Hello my lovelies!
Anyways, we met this darling mom, Beatriz and her twodaughters Evelyn & Brianna. Well Evelyn is 11 and in a wheelchair, shehas special needs and then Brianna is 15. So darling and I alreadylove them so much. So updates on them.. our first lesson was a coupleof days after our first initial contact and it was so wonderful. Westarted out just chatting away with Beatriz and really getting to knowher. It is amazing how fast people open us to us missionaries and howquick we are able to get to know them. Beatriz told us many thingsincluding how it took her 10 years to get pregnant. Doctors told hershe would never be able to have children either but then miraculouslyGod sent her two "angelitas" ... little angels. Both with mental orphysical disabilities too however they are her most valuablepossessions. How she talks about them is so sweet and I can alreadytell she is a very humble woman with much strength and gratitude inher heart. So again, we learned a lot about her and then her husband,Antonio, came home! Which was a wonderful surprise because he works inSan Francisco and is gone most the week. But he was soo nice andimmediately joined in our conversation as well. Long story short, weended up teaching a brief overview about our church, along with someclassic PMG "how to begin teaching" haha and then taught them aboutthe Book of Mormon. We talked a lot about the Book of Mormon, it'shistory and everything and then we read parts in it and extended theinvitation to them to read more on their own, of course, to find outif it's true, etc. and they both were excited, happy, ready & wantingto do so. They both seem awesome and a huge answer to our prayers.
So I will keep you updated on them! Then yesterday, we decided to do someof our studies outside and all of the sudden this guy walked past usand then turned around and came back asking us if we were having biblestudy. Long story short, we ended up teaching him about the Book ofMormon and began the first lesson. Really emphasizing on our beliefson the Godhead and Jesus Christ's ministry. These were where hisquestions arose the most. Which was awesome. So we had a veryfascinating & incredible study with him in the short amount of timethat we talked and then he asked if we could meet with him again.Amazing. This guy came to us and asked us to meet with him again. Whata miracle. His name is Zeb and he has such a sincere desire to learnmore and so we are so excited to teach him again! And then we'reteaching a former named Luis. He is a man with the craziest history,still not fully out of his problems either, was in jail not too longago.... but he has the most loving, darling daughter and has a greatdesire to change his life so we want to help him best we can. His auntis Maria Gonzalez too, in whom we make tortillas with... we madehomemade tortillas again with her this week... soo good, but so he hasfamily in the church. We'll see! All of these people are wonderful andwe feel so blessed we get to teach and work with each of them!! Moreupdates to come!! Also, with graduation this past week we weren't ableto see Alex or the Fung family but this week we will for sure. Icannot wait!Also, we had stake conference this past weekend which was amazing.Especially because President & Sister Weston spoke at the Saturdaynight session and I was in tears throughout President's whole talk. Ihad constant chills and could feel the Holy Ghost so strongly.
My heart was about to burst as well as I felt so much love, admirationand respect for that man. I have come to realize that President Westonis the most Christ-like person I have ever met. He truly radiates withlight, pure love and the spirit. He obtains all Christ-like attributesand demonstrates them to their fullest. Just being in his presencemakes me want to be the best person & disciple of The Lord I canpossibly be. He inspires, uplifts and encourages me more than I canexpress and I feel an immense amount of love for him and the Saviorthrough him. He also demonstrates more charity than anyone I know, which is the pure love of Christ, and makes me feel more loved than Ican explain. President Weston gives me a glimpse of the Savior and hassincerely changed my life. I love him so much and feel so blessed forthe relationship I share with him. He is such a valiant servant of TheLord and all of us missionaries are convinced he will be a generalauthority one day.Also, I told my companion my husband better be like him. Requirementfor my future husband: characteristics of the Savior and in a present,visible living example... characteristics of President Weston. Haha.Sister Weston must be one of the most blessed wives in the entire world.
Also, mom.. I asked him about his Homecoming and he said he hasbeen trying to not talk about that.. He is still in the mission andhas a lot more time left (he leaves July 1st) haha but then he got allserious and kinda choked up and said, very quietly and serious, thatthey just found out they will be speaking on July 13th and he willgive me more information later. So I will keep you updated. Howevereveryone in our family should attend!! I promise you won't regret it!And then President Marston will be arriving here June 28th. So soon! Icannot believe it! It's exciting however I have such mixed emotions.Also, Mike Mansell visited the mission last week and President told mehe saw a picture of me with Meg as a cheerleader....... I was soembarrassed. He said he wanted a copy of it hahaha and Sister Westonjust hugged me and said it was darling. Still embarrassed.Then.. for this week Hermana Hughes and I studied the principle andChrist-like attribute of virtue. I would like to share some of mybrief thoughts with you on what I studied.VIRTUE.
What is virtue? Virtue comes from the Latin word virtusmeaning valor (courage), strength & moral perfection. Moralperfection.. how profound is that. And how do we begin to be virtuousand reach that moral perfection? Well, we hear from The Lord Himselfthat we shall "let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly." In PMG weread that "virtue originates in your innermost thoughts and desires."Our own personal virtue all begins with the thoughts we have and thetrue desires we hold in our heart. These thoughts then lead to actionswhich will either be righteous, of great value and overall virtuous ornot. So where are our thoughts? Are we making sure our thoughts arealways Christ-like and righteous? Do we remember that Christ Himselfknows even our very innermost thoughts & desires? He can read them asclearly as words written on a page in a book. Which leads to my nextsubject.
