THE ADVENTURES OF KATIEMARIE: Watermelons, Mountain Jungles, and Conference!

This week we have seen quite a few miracles. I love how the Lord works. I love the Lord.

First off, we had a watermelon miracle. So last P day we were walking and we did not have much time, but we needed to find something quick to buy for our Family Home Evenings. So we decided to say a quick prayer on the side of the road. Afterwards we found a watermelon stand and decided that watermelon it would be. However, it was super expensive. My companion was agasted by how much they wanted, and somehow I misunderstood and said "yes! That would be great. 100 limperas for two watermelon." She was just staring at me, and later we decided it was part of God's plan for me not to understand, because we went to our second sita for the night, and they weren't there. So lame! But there was one of their neighbours. I knew their little girl, because she loves us, but the mom has never been too interested. However, we asked her if she wanted some watermelon. The mom said yes, and we decided we should go see if we could do it in a house of a member who lives super close. We went over and they were just starting their FHE! What another miracle. Everything went well, and we knew that God had a perfect plan for us and our watermelon that night.

We also had a baptism for Angie! She is eleven. She was baptized when she was 8 but there were problems with the paperwork so we got to teach her and get her ready to be baptized again. She was an investigator of gold. Her baptism was perfect and beautiful.

Also this week we went and hiked up in the mountains. Yep. Hiked. Not as an activity, but to find a contact. Another reference of Maria Huezo! So we left at 8 am to try to escape the heat (right now in Honduras we are burning and sweating every second!). After all was said and done we got there around 10:30. We had to take a bus to an area called Puente Alto, and then we had to find a pickup truck that would take us up the mountain. The truck came, and it is a rule of the mission we can't ride in the back of a truck, so my companion got to sit on my lap up the mountain. We got dropped off on the side, and got to hike in for another thirty minutes. Whoo!! Finally made it. It was absolutely beautiful. We were in a mountainous jungle with lots of beautiful trees. We finally made it to the aunt of Maria. She told us that she was coming to general conference and she thinks she wants to get baptized. We were kind of in shock by the faith and diligence of this seventy year old woman. We decided to have faith in her. We left around 11:30, and got to hike down the mountain to Puente Alto and take our bus back again, arriving sore and dirty back to our apartment around 1:00. Sunday morning I almost started crying as this sweet woman walked into the chapel as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was singing. Wow. Such diligence, faith, and sacrifice.

We also had a few miracles with our investigators who came to conference. Joanna, my sweet miracle investigator, was starting to stop going to church. We went and talked to her, and we talked to her about the importance of the church and that she needed to esforzarse (exert yourself) a little more. She told us she was going to come to conference. And she did! We had another lesson with her, and we started talking more about the church. We asked her if she had a testimony of the Book of Mormon, since she had been reading it and was loving what she was reading. She said she thought it was the word of God. We invited her to pray about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and this gospel. We explained that if the Book of Mormon was the word of God, that showed Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that this is the church of God. I watched her as she started putting everything together. It was amazing. Conversion is amazing. We also starting teaching a muchacho named Jelson. I had taught him once when I first came here to Campana in December, but he wasn't that interested and was never there when we had lessons, so we quite looking for him and he never came to church so we never found him. However, he is friends with Marco, one of our recent converts. He came to his baptism. Then all the sudden he had this desire to change. He wanted us to teach us again. He came to conference, and last night he was talking how he just felt like he needed to change and come unto Christ. My companion and I were sitting there in awe, and just told him, "well you have definitely come to the right place!" We also had a nice old gentlemen come who we never believed was coming, but there he was! I had to give him six limperas to get back home because somehow he was six limps short for the bus home, but it was chill since his son is loaded and I am sure will reimburse me the 35 cents :) And Christian came. Christian has been grounded for like a month but somehow got permission to come. Every person we have talked to so far has loved conference... and how can you not love conference?!? It is so amazing and beautiful!!

I ended up watching all four sessions, and the womens broadcast, in Spanish. I missed a lot but it was still beautiful. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Elder Packer, how he talked about how he knew Christ was our Savior. He gave the quote of Joseph Smith when he said "And this is the testimony last of all that we give, that he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God..." and then Elder Packer said that he knew too. I was listening in Spanish and I was like ¨woahh! Did I hear that right?¨ So amazing and beautiful. I also loved Elder Bednar´s talk about applying the atonement of Christ and sharing our yoke with God. And I loved the talk about how this is our three seconds, and if we mess up, we will be thinking about it for eternity! So act now! I also loved Elder Uchtdorf how he talked about how we need to be more grateful. I think I understood him right, that he said that is what made men into prophets, is being grateful and relying on God during trials.

So I want to add my own testimony to the prophet´s and the apostels. I too know God lives. I too know God loves me, and that Jesus Christ died for me. I know that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that people can truly be happier by living by the precepts of this gospel than any other way! I know that to be happy we need to draw ourselves to God, and every time we do, he will show us his love and teach us things that we need to change. I know this is the work of the Lord!