Listen to the Spirit

Boa tarde familia e amigos.

I hope you have all had a lovely week! I have news! Today is transfers!!

I am being transferred to..... .... .... .... nowhere.

I’m staying here. Ha ha ha but the really crazy part is that Irma Quebbeman is staying too! This means I am still with my companion in the same area for a third transfer. This like NEVER happens in this mission. Ludicrous.

Another fun fact for you guys, I’m already forgetting how to speak correct English. That’s fine. It’s not my major or anything. It’s not my career path or anything. Who needs English?

Anyway, yeah we are staying together here in Mem Martins so my address is the same for at least six more weeks. What’s really funny is that the past few weeks we have definitely not been working as well as we used to. I think we became too comfortable with each other and we became better friends than companions so that put our success in a rut. We were talking about how we really feel like our companionship is like an unhealthy relationship.  Ha ha ha and that we needed to be transferred away from each other. That’s when I had an epiphany in the train station. We were talking about how we just need to make it through the next four days and then it’ll be a new start with a new companion.  Then, I realized, that’s exactly why we are staying together. The Lord isn’t going to just let us jump ship. He’s going to make us figure out how to overcome this and work through it to have success despite this happening. Just like a marriage.

So yeah, basically our "marriage", or companionship is in trouble but we remember that we promised the Lord we would stick it out so we are going to make some changes and be better. First step is rearranging our apartment so it feels different. Second step is cleaning the WHOLE house. Third step is being exactly obedient. They are not lying when they say things are so much easier when you obey all of the rules that seem like they are so hard to abide by. But really, when we are being obedient the Lord can bless us and help us feel good about it all.

Even though we are staying here, they are splitting the area again! Hallelujah! We were having to cover both areas and it was so stressful and we couldn’t really help people very well because so much time was spent in between our appointments.  We had to travel so far to get to the appointments. The secretaries said there would be elders back in the house that I was in my first transfer and one will be a greenie! I’m excited to not be the youngest.

Most of the week was spent stressed about investigators dropping us and what to with our companionship. I do have a miracle to tell you about! We had just had district meeting about being in the right place at the right time and really listening to the spirit direct you. So we were at the church waiting for an investigator, and he was late.  So, while we waited I felt like we should call people and invite them to an activity the next day. I started with an investigator named Humberto who has already been taught and was almost baptized but didn’t quite feel ready. We had made contact with him a few days before and he was really excited to talk to us and start reading the Book of Mormon again. So, I called him and he sounded so sad and when I asked how he was doing he said, "not very well."  He said he was pretty close to our church and that he was with his sister. I asked if he wanted to stop by and talk because we were there and he says, "I’m actually at the florist buying flowers, my oldest sister died yesterday" broke my heart. So I said, "don’t go anywhere, we are coming over." We ran over and talked to them a little while and gave him the pamphlet on Plan of Salvation and asked if there was anything else we could do. He said that our kindness and us coming over meant so much to him and that he was sorry but he wouldn’t be able to talk until next week but that talking to us was exactly what he needed! Amazing! We went back to the church to get the stuff we had left and were talking to a member for a minute when the first investigator showed up an hour and a half late!  So really the day was great because we were right where we should have been. Always follow the spirit!

Fica bem, I love you guys.

I can’t wait to hear from you next week!

Irma Dean