Let Us Live as He Lived
Hello there! Man, I never thought I'd be writing this. I guess it's about time.
Hermana Roe here, checking in one last time. I've been home now for almost three months, and each day only makes my mission more dear to me. My final week was perhaps one of the best ever, it included lots of tight hugs and saying the only thing I could say; "Gracias." Thanks for everything. There aren't really enough words to convey the deep gratitude I hold for my full-time mission. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if it was all real.
Up to my final week, there were miracles. Some of the sweetest and most satisfying miracles I've ever experienced, and some that have been a long time coming.
First, my final pday we decided to go shopping en el Centro, and while we were walking along, something strange happened. A woman grabbed my arm and seemed flustered as she managed to get the words out, "Soy miembro de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los ultimos Dias!" She was visiting from Montreal, Canada, and had come to see her sister for the first time in 14 years. She was a new convert to the church, nearly a year in. And now she wanted her sister to learn about it. In fact, the night before they had been up nearly all night discussing religion.
Her sister, Aris, received us warmly and we quickly found out that she, along with her little family, were something special. We bonded very quickly, and they seemed very excited to learn more about the gospel. Aris, her husband Guillermo, and their daughter Vania were the final people I got to invite to be baptized by the sacred authority of God. It was wonderful, but also a little sad to know that this was one journey I wouldn't be able to make with these wonderful people. Not this time. I would have to watch from home as they fought to follow the Lord on this path.
I got to do just that! Aris messaged me as soon as I got home and we were able to keep in touch and exchange love and support. She texted me the photo of the day they were baptized. Hermana Melena got to be there! It was truly amazing to see the work go on, and the joys of the gospel bless yet another family.
Another amazing thing actually began a year ago, when I was in Ciudad del Carmen. My companion, Hermana Perez and I, had felt the impression to go to La Isla Aguada, even though there were hardly any members there, and we knew nothing about it. Finally, one day we decided to go. We prayed and said something along the lines of, "God, if there is anybody out there that we need to meet, help us to know today."
We set off to the Isla Aguada, which is about 30 or 40 minutes from Carmen. Neither of us knew where to get off the bus, and we only had one little address of an inactive member there to go off of. The Lord, thankfully, always knows what to do, and we got off the side of the dusty road and began to trek up the sandy street to some houses in the distance. We saw an older couple outside, so we began to chat with them and they told us that we were in the Colonia we were looking for! Then something great happened; they pulled up a couple of chairs and asked us to teach them. We did, and ended up coming back several times. We put baptismal dates with them.
Unfortunately we had to stop coming to the Isla Aguada because of the fact that nobody could really come to Carmen to go to church, and we couldn't keep going out there so often if nothing was happening. I was really sad, because I loved that place and the people there. It almost made me feel as though I was back in Zapata, with that small town vibe.
Nearly a year later, when I was in the ADO in Villahermosa, the day before I flew home, I got to see Hermana Randall! She was just coming from Carmen, and she told me something amazing. Just that past Sunday, the Isla Aguada had had it's first meeting en la casa de oracion! And this adorable older couple had gone. They still remembered Hermana Perez and I, and they had gone to church. All this time. I am so grateful that God allowed His 2 little missionaries the opportunity to have a hand in a long awaited miracle.
Coming home has been a wild ride, and if anything I have learned to appreciate the Holy Ghost more than I ever have before. My mission is sort of holy ground for me, it's amazing to look back and say, "Yeah, I did that." Awesome to have experienced so much pure love. Like the Bolanos surprising me by killing a pig and bringing me blouses to take home with me. It is something I never would have gotten to experience if I hadn't packed up and gone and trusted in the Lord. The miracles didn't come all at once, there were periods of time when I prayed for rain and the sun shone all the brighter and the skies were all the clearer. That's when you learn to dig a well. The Lord doesn't withhold those blessings from us, but I know that for me, He was inviting me to work for them even past the point of despair.
Life is hard. I don't always (or usually) understand and I get nervous for what the future might hold. I think that was a beautiful thing for me about my mission. Going into it, I literally had no clue about what was going to happen over the next 18 months. Zero idea. And of course it scared me! Now, standing on the other side of it, with a scuffed up name tag and a head full of Spanish, I get to see that even though I didn't know what was going to happen, the Lord was looking at it from an all-knowing perspective. He was able to see the problems I would have to face, the tears, the sweat, the friendships, the pure love, and made it holy. He saw the failures I would have, those moments spent staring at the wall or up at the sky thinking, "I'm a failure. Why can't I change?" He saw that, and He saw that moment, sitting in my exit interview with President Haws, and President saying, "I think that's what I'll always remember you for. You saw that you weren't doing all that you could do, and you switched gears. You turned it around. You did it."
So now is as fitting a time as any, sitting here halfway packed to move to Snow college on Saturday, ready for the newest adventure. A perfect time to remember that the Lord is in the details of my life. He lives. That may be one of the dearest lessons of all that He taught me. To live. To drink it all in, try something new, listen to other's life stories. To love, to learn, to forgive. To set goals, to breathe deep, to search, and to testify.
To live. That is my final invitation, to whomever might stumble upon this final entry someday. Live boldly, and live in the Lord's name. That is what He's sent us here to do, and oh, how I love Him.
