Take Heart

What a special week it was. Full of the spirit & powerful invitations!!! Fabián & María... they are so cute. They listen intently. Fabián comes to all the activities & to church & is always participating. This week, we wanted to extend the baptismal invitation. We planned a super special lesson around the Gospel of Jesus Christ & although they said no, Fabián said he wants to really come to know & love God first. Similar to Fernando, we extended the baptismal invitation last week but really felt like we should go over it again because he is just so ready. Planned a lesson focused on the priesthood and the atonement. As we spoke of the atonement, tears filled his eyes & ours. The spirit was with us in the park that day. He said that he wants to take it slow as well. We pushed a little saying that he should accept this opportunity to receive salvation, shared powerful scripture & words of Apostles, really shared testimony from the heart. We left that one a little disheartened because we really can see his potential, but we know there is timing. & the timing of God is perfect. So we wait patiently, hoping & praying for the day that their hearts are pricked just enough to accept the atoning grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Last week at church, Pamela came walking in the doors. We didn't know who she was but later found out that she is a member who got baptized years ago at a different ward but never went again. She told us she doesn't remember almost anything but she woke up that day and knew she needed to go. We went to go visit her and spoke on the plan of salvation. She had lost a son & that lesson filled her with hope. We all were crying & the spirit was so present. Oh how blessed we are to have the knowledge of the plan of salvation. Yesterday we went again to speak about the restoration to help her build up her testimony. She is determined to learn about the doctrine because she feels in her heart that this is where she needs to be. & I just know it's where she needs to be.

As you labor to know Him & to know that He knows you; as you invest your time, unassuming service, you will indeed find that "He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands, they shall bear you up." Matthew 4:6. It may not come quickly. It probably won't come quickly, but there's a purpose in the time that it takes. Cherish your spiritual burdens because God will converse with you through them & will use you to do His work if you carry them well. So if your prayers don't always seem answered, take heart. One greater than you cried, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the greatest people to ever live.

Lay it all on the altar of sacrifice. Hold nothing back. Submit to God's will. This mission is about what the Lord wants, not you. Rely upon your faith. You never give up. You came out here to change the world, to change lives, but there's a cost. It costs everything that you have on the altar of sacrifice - your fears, your pride, your laziness, your disobedience, your weaknesses; we can't hold anything back. The Lord demands your whole soul on the sacrificial altar. That is the price we must pay, and when we do, we then become instruments in the hands of the Lord.

A few of the studies that made up my week. Look for time to search the scriptures, to study the prophets of the Lord, & to pray. Pray in every moment. In a week, Elder Renlund is going to speak to us as a mission. He had us all submit a question we have been wanting answered. I am so excited & feel so blessed to hear from an Apostle of the Lord. I know that the spirit will be so present and that we will receive guidance.

Take heart & trust in the Lord.

I love you all & I pray for you.

With all my heart,

Hermana Morley <3