karlierochelle: Dulce O Truco

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BROTHER!! I love you and I hope you had the best birthday EVER!! I thought about you all day. ;)

I legit went trick or treating in Paraguay this week. Halloween is not really a thing down here but we decided to make it one! :) So Hermana Percival and I had the lovely opportunity in doing divisiones in Presidente Franco with Hermana Sorenson and Hermana Steele. Justo the day fell on Halloween!! The members had told las hermanas that there was an AMERICAN family in their area and so we decided to go visit them. Clap clap clap... TRICK or TREAT!! :) A bowl full of maple syrup later, they decided that they would just LOVE for the missionaries to visit them EVERYDAY. Literally, the mom asked us if we could come back Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.... And we were like uh, yeah maybe not everyday but we will definitely come back! :)

Jack O´Lanterns really aren´t in existence here. Pumpkins are hard to find and they aren´t cheap. So what´s similar and not too expensive?? WATERMELONS!!! We totally didn´t stay up all night long carving watermelon. :)

I had some really incredible experiences this week. While I was on divisiones, I got to go with Hermana Steele. She is honestly one of the most incredible missionaries that I know. I am so blown away at the work she does. And we had so much fun contacting. I loved talking about the family with people. Her and her companion focus a lot on teaching people about how the gospel blesses families. And my testimony of that has been strengthened this week.

Even President LaPierre bore his testimony about how HALLOWEEN strengthened his family. About how traditions bring us closer and how the magic of holidays helps us to better be united as a family. I have been craving chinese food knowing that our Halloween Mushu chicken really did help us to be just a little bit closer every year.

Yeni and Yoni are questioning baptism! They are a little confused! But they are loving learning. And so is HUGO. He´s less and less skeptical every time we visit him. Pray for them!! :)

We also talked about UNITY in Consejo. :) I got to go again. It´s been a few months and a LOT of things had changed. But I loved it! Unity is the KEY to success! President talked about how you can have all of the talent in the whole world, but if you´re not united, your talent serves for nothing. He gave an example of the world cup. He said that probably Argentina had more talent, but in the end, Germany was united! And I thought about drill team my senor year.. :) Yes, we had a LOT of talent. But what got us the win? That we defied gravity by BEING UNITED!

As members, we should be united together and with the LORD to be able to open the door to success in this obra maravillosa!

Defy Gravity: Go Forward With Faith

Speaking of Defying Gravity again, Corbin, you are the CUTEST thing in the whole world. I would just like to brag a bit about you to all of the people that read these emails. I got the cutest letter this week. My brother knows how much I just LOVE wicked and he found the cute talk from hermana Oscarson in the Liahona.. And he cut it out for me and made the cutest little card. (Thanks bud!)

I love the scripture that he sent me

“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life”

"In order to defy gravity, it is important for all of us to keep moving forward with faith, trusting in the counsel of living prophets and a loving Heavenly Father to keep us from falling. "

Also in consejo, we learned about our covenants! How so many people don´t understand their covenants! That´s why people go inactive. If we just undersand what we are promising the Lord that we will do, this life would be so much more joyful. We talked about how as we learn more, we recieve more responsabilities. Like how the rules of the mission weren´t the rules of my life before the mission. But they are now and I gosh darnit better obey them. It´s the same with baptism and the temple! As we make covenants with the Lord, we promise to obey a higher law! And he blesses us for it!

Making covenants helps us progress! But sometimes, we hit a spiritual block. Like I kind of feel like I´ve been in for a while. We get to a point where we don´t feel like we can progress anymore. But that´s not TRUE!! We need to ask ourselves if we are doing absolutely EVERYTHING we can be doing to keep our covenants and to do EVERYTHING we can with what we have.

Also, as we learn to and learn to love to keep our covenants, we develop less tolerance for sin and filth in our lives.

Hermana Crump taught me something incredible. She told me a story about how once upon a time, her family was cleaning the church. It was a stormy day and she got to clean the windows. They looked super clean when they left, but the next morning at Church, she looked at her clean windows but they were FILTHY!! With the Sunday sun, the dirt and smudges and smears were more evident. Asi es with the gospel. As we obtain more life in our lives, the filth becomes more evident and we become less tolerant to keep it there.

But halleluijah we have windex!! Or the Atonement. ;) To help us clean our lives and to help us keep them clean! I love the Atonement! It is so real. I feel like everything that I have been studying has been on the Atonement. So as I have been trying and trying to repent everyday and to apply the Atonement when I´m happy and sad and frusterated and upset, I have found that I have a stronger influence of the spirit in my life. I have found that I am more sensitive to his promptings and that I can better feel and share the Love that God has for me and for all of His children.

"Character is the manifestation of what you are becoming. Your character will be the yardstick that God will use to determine how well you have met your mortal probation. Strong moral character results from consistent correct choices in the trials and testing of life." --Elder Richard G. Scott

We also need burdens to be able to progress!! That´s why the Lord always sends us a trial. But we can use the Atonement to make good choices so that we can become who the Lord wants us to be. We have so much potential as children of God! And He has given us this life to do everything we can to reach it.

Hermana LaPierre shared her testimony and then she had an Elder read these verses from D&C 133. We then sung Israel, Israel God is calling. The spirit was SO strong.

1 Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the Lord your God, and hear the word of the Lord concerning you—

5 Go ye out from Babylon. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.

6 Call your solemn assemblies, and speak often one to another. And let every man call upon the name of the Lord.

7 Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

8 Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations, first upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews.

9 And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about.

10 Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.

11 Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.

14 Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon.

15 But verily, thus saith the Lord, let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him.

16 Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth. Listen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent.

17 For behold, the Lord God hath sent forth the angel crying through the midst of heaven, saying: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight, for the hour of his coming is nigh—

1. Israel, Israel, God is calling,
Calling thee from lands of woe.
Babylon the great is falling;
God shall all her tow'rs o'erthrow.
Come to Zion, come to Zion
Ere his floods of anger flow.
Come to Zion, come to Zion
Ere his floods of anger flow.

2. Israel, Israel, God is speaking.
Hear your great Deliv'rer's voice!
Now a glorious morn is breaking
For the people of his choice.
Come to Zion, come to Zion,
And within her walls rejoice.
Come to Zion, come to Zion,
And within her walls rejoice.

3. Israel, angels are descending
From celestial worlds on high,
And to man their pow'r extending,
That the Saints may homeward fly.
Come to Zion, come to Zion,
For your coming Lord is nigh.
Come to Zion, come to Zion,
For your coming Lord is nigh.

4. Israel! Israel! Canst thou linger
Still in error's gloomy ways?
Mark how judgment's pointing finger
Justifies no vain delays.
Come to Zion, come to Zion!
Zion's walls shall ring with praise.
Come to Zion, come to Zion!
Zion's walls shall ring with praise.

I love being a part of the work of the Lord. I love inviting others to come unto Christ. To come to ZION!! I love teaching the truth and I love seeing it change lives.

COME TO ZION because The church is True!!

Hermana Rupe

Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease