Through the grace of the atonement, we can do miracles

This week has been absolutely beautiful. We had the baptism of Rafaela, and it was absolutely amazing. While we were singing for the baptism, I looked over and she was praying. It touched my heart so much. She also paid her tithing, and her fast offering for the first time yesterday. When we taught her about tithing and fast offering she just wanted to pay it so much and give her offering to the Lord. She gave her thirty limperas to tithing and her twenty limps for fast offering. I know that for the Lord, it was so much.
Sometimes people have to wait 70 years for the blessings of the gospel, but they are always blessed, and the Lord always has a plan for everyone. My companion and I were talking about how God had perfectly planned Rafaela. In January we had the baptism of Familia Huezo, and then they were able to introduce us to Rafaela. Rafaela lives so far away, and when it is rainy here, there is no possible way that she could come down from the mountain. God planned it perfectly so she could be baptized, that we were able to find her in the short period of time where there is no rain here in Honduras. He also planned it in a way that he knew we would be willing to make the four hour sacrifice to go visit her. Our Father in Heaven is a God of miracles. He was, he is, and he always will be when we exercise our faith in him. He is perfect.

We also had another miracle. Yesterday we decided to walk out to one of our other areas to visit a member that is only there on Sundays. She wasn't in church, and I felt like we really needed to see her. So we treked out to Las Palmas to find her. We went to where she lived, and her neighbour was outside and told us she had moved. I was so sad! She explained to us where she lived... and lets be honest, most of the time when people give me directions here... I understand nothing! It sounds a lot like this "por aqui, y por aca, y adelante adelante, y por la izquerda y bajo bajo bajo..." Basically if they give us a pulperia we go look for the pulperia and pray. We went and looked for some others, and everything was falling through. Everything! So my companion and I looked at each other, and decided it was time to pray. We got close in the dirt road, looked around and, finding ourselves alone, prayed. We prayed to know what the Lord wanted us to do, because he always has a plan. We decided to go look for the Pulperia Gladis, which is the most I understood from the directions. We walked a few steps, and there was a group of women. I went up and asked one of them if they knew where Pulperia Gladis was. She said "yes! And here is my friend, she lives close to there, she can take you there!" We were walking and we told her we were looking for Marina, with the daughters, and she knew who she was! She tooks us straight to her house, and it was definately bajo bajo bajo, and there is no possible way we would have ever found it without some miracles from God. We got there and we told Marina our story. She told us that she had been thinking about us so much that day and the night before, and she knew God loved her because he had sent us to find her. It was a miracle for her and for us! It was so beautiful.

This week we also had divisions. I got to go with the amazing Hermana Bayles, who is going to finish her mission the next change. She is an amazing missionary and got me pumped to talk to people on the street and the bus more! I definately go through waves of having desires to talk to everyone and waves of having no desire at all, but I am back to trying to talk to every person I possibly can. We also read 1 Nephi 17 twice that day with investigators, so I decided that maybe the Lord was trying to teach me something in this chapter. I went back and re read this chapter. This is the chapter where Nephi is commanded to build a ship. In the first verse, Nephi says "...and we did wade through much affliction..." but in the second verse, "And so great were the blessings of the Lord..." and in the third verse, Nephi boldly declares if we are obedient, God always prepares a way. After this, God commands Nephi to build a ship. And what is the first thing he does? He immediately gets to work. And in first fifteen Nephi works hards to be obedient. So beautiful. I know that this is the way of the Lord. Trials, tribulations, and if we are obedient, lots of blessings. This worked perfectly with an article I read of Elder Bednar entitled "The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality." Elder Bednar says that through the atonement, through the grace of God, we can "serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity." I know Nephi was able to build the boat through the grace of the atonement.I know that we too can use the grace of the atonement to be better, serve more, and become more like Christ. We can do things we never thought were possible. Later in the week I was reading in Doctrine and Covenants 33, and it says, open your mouth, and you will become even as Nephi. I know we can become as Nephi and have faith if we are obedient, and if we use the grace of the atonement to make ourselves stronger and better.

I love Honduras, and I love the people here. I am about to reach my seven month mark, and I feel like my time is running out as a missionary! I am starting to panic a little haha. Luckily I know I have a little more time to be a representative of Jesus Christ and to boldly proclaim the gospel to every person.  

With so much love!