The Book of Life. Last Sunday we had dinner at the Kuhnen'swho are members in our branch (served a mission in Guatemala) andHermano Kuhnen talked to us a lot about the Book of Life and what aformer Apostle said about it. He spoke about how figuratively, theBook of Life will be when all of our works, deeds, thoughts & desireswill be visible to The Lord on our day of judgement. Each act &thought we have had will have been engraved into our very own bones,joints and sinews. So therefore, when we are in our resurrectedbodies, The Lord will visibly see and read them. He will seeeverything. He will see us. Exactly how we are. Fortunately, we havethe Infinite Atonement which can get rid of all the we repent of..."He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and Iwill not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confesshis name before my Father, and before his angels."
.... Next, theliteral Lamb's Book of Life is a book kept in Heaven that has writteninside all of the names of the righteous. However, these names can beblotted out due to unworthiness and unrighteousness. We read in Alma5:57-58, "And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to followthe voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be yeseparate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their namesshall be blotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not benumbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of God may befulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingledwith the names of my people; For the names of the righteous shall bewritten in the book of life, and unto them will I grant an inheritanceat my right hand. And now, my brethren, what have ye to say againstthis? I say unto you, if ye speak against it, it matters not, for theword of God must be fulfilled." How powerful is that. Don't we allwant our names to be written in the Book of Life? And if they havebeen written, don't we want to make sure they remain there and are notblotted out?? And when we stand before The Lord, our Savior andRedeemer, at the final judgement... and He see us for who we trulyare, alone.. with nobody around us, only our true selves and souls...how will we appear? How will He see us? What do we want Him to see?Don't we want Him to see us as virtuous sons & daughters of God?Therefore, if virtue begins in our very thoughts and desires, we mustcontrol them and keep them righteous. Keep them focused on Christ.
These thoughts will then lead to righteous & pure actions, ones thatare pleasing & acceptable in the eyes of God. These thoughts andactions will then lead to us being those virtuous sons & daughters ofour Heavenly Father. How incredible is that? Being virtuous issomething we all should aim to be and is something we should & mustwork at each and every day. "Of all the possessions that you have,virtue is the most important. It is a peak of great price. People canstrive, toil and sweat all their lives for fame and wealth, but yourgreatest wealth and fame will come from virtuous living. The wealthand fame that come from virtuous living are peace with yourself, yourfellowmen, and with God, the joys and happiness of righteous living.The fame of having your name recorded in Heavenly Father's Book ofLife as one who is true and faithful and loves The Lord is far moreimportant than being honored with the praises and glories of theworld." Virtue gives you true peace, which true peace only comes fromrighteousness and the Holy Ghost, courage and true confidence. Weagain read in D&C 122:45, "Let virtue garnish thy thoughtsunceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence ofThe Lord." If we constantly strive to be virtuous and pure, we willhave more peace in our hearts and self-confidence here on the earthand when we are one day in the presence of The Lord and our HeavenlyFather. We will not be afraid at the day of judgement but feel proudof all that we did and the person we've become. Virtue is pricelessand as is said in Proverbs 31:10 for us women, "Who can find avirtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies." We also read thatin Moroni 9:9 that virtue and chastity are "most dear and precious ofall things." I am continually striving to be a virtuous person andalthough I am far from perfect and have made many mistakes in mylife... and continually make many mistakes.. it is a righteous goal Ihave and I will work my best at it every day. I want to be a virtuouswoman, wife & mother (one day) and daughter of God. I know that's whatmy Heavenly Father expects of me, what I expect of my self and what myfuture husband & little darlings deserve.Well, the mission is wonderful and I couldn't be happier!!! I love youall so very much and thank my Heavenly Father everyday for having suchwonderful & valiant examples in my life. You are all my angels and Ilove you more than you know. I also pray for you each and every singleday and hope life is treating you the very best!!! You deserve it!!
ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਨਾਲ ਪਿਆਰ
Which translates to... I LOVE YOU and sounds like ... "mainu tuhadenaala piyara" in Punjabi!!! Our neighbor Sahil taught us and I had him type it on my iPad haha. There are Punjab's everywhere here! I loveit! They are the sweetest too but usually don't know English so wejust smile and wave to one another. And Sahil's mom doesn't know alick of English but loves us so much and told Sahil she feels we kneweach other in a different life.... love her. Also for those of you whodon't know, Punjab's are East Indians!
LOVE YOU ALL
Con amor,Hermana Barth
Ps. Random notes.....
1. The weather is over 105 degrees every day here! It's crazy hot! Yesterday we hit 113 and at 7 o'clock at night it was still 105 degrees. Haha I am melting but it's all part of the fun!!
2. We have trainer/trainee meeting tomorrow in Gridley so I get to see President again as well as Hermana Piggott & Hermana Richards!! I cannot wait!!!
3. CHRISTINE COLE IS ENGAGED!!!!!! Ahh so crazy. I need to write her. Everyone is getting engaged & married! So crazy. Someone tell hercongrats for me!!!! I will send her a personal congrats ASAP. Howexciting!!!
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