Happy. Grateful.

Hi Family!!!

For Thanksgiving I celebrated by buying myself a piece of bread and some chips :) No one celebrates anything of the sort here. In fact, it was about halfway through the day when I even realized that it WAS Thanksgiving. But nonetheless, I am always amazed at all the blessings I can write down when I think about how much good I have in my life. We sure are blessed. I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal and boy... life is so much better as we live each day looking for the hand of God in our lives. 

I also feel like it’s pretty fitting to spend a holiday spent focusing on our blessings in a country and place where there is so little. I’ve never seen so many kids without nice clothes, homes with maybe some rice and a few potatoes to eat. I’ve never used so many bathrooms with only a sheet for a door, yet I’ve never been around a happier, truly grateful people. My life will never be the same as I have come to realize that TRUE JOY can only be found in Christ. And because of that, I am so grateful.

I am also grateful because this week was filled with miracles. We found a lot of people that were open to our message, some of them came to church yesterday and some also accepted a baptismal date. 

My favorite... Oscar. We found him while we were eating at the house of a member and he was working nearby. He looks a bit rough from the outside, but man, he sure has a huge spirit and strong desire to become better. One day in the week my companion and I felt like we should go up to his house (quite the adventure hiking a hill and literally fighting off dogs with sticks we find) We found him at home and read some of the Book of Mormon with him. In his closing prayer, he thanked the Lord that we had come because he had had a really hard day and now felt a lot better. Its so cool to see how the Lord sends His help and His spirt right when help is needed.

We also found a family that came to church yesterday and another woman that has been wanting to find a church for a long time. She began to cry as we shared the first lesson and committed right away to come to church on Sunday. She said that she feels lost and has had a very hard marriage with a man that doesn’t respect her and wants so badly to feel the love of God.

Sewing for my investigator.

As many have written and seen.... We are focusing on service the month of December. Our mission president told us all... I hope that this month is the best month of your mission... and I know it will be. We’ve already been able to find places to serve, and mom... you’ll be glad to know that I’m using all that you taught me about sewing before the mission :) I got to help one of our investigators sew some pants that she sells. 

Our president made a few changes and now we’re working with three different wards! Its cool to be getting to know new members, but its been a hard transition seeing that many people in our old ward feel like the missionaries are being taken away. But, it helps me once again to remember that this is the LORDS work and I’m not here just to come away with best friends, but service where the Lord is preparing the way.

One last scripture that really hit me today during personal study in the morning. Alma 37:36

"Yea and cry unto the Lord for all thy support, yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and withersoever thou goest, let it be in the Lord, yea let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord, yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever."

I am here for Him. We are here for Him. Living, serving, trying everyday to be disciples. And I know that if we serve this month because of our love for HIM, He truly will make more out of us than we ever could do alone. 

Les quiero mucho!!!

Hermana Yorgason

The Least That I Can Do

Hi family,

I can officially say that this week we found the prettiest, most peaceful part of our sector. There is a less active family that lives about an hour away and includes riding two different buses and walking about half a mile. We went out to their house this week and man... I felt like I was transported back to the Guatemala jungle. I’m sorry I don’t have pictures to send this week (the computers aren’t reading anything... you’ll just have to imagine it in your mind for now.) But I was so happy out there. 

Living with four people in one house is really quite interesting. Especially when one night the sink completely explodes in your face... and won’t stop exploding... so your only option is to turn off all the water in the whole house. :) Now there are 4 of us North Americans all living together, so it’s been really fun. Still sleeping on the floor, but this all makes good memories.

Exploding sink!

Our mission has been out of Book of Mormons for about 3 weeks and we finally got more this week. Oh how I love that book. It truly is the most important key to our work. And to our religion. Such a change has come into our work as we have been able to read with our investigators and leave chapters to read on their own and feel the spirit of the Book of Mormon. When I don’t have words... or my words come out wrong, I can without doubt, open up and read from the Book of Mormon and have confidence that the Holy Ghost will come into a lesson. We are so blessed to know that it is true.

Along with the Book of Mormon, my companion and I have made a list of "questions of the soul" that the Book of Mormon answers. We give this piece of paper to our investigators at the end of each lesson so they can choose one question that they’re interested in and then we assign them that certain chapter with their question written at the top. I have loved to see how a new love has come into their reading as they not only read the words, but ponder in their hearts how the Book of Mormon can solve real problems that we’re facing today. I know that should be a module of how we all read the scriptures. Looking. pondering. thirsting. growing. learning.

This week, Saturday, my companion and I got so sick. Like more sick than I have in a year because it was the first time that I haven’t even been able to go out a little bit to work. As you can imagine, as a missionary that makes you pretty antsy but even getting up to eat a banana almost made me faint so… we figured trying to walk up mountains wasn’t a very good idea. I laid there half sleeping, half TRYING to sleep and I had a lot of time to think about my mission up to this point... how good the Lord has been to me and how patient He has to be working with imperfect people. Imperfect disciples. Imperfect missionaries who sometimes still don’t feel like they exactly know what they’re doing. It was a physically exhausting week and obviously I was SHOT at this point. Somedays its just comical as you’re laying in a flee infested bed, with every muscle in your body aching and all there is to eat are molding bananas. Literally, we were in our beds laughing.

But I was humbled as I read in Jesus the Christ.  "The servant might well feel that after a day’s work in the field he is entitled to rest but on reaching the house he finds other demands made upon him. The master has a right to the servant’s time and attention... So the apostles, who had given themselves entirely up to their Master’s service, were not to hesitate nor murmur, whatever the effort or sacrifice required. Without regard to the master’s estimate of their worth, they were to account themselves as unprofitable servants."

