Dear family and friends,
Well, not much happened this week.
Monday: We found out that Hermana Santiesteban and Hermana Martinez had to leave for Torreón the following day. What!? Apparently Hermana Martinez had to renew her passport. So we prepared for that. Also, we prayed at the grocery store for a ride home and "ding" ....."Missioneras, can I give you a ride home?"......"Why yes! of course! We would love a ride!" Heavenly Father really does answer all our prayers.
Tuesday: Well, my compañeras took a vacation to Torreon and Monterrey while I went to stay with the Hermanas Lideres in their area.
Wednesday: The Hermanas Lideres woke me up at......5:30!? What are we doing up at 5:30? Well , it turns out they play basketball in the morning. So we went to play with the rest of the zone. It was actually so much fun!! I still have a lot to improve on in my game. Note to cousins: need to practice basketball when I return. I don't think that will be a problem knowing my family ;) The rest of the day was good and normal. It was the usual hot, windy, sunny day.
Thursday: I was still at the house of the Hermanas. We bought these amazing giant donuts today for only 4 pesos! Best day ever! Then I met up with my companions again in the afternoon. We went home because Hermana Martinez was sick from all the traveling.
Friday: Really nothing, again. Our area was like a ghost town!! There was no one!
Saturday: Today was a great day! We didn't have to contact anyone! Everyone contacted us! "Hey misioneras!" Everyone decided they wanted to talk to us and so we took advantage of the opportunity and taught them as well. ;) Today Hermana Martinez and I also secretly plotted a surprise birthday party for Hermana Santiesteban. We missed her birthday in March, so we decided to celebrate it now. We bought a cake and a blouse she liked and made a beautiful card for her! It was perfect! When we brought her home she was so surprised!! The best surprises are the unpredictable ones. ;) This was highly unpredictable, for many, many reasons. I will give more details when I'm home ;). Anyways, we ate cake and watched a Mormon movie. It was a great birthday night!
Sunday: Nothing really happened today either. However, church was good! Two people walked into our meetings and said they were interested. Well, that is every missionary's dream! However, they were not from our area. So sad. We need more of these 'escogidos' in our area.
As for spiritual thoughts this week... Well, actually, something that has been impressed upon my mind a lot lately is tithing and fast offerings. My parents have always taught me about tithing and fast offerings and had me participate ever since I was young. We received our allowance and we immediately paid our tithing. This has helped me form a habit out of it, so that now, when I'm on my own, I just pay my tithing. At home, I never really saw much of the blessings, but now I can see them so clearly and so abundantly. In my home, we never wanted for anything. We always had enough. Even when hard times came we still had enough. I can see how in college I always had enough money for books, food, tuition, rent, night on the town. I always had enough money and I never stressed about money. Paying tithing put money in perspective for me-that money really isn't the most important thing and so I never really stressed about it. I paid for what I needed and saved the rest and I was always fine. Also, I miraculously earned enough money to pay for my mission. Really, I only worked from May until September to earn enough money for my mission. It was literally a miracle. Then, here in the mission, I always have an abundance of money. Even when my companions have none, I always have an abundance, I always have plenty. I truly know that when we give of our substance, not thinking of ourselves, but thinking of the Lord and trusting full-heartedly in Him that He will provide for us. He will always care for us and ensure that we have enough, that we are happy and comfortable and want for nothing. We read of the promise in Malachi 3:10, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
The key here is that we must bring our tithes WILLINGLY. We have to bring them rejoicing and with a full heart and then we have to prove Him. Trust in Him. Do exactly what He asks and then sit back and watch as He pours down blessings from Heaven. When we don't trust in our Heavenly Father, we hold up an umbrella and prevent Him from truly blessing us. WE only see the rain and get a little wet on our shoes, but we really don't EXPERIENCE the rain. So this is my invitation to you-trust whole-heartedly in the Lord. Do exactly what He asks and then learn to dance in the rain and truly experience this joy. Learn to fully receive His blessings so that you can fully live your life and experience the greatest joys! Life is too short to not dance in the rain! We came here to obtain a body and experience life. What greater way to experience life than with the blessings of God beautifying your path!
I love you all and hope all is well!
Love,
Hermana Lutze
You rock Rachel!
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