karlierochelle: Gloria

Dare to be a Mormon.
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm
And Dare to make it known.

Yesterday I was freezing. today I am sweaty. Utah weather is normal compared to this. It rained one day and we died of heat the next.

Did you know that Isaiah saw airplanes. And he was trying to explain them a million years ago. That´s why he´s so hard to understand.

Does Rice make you fatter? Or Pasta? And do bananas make you fat? someone let me know...

You get pictures this week. You´re welcome.

Sorry my letter last week was so lame. I was a little stressed. As I am right now so forgive me for this one as well.

Let me be honest for a second. This is HARD STUFF. Can you tell I´ve been having a hard time?? I realized it this week when I actually cried for a second on my own. Without a fight with a companion or someone apostasizing. I cried. It´s been hard.

I miss my home.

BUT the Lord loves me. I know He does and I know that He hears and answers prayers even when we feel that He is far away.

Yesterday I met Cristain Vera. He goes to some weird church that is something like the Masons and it scares me a little bit. But he asked me what my horiscope is.

Aries. And then he went off. about how amazing I am and how loving and kind and selfless... and on and on. And I was like yep keep it coming. And he told me I´m going to be a good mom and that everyone just loves me because I´m the best person ever.

I needed that honestly. I´ve learned humilty.. I needed a little boost.

And then he got to my companion and said that she´s selfish. She totally is and I needed to hear it from someone else. Like she totally took someone´s phone away the other day and told them to listen because we were talking about something important... Okay teacher. But I am trying soooo hard to love and love her because I need to for at least 6 more weeks. she really is great. and we don´t even have problems. She just never talks and I am so lonely. I have the problems. Haha.. Pray for me.

I love that I have talks on my ipod. President Monson was talking to me this week and He changed my life.

"All that is not ETERNAL is too short and all that is not INFINITE is too small."

This mission is eternal. It will give me infinite blessings. It´s so worth the hard times. I promise!! :)

"A man without purpose in life is as a ship without a rutter, a wave of nothing, a nobody."

So what is my purpose? I thought. Think think think. STUDY Mi proposito in Preach my Gospel. That explains everything. :)

Matt 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

and the explaination....

20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
I learned that we have to find investigators that can be planted in good earth so that we can grow.
Like Gloria. She´s our miracle for the week. We had divisiones this week and Hermana Juarez went with Hermana Percival to visit our friend Rita. But they ended up talking to her brother Will and he wanted to come to church. So we went to go pick him up yesterday but no one answered. So we kept clapping and clapping and finally, Melanie came out of the neighbor´s house. And something told us to invite her to church instead. So she went to ask her mom and they both ended up coming.
In Sunday School, we talked about the Holy Ghost and how he influences us and Gloria shared her testimony. She got out of jail on Friday. But while she was in jail, she promised God that she would change her life and that she would go to church. But she didn´t know where to go. No one had invited her to church until we showed up on Sunday Morning. And the spirit told her, andate andate andata. Go go go. Go with them. So she came.
And she´s going to come back. She said that she knows that the Lord lead us to her so that she could keep her promise with him.
And these are the rewards of continuing forward.

I was reading lots in the New Testament this week. I love Jesus. I think that He was sad when John the baptist died. So He wanted to go away for a minute. But when the multitude followed Him, He put them first. He loved them and spent time with them and took the opportunity to serve them and to heal their sick. And only after He had helped others did He take a little time for Himself. And He went to the mountains to pray. Probably to express His saddness and to ask for comfort and strength to carry on. And He kept going. Strong enough to walk on water and to keep teaching and to continue serving.

Oh how I want to be more like my Savior.

And that is what I am trying to do. I know that He loves me and that He is with me always. That He knows that the mission is hard but that He is giving me the strength that I need to keep going. The church is true.

I know it.

Hermana Rupe

p.s. look up the word fish in the bible dictionary. You´ll love it. I did.

2. HEY! You that I send emails to that aren´t missionaries. I have 1 hour to email everyone I know. you have 168 hours in the week to send your favorite missionary something small. You know who you are. :)

Decisiones Determine Destiny