Monday, February 25, 2013

:)

Hola familia,
 
This week has been good. After 5.5 months in Tujunga, I felt really weird serving somewhere else, but it's a good change. We have an investigator, Juan, that they'd been working with before I got here who is getting baptized next Sunday, so we've been working alot with him. He's amazing- so prepared, so excited and so ready. It's amazing to watch his conversion and commitment to baptism and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ on a whole. We had a really interesting opportunity on Saturday to talk to a man, also named Juan. As we were talking the other Juan came up. We started talking about the changes he's seen in his life through the Gospel and this man's face lit up! He started talking to us about how he's had similar problems, with drinking, drugs, girls, etc. and feels really alone and depressed. He expressed how he wants a change as well. We exchanged contact information and planned to come back yesterday. We missed him when we went back, so he texted us last night to ask when we were coming back. What has impressed me the most is watching how he went from totally turned off when we first started talking to him to seeking after what we have, what the other Juan has found. I realized how much this is really the miracle of the Gospel. This is what we offer people. If only every contact was like that! We're doing everything we can to improve how we contact people so that that happens more. I know that if we can do that at the beginning, teaching becomes so much easier, because they are hungering after the Gospel, and a ready for the Gospel.
 
We have made alot of goals for things we want to see accomplished this week- especially contacting people and working on how we approach referrals, members, people on the street, etc. I'm excited to work hard and to see the benefits. I'm starting to realized the importance of really pushing myself to do more than just what's easy, or comes naturally, and I really want to push myself harder than I have before. I've been realizing for real just how lazy I am and I hate it. So I'm working on that.
 
So yesterday, the bishop invited me to go up and introduce myself and bear my testimony in sacrament meeting, since it was my first Sunday. It was weird because he announced it before the sacrament, so I kind of sat there for a little bit until he stopped talking, and the woman behind me told me to go up, so I did. As I was walking back down, I realized we hadn't done the sarament yet, and that, yup, pretty sure I was supposed to do it after!! (super awkward moment right there) What made it even worse was that President Becerra was there giving a talk and as I was walking to the pulpit I could hear someone say something but I didn't hear what they said since I was nervous. I'm sure it was someone telling me not to do it yet. bahaha It's funny now, but I was horrified after!
 
I saw the announcement and I'm sooooooooo excited!! Love you all!
 
miss and love you,
 
-Hna. LaPierre

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