Hermana Roe here, checking in one last time. I've been home now for almost three months, and each day only makes my mission more dear to me. My final week was perhaps one of the best ever, it included lots of tight hugs and saying the only thing I could say; "Gracias." Thanks for everything. There aren't really enough words to convey the deep gratitude I hold for my full-time mission. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if it was all real.
Up to my final week, there were miracles. Some of the sweetest and most satisfying miracles I've ever experienced, and some that have been a long time coming.
First, my final pday we decided to go shopping en el Centro, and while we were walking along, something strange happened. A woman grabbed my arm and seemed flustered as she managed to get the words out, "Soy miembro de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los ultimos Dias!" She was visiting from Montreal, Canada, and had come to see her sister for the first time in 14 years. She was a new convert to the church, nearly a year in. And now she wanted her sister to learn about it. In fact, the night before they had been up nearly all night discussing religion.
Her sister, Aris, received us warmly and we quickly found out that she, along with her little family, were something special. We bonded very quickly, and they seemed very excited to learn more about the gospel. Aris, her husband Guillermo, and their daughter Vania were the final people I got to invite to be baptized by the sacred authority of God. It was wonderful, but also a little sad to know that this was one journey I wouldn't be able to make with these wonderful people. Not this time. I would have to watch from home as they fought to follow the Lord on this path.
I got to do just that! Aris messaged me as soon as I got home and we were able to keep in touch and exchange love and support. She texted me the photo of the day they were baptized. Hermana Melena got to be there! It was truly amazing to see the work go on, and the joys of the gospel bless yet another family.
Another amazing thing actually began a year ago, when I was in Ciudad del Carmen. My companion, Hermana Perez and I, had felt the impression to go to La Isla Aguada, even though there were hardly any members there, and we knew nothing about it. Finally, one day we decided to go. We prayed and said something along the lines of, "God, if there is anybody out there that we need to meet, help us to know today."
We set off to the Isla Aguada, which is about 30 or 40 minutes from Carmen. Neither of us knew where to get off the bus, and we only had one little address of an inactive member there to go off of. The Lord, thankfully, always knows what to do, and we got off the side of the dusty road and began to trek up the sandy street to some houses in the distance. We saw an older couple outside, so we began to chat with them and they told us that we were in the Colonia we were looking for! Then something great happened; they pulled up a couple of chairs and asked us to teach them. We did, and ended up coming back several times. We put baptismal dates with them.
Unfortunately we had to stop coming to the Isla Aguada because of the fact that nobody could really come to Carmen to go to church, and we couldn't keep going out there so often if nothing was happening. I was really sad, because I loved that place and the people there. It almost made me feel as though I was back in Zapata, with that small town vibe.
Nearly a year later, when I was in the ADO in Villahermosa, the day before I flew home, I got to see Hermana Randall! She was just coming from Carmen, and she told me something amazing. Just that past Sunday, the Isla Aguada had had it's first meeting en la casa de oracion! And this adorable older couple had gone. They still remembered Hermana Perez and I, and they had gone to church. All this time. I am so grateful that God allowed His 2 little missionaries the opportunity to have a hand in a long awaited miracle.
Coming home has been a wild ride, and if anything I have learned to appreciate the Holy Ghost more than I ever have before. My mission is sort of holy ground for me, it's amazing to look back and say, "Yeah, I did that." Awesome to have experienced so much pure love. Like the Bolanos surprising me by killing a pig and bringing me blouses to take home with me. It is something I never would have gotten to experience if I hadn't packed up and gone and trusted in the Lord. The miracles didn't come all at once, there were periods of time when I prayed for rain and the sun shone all the brighter and the skies were all the clearer. That's when you learn to dig a well. The Lord doesn't withhold those blessings from us, but I know that for me, He was inviting me to work for them even past the point of despair.
Life is hard. I don't always (or usually) understand and I get nervous for what the future might hold. I think that was a beautiful thing for me about my mission. Going into it, I literally had no clue about what was going to happen over the next 18 months. Zero idea. And of course it scared me! Now, standing on the other side of it, with a scuffed up name tag and a head full of Spanish, I get to see that even though I didn't know what was going to happen, the Lord was looking at it from an all-knowing perspective. He was able to see the problems I would have to face, the tears, the sweat, the friendships, the pure love, and made it holy. He saw the failures I would have, those moments spent staring at the wall or up at the sky thinking, "I'm a failure. Why can't I change?" He saw that, and He saw that moment, sitting in my exit interview with President Haws, and President saying, "I think that's what I'll always remember you for. You saw that you weren't doing all that you could do, and you switched gears. You turned it around. You did it."
So now is as fitting a time as any, sitting here halfway packed to move to Snow college on Saturday, ready for the newest adventure. A perfect time to remember that the Lord is in the details of my life. He lives. That may be one of the dearest lessons of all that He taught me. To live. To drink it all in, try something new, listen to other's life stories. To love, to learn, to forgive. To set goals, to breathe deep, to search, and to testify.
To live. That is my final invitation, to whomever might stumble upon this final entry someday. Live boldly, and live in the Lord's name. That is what He's sent us here to do, and oh, how I love Him.
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