I have never been happier than during this time as a representative of Jesus Christ. I’ve never been happier because this parable has come true to me. I am not ENTITLED to an easy mission. or an easy life. Or a million converts. or lots of people that accept our message. Every time someone says come in... it’s a blessing. Every time someone shows up to church, its a tender mercy from the Lord. We’re here because the Lord loves us. He loves us enough to give us another chance to become like Him. We don’t PAY him with our obedience and service, but merely show him our love, our gratitude for every blessing that He has given us.

My companion has written in her mission manual (white bible as some people know it) "The absolute LEAST that I can do." Our savior knows that we’re not perfect. He knows even every act of obedience wouldn’t repay him. So being completely obedient and dedicated to Him IS the least we can do. Even if we do have to pass through rejection and sickness and trial. Christ loves us. He knows us. Like Alma, we have the opportunity to glory in HIM. Let our weaknesses be swallowed up in Him and I have come to see that that is the happiest way to live.

I love this work. I love knowing that our Savior will never abandon us... no matter how alone we feel.

I love you all

Con amor,

Hermana Yorgason

Quick Note

Hi family!!!! 

First of all, happy birthday KC, Happy Anniversary Tyler and Breiyon and Tanner and Lexi!! Lots going on there!

Second of all... our P-day is now officially switched back to Monday. YAY!!

Third of all... I don’t have time to write anything this week, but I do love the Lord and love the mission. Thank you for all of your support. The Lord loves you!!!

Hermana Yorgason

Happiness

Hi family!!!

We just walked over two miles to find an open internet... don’t know what happened today, but I’m sorry about how short this will be.

The days just keep getting crazier here in Imbaya. My companion got bit by some type of bug at the beginning of the week and now her ankle is so swollen that you can’t see where it is and half of her leg is like purple. We trust in the nurse that Benadryl will do the trick :) 

The other day we were in a lesson of some less actives and their house is a bit old and... kind of falling apart. My companion and I started feeling what we thought were rain drops... until we realized that the little boy had just gone upstairs and was using the floor as the bathroom. That was a new one. Luckily we got out quickly and nothing too bad happened :) 

The weather now is either super rainy or sun that feels like its going to fry you up (yay for living on the equator). The other day a lightning bolt hit so close to us that it literally shot my companion and I into each others arms. 

Halloween didn’t feel like Halloween whatsoever, but 2 days later they had dia de los defuntos... which is pretty much like our memorial day. So... the next couple of days we were served colada morada and bread in literally every lesson. (It’s a fruit drink that they have here.) It was actually kind of comical as my companion and I would just kind of look at each other with the... uhh here we go look as we tried to put more into our already stuffed stomachs.

But apart from all of this... I am happy. I love the mission and I know without a doubt that God answers prayers. He’s answered a lot of mine this week. Like maybe you’ve been able to see... my changes in this sector have been hard. I don’t know if I’ve ever worked harder but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the fruits come more slowly. I’ve spent countless morning and nights on my knees asking for help. Help with the sector, to be a good example to my trainee, help to follow the spirit and find JOY and just know what MORE I can do to help the people here in Imbaya to come to know their Savior. Thursday was a particularly hard day. We walked up many mountains through dust to find that our investigators weren’t there. One by one our lessons fell through and Satan kept shoving doubts of ever having success in my mind. I tried to be excited for my companion, but inside I just felt completely crushed. I know without a doubt that the Lord is preparing miracles in each sector, but after so long of not seeing much progress, it’s easy to wonder what you’re doing wrong. (I think any missionary can relate). 

Hermana Bybee and I visiting a family

Well, Friday morning I got down on my knees and gave everything to Heavenly Father. I told him everything and pleaded for help. At least for peace. Immediately He helped. I know prayers aren’t always answered so quickly, but right as I ended the prayer I felt alleviated and so happy. Like although everything was coming down around me, I was ok. I got up and had so much excitement for weekly planning. We left that day, like all the rest, hoping to see miracles. And we did. A member in our ward told us that she has a neighbor that’s a member, but her daughter is not and wanted to learn about the church. We had a lesson with her and she was so excited to read the Book of Mormon and learn more. We had a few more contacts that we were going to go find. We passed a house with a lady outside washing her clothes... which is a very normal thing to see. But my companion and I just both stopped and started talking to her... I didn’t even think much, my body just DID. Well, after talking for awhile, she invited us into her house. We found out that she really feels alone and has been wanting for a long time to find a church. We taught her the first lesson and she accepted a baptismal date right away and told us... you bet I’ll be at church. I wouldn’t miss it. I left feeling so blessed. She told us that she had a friend that was a member, so immediately after, we went to the house of this friend to ask her help and she proceeded to give us even more references. At that point we still had a lot of lessons planned, so my companion and I literally were running from place to place through Imbaya. We had two other amazing lessons where I really could feel the spirit. Last night I didn’t even want to stop and go to bed.. I was just AMAZED at what the Lord is willing to do for us.

I love Him with all of my heart. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and the knowledge that HE has felt every pain and every happiness. A scripture that really touched me this week was in Alma 5. Everything we do in this life is preparing for the moment when we will return to our Father. That perspective can turn any sad heart into one filled with hope and joy. “Can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord saying unto you in that day, Come unto me ye blessed for behold your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth." He loves us. He wants us to come home.

I love you all!!! Have an amazing week!!!

Hermana Yorgason