words and wanderlusts: Chocolate Fast

Hello everyone! Well, not much has happened this week. We had interviews with President Deere, we attempted to cook cultural meals, and we went the whole week without chocolate (and boy was it ever difficult). Why would we do that? For and investigator.

Like I mentioned last week, Isi wasn´t too convinced on the whole Word of Wisdom thing so Tuesday we explained it better and it was a very spiritual lesson as we mostly went through the scriptures talking about obedience and repentance. She is about to graduate from nursing school so she had a really important exam to take with an unfair professor. She decided to make a promise to God to obey the WoW and not drink tea that week if she could have the blessing of the test going well. We, in her support, told her we would give up the thing we love most, chocolate, during the same period of time. (The first days are the roughest but now I have chocolate in my system and life is good). She called us right after she took the exam and said it went phenomenally :D And she said that as an answer to her prayers her parents are finally listened to her explain the Joseph Smith story, and that her mom got a job! She is keeping her commitments and progressing a ton, and as a result, seeing miracles. I don´t remember if I mentioned it last week but she is already in Mosiah and loved the olive tree allegory in Jacob. She is not your ordinary investigator. But of course now there is the roadblock of chastity looming over us. So pray for a miracle!

What else? Have you ever looked at a person and could just tell that they smoke or have a problem with the WoW? I can tell almost every time now without fail. You can see it in their eyes and in there face. We taught an investigator named Chari this week. She used to be an alcoholic and smokes too. She is depressed, without hope, and has thought many times about taking her life. You can feel the influence that the adversary has on her and her home. We don´t talk about it too often in the church but especially as missionaries we see that Satan is real and has great influence over peoples´ hearts and minds. She and others come to a point so low that they are finally humble enough to accept that they need help, some don´t, but she is ready for it and desperately needs some glimmer of hope in order to keep going on. We are going by tomorrow so she and her home can receive a blessing. But I am constantly reminded everyday of how blessed I truly am. And I know everyone reading this is just as blessed. We have the gospel and we truly understand our purpose in life. We have hope and we have a way out- the opportunity of eternal happiness.

There is a young woman here that is such a good example to me and everyone around her. Her parents are separated and no longer active and her circumstances are miserable at school as well. But she has one of the strongest testimonies I have ever seen, especially in someone of 15 years of age. She has learned what every one of us must learn to truly be converted. She has learned to grasp onto the gospel and integrate the atonement of Jesus Christ into every aspect of her being. She shares the gospel with everyone, she probably reads the scriptures more than we do, she is saving to go on a mission, and is the sweetest thing on the planet. Many times I reflect back on when I was in young women's and how I gained my testimony. I am forever grateful for choosing to read the Book of Mormon. It changed my life forever. For that, I hope that neither I nor a single one of you ever take it for granted.

Love you all!

Hermana Thompson

ps- this email was way hard to write, Spanish is literally screwing up my spelling...

photos!

from last week in the Arabic style building

1. Hna Fumero and i in the back and Hnas Moreno, Rindlisbacher, and Brown in the front

it won´t let me send more :/