Adventures in Mesa: Faith To Accept God's Will No Matter What

Hi family how are you! (from email of 6-9-14)

Can't believe another week is going by. Time is just flying. We were busy this weekend a lot of stuff done. It was really good. I don't even know where to start. I guess I will start with Monday.

We got a referral last week for this couple that the English missionaries had contacted so we decided to visit them, and we brought a couple from our ward with us too. Their names are Rosa and Pedro. As we started off the lesson they were nice but didn't seem too interested. But by the time we finished teaching the restoration the spirit was there very strongly and you could tell they had a desire to learn. The members were able to give really great testimonies and to touch their hearts. We haven't been able to have another lesson with them yet, but we stopped by and they seemed excited to see us. The members stop by on Saturday night and invited them to come to church. We have a lesson with them tomorrow, I'm really excited. It's so great to see how God can really touch His children's heart through the spirit.

We also have a fun family home evening with the family that the bishop asked us to visit. It was really enjoyable.

Tuesday we had a lesson with Katharina and it was good as well. Her son is going through a lot of hard things. It's hard to meet with her often because she works all the time, but she really wants to learn and already considers herself part of the church. She said she's trying to work with her boss to get more time off of work especially Sundays so that she can be more involved in church and start progressing towards baptism. Lately, she has really been putting forth the effort and we are excited to see her keep moving forward.

We also have a lesson with Amanda and it was good. She has some really interesting ideas that are hard to know how to respond to, but we're trying our best to work with her. She's really touched my heart and I want to help her so badly to come closer to Christ. We wanted to have a lesson focused on recognizing the voice of the spirit, but she seemed to keep pulling the topic off to one of her theories. My heart just hurts because I know how badly she's looking for the truth. I felt bad that she was so close, but yet so far, so I offered a prayer in my heart pleading for help to know what we could say to help her find the truth. I don't know how, but we were able to take control of the lesson again and apply the topic to her in a way that helped her. We went back later in the week and also taught her about who Christ really is and about the importance of the atonement in our lives. We sang a hymn and the spirit was really strong. She's one that will take time but I know she'll get there eventually.

We have also done a lot of service this week for Hna Arnez, a less active sister in our ward, who was hit by a drunk driver and was injured pretty badly by him. She has asked for some help so we were able to help her clean her room and clean out her fridge. It was so great to be able to make a difference in her home. She's so sweet and we love being with her.

My zone

We also had the temple excursion and it was so great! I absolutely love the temple! I could spend all my time there if I could. Just the love and peace you feel there are indescribable. There's nothing like being in the celestial room with so many missionaries there; such a powerful thing. I got to be there with Hna. Groll and Hna. Brons Those two sisters are just so special to me. I love my baby girls haha!

We also
have a great zone training meeting on Wednesday and I learned a lot. It's crazy
how the Spirit of the Lord can teach you exactly what you need to hear no
matter what the topic is. It seems like the things they talked about were meant
for me. I'll have to include some of my notes that I took. The missionaries in
this mission are wonderful. Well at least the Spanish ones. I don't really know
the English ones, but I am sure they are great too ha ha.

We've been praying and thinking a lot about Lupita and Jime. Just trying to figure out the best way we can help them. We want them to have a strong testimony of the restoration so that has been our main focus this week. We taught them with some fun cartoons and pictures that we drew and had a great member family there who did a good job fellowshipping and shared really personal experiences and testimonies that helped them. But it just seemed just like they were starting to get a bit cold and lose a little bit of interest. So we're thinking a lot about it and what we might have done wrong and about what was impeding them. Jime hasn't been reading much from the book of Mormon. We also thought that they are feeling pretty pressured into baptism and the commitments. We were scared that they were being scared off, especially since they did not come to church yesterday. So we decided we needed to be humble and start things off fresh with them. So we stopped by last night and were just really loving and asked for forgiveness if we had made them feel pressured or unloved in anyway. We told them that all we wanted to do was to help them come unto Christ, and that we were here to help them and love them in anyway that we could. Jime was sleeping so we couldn't talk with him, but Lupita was really great and explained how they have been feeling. I guess her husband got a new job this week that has early and long hours all day and in the hot sun. When he comes home from work he spends the rest of the day working on his own house finishing the insulation. He has just been exhausted without a single day of rest. So that is why they have not been very concentrated on the lessons and the Gospel lately because he literally has no energy. That's why they couldn't come to church either. She said that he will be done with the house in two weeks and that he hopefully won't have work on Sundays anymore. She said that they will try their best these next two weeks, but that they will really be able to put in more time and attention in two weeks.

It was so great to hear that they still want to move forward, and that we are all on the same page. I really love that family so much! They make me so happy!

We also found a few more people this week that seem to have potential. I am so excited to work with them. One man we found on the street basically told us that he knows that the church is true and wants to be a part of it, but his wife is very strong in a different religion and doesn't want him to learn. We told him to pray about what to do in this situation because he didn't know. Apparently he mows the lawn at the temple for his job and has been able to learn a little bit and feels in his heart that he should be there. We are praying for him! Seriously, God is preparing His children!

I wish I could begin to explain all the things that I am learning every day. It's like I'm taking a full college course by the spirit every day this week. I don't know why, but I really learned a lot this week; a lot about faith and about God's will and about humility and all sorts of things. It's so great to understand more and more how I can come closer to Christ. One thing that I studied this week that I especially enjoyed is called "that we might not shrink" by Elder Bednar. That We Might Not Shrink You should all read it, it is great! It's all about how we need to have faith that God can do anything, but also have the faith to accept Gods will no matter what it is, even if it is so different from our own. That's something that has been really sticking out to me lately; how God has a detailed plan for each of our lives for us to grow and progress. But at the same time, He will never take away our agency. He doesn't want to force us back home even if it may break His heart to see us straying from the path back.

Well, I love you so much! Thanks for all you do! Seriously the best family ever!

Con amor,

Hermana Haynes