 

I love you all! Have a   great week!

Hermana Arave