Isabel's Letter
Diplomacy something i swore i could live without, but im learning to have, last week i let you know how i got to be in a trio and what a blessing it has been im still forced to lead by the two other sisters but they share the work and the calls and the notes and the visits and the testifying and its wonderful and i have ignored the bishop and introduced him to the investigators and he seems to quietly respect all the back breaking work we are putting into the area. it is exhausting work but i swear i can always give more because i love my investigators. i love them. i loved the talk of one newly called 70 who said its better to look up. leading is hard and trying imagine how the prophet feels but he does it happily and faithfully because he loves God. i will try to do the same. i love the people i work for and serve here in the mish the Bolivian people, i am so humbled that i was called, happy that i answered, and sincerely grateful to live amongst and serve my lamanite brothers and bring them to the knowledge of their forefathers and their faith in Christ. to see the redemption of a soul. WOW to see someone come out of the water and have more air to breath. i am greatful to have some of my mother in me, she has taught me to do things right to stand up for what i believe in even if i stand alone. she loves the old and the young in short those who are helpless and because of her i love them too. i glad to have some of my father in me, he has taught me to understand others and to excuse their temper and pain and to do it with a smile. i smile alot and have discovered that people, taxi drivers, immigration workers, leaders and others do things happily for me when i smile. its a power i didnt know i had ha ha ha :) im glad to have the example of my older brother who went to serve the lord, im greattful for the family i have, sure we are far from perfect but i would not be me with out a little piece of all of them, jonathan in our family has diplomacy. a word i am pondering and reflecting on very much. not hipocracy but diplomacy that comes from the true desire to work together. this conference was very emotional for me i realized it would be the last time i would climb up and down a mountain, race against time and plea with the spirit to bring my bothers and sisters to see the restored gospel in action, to me that is what general confrence is its the fulness of Christ´s gospel in action, in evident proof, tangible, real...a living prophet and 12 apostles like Christ had when he walked amongst us. we had 7 people there the youngest 12 the oldest 84 like the prophet. Karen who is 15 asked so many things on the trip to conference and i said i promise they will all be answered she looked at me puzzled i said trust me. the second speaker spoke of the book of mormon and of baptism and she said he is answering my questions, how? i said he doesnt know you but God knows you very well and he is using this good man to speak to you, she smiled. my blessing says share your cheerfulness freely and let your knowledge of the Lord be known fear not... i have been doing that and striving to do that every day of my mish some days it has been dificult others quite easy but definitely always worth it when i share the gospel with a smile with a laugh like when i did with my friends or with my brother or chris people respond. there is a young man who we contacted and turns out he is a less active, i smiled and said Jose you owe me one he looked surprised but bc i was smiling he couldnt help but smile and said why? i said because you have seen me so many times and you have never said hello sister. so there it is you owe me and big time he laughed and said i didnt want you to preach to me i still have so many problems, i laughed and said thats not my problem is it, say hello when you see us, he said Hello sister, okay thats better but you still owe me so what will it be a trip to church and a serious talk with us or a million bolivianos , he said where am i going to get a million bolivianos i smiled and hna condori said well the trip to church it is. Jose is 19, absent from church for 3 years and the only member of his family that is semi active or member. he came yesterday in a full suit and thanked us for the laugh and the motivation and i said now you owe God one you know, he said oh no what would that be, i said serving a mission he said help me out with that. we said duh thats what we are here to do. it is good to do good it feels great and the Lord puts people in the way that you will be able to reach. i love my mish but its coming to an end way to quick.
love / hna florido
Christopher's Letter
Dear mom and dad,
This is quite possibly the last week of my time in Siguatepeque.
I don't feel like it should end, but all good movies have siguals.
Other stories. Other scenary. Other stars. A young man has
to grow old and the dust will collect where it was found in the
sand. But first come the wrinkles. First comes the problems
and great questions. I don't really desire having wrinkles,
nor do I want to leave Siguatepeque. Nevertheless, I am rather
excited for a change.
I have been here for 6 months and 3 weeks. This weekend
we were able to have the priveledge of having 8 investigators
in the conference. All of them heard the prophets, and it is
probable that they will all get baptized this month. Next
Tuesday, we are going to have a baptism of 4 and hopefully
3 more. Tuesday is the day before the transfers. Haha.
I desire the salvation of others a somewhat selfishly. I want to see
it come to pass.
I don't know what else to tell you. Today we went to Comayaguala,
40 minutes from Siguatepeque, and we spent time with other Elders
and ate pizza. While they played soccer, I played piano on a real piano,
with pedals, with sustain, which was heavenly. I love the intimate interaction
with musical instruments, the vibration of the humming chords, the mixture
of sounds in the strings and the metaphorical levation of my soul... Music
is divine and cannot be defined or controlled by dollars and dimes. In other
words, I declare music a god given right. A Freedom given unto us by birth
like the governing of the air of one's lungs. My favorite thing about conference is the Music.
I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I loved "I Believe in Christ" and "Consider
the Lilies." They are by far my favorite. You asked, mom, if it makes me homesick
to see the temple and the conference. And I feel very homesick. I love the temple.
I love the conference center. I love the sounds of the words of the prophets. When
I watch conference, I no longer take notes on WHAT they say, necesarily... In a talk
that I heard in the MTC, David A. Bednar invited us to listen to his talk, but in stead
of copying down what he said that we should write what the spirit inspired us to write...
That has changed my life.
I loved the talk about repentance by D. Todd Christofferson. Repentance is a hard thing
at heart, but it is a gift of God. I learned that Repentance and Forgiveness are healing
hebs for the soul. And only God can give them. I always will remember a talk that I heard
in the MTC by an Elder that went to Spain. He said that when he was little, his mother
always had her own jar of cookies and that he could only eat them if he had permission
One day when he returned from school, he said that he ate one cookie without permission.
They where so delicious and so tempting and he thought to himself,"I could just have another."
And so went the cycle. And as he returned yet again to the cookie jar, he noticed that there
were no cookies left. Where might they have gone? The Elder said to himself as a little boy,
"What have I done...?"
Soon the mother returned home, got ready to relax and unwind herself. She went to the cookie
jar as usual and there were no cookies. She looked with unbelief at her young child and said
nothing, but began to cry. This young Elder said,"I'm sorry I ate all of the cookies..."
She replied,"Son, there are some things that you can't give back."
And so are many things in life. Innocense can not be obtained in this world. It is given once and if we choose to break certain commandments, like the law of chastity, pornography, and
other very grave sins.... you can't take those choices back. But you do have a second chance
and that is through the love of Christ, Faith, Repentance, Baptism and the Sacrament and
following the holy ghost.
I will always remember the picture at home of Christ that said,"I never said it would be easy,
I only said it would be worth it."
I love you all so much.
Elder Hill
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