Hello!
How is everyone doing? We're are enjoying cozy warm sunny days here in Montreal. It's actually pretty nice right now. It's hard to believe that in just a couple months we'll be layering on the sweaters again:( Boo! to winter. But for now we will bask in the warm summer sun and pretend like winter will never come:)
This was an interesting week with too many peaks and valleys to count. But it wasn't unbearable in any sense. Because we are doing the Lord's work, we are entitled to the Lord's help. And as always we laughed so much along the way. No matter how often we got told "No." or smurfed, or avoided, we found reasons to laugh. I thank the Lord every night that Sister Cantu and I have Sister Lucas to make us laugh.
This week while we were knocking, we knocked into a Peruvian woman who had a big dog. Me, being the uber-enthusiastic gringa said loudly, "Que bonito su Pedro!" Yeah. I know the word is Perro, but for the life of me I can't say that word. Pero. Pedro. Pedo.....It's going to take some work. My goal is to not sounds like a fool the next time I say it. Don't worry mom, I'll try to make you proud.
This week we also got lost for almost 2 hours with one of our members. After we had been smurfed yet again, this cute little 65 year old member said, "I know! We'll go visit my friend. She's not a member and I know she wants to hear the gospel." We asked her for the address so we could put it into our GPS. "No se preocupan, Hermanas" She insisted that she knew the way. Well, I started driving and she talked, and talked, and talked for a good 35 minutes. We were getting close to our area boundaries and she insisted it was still a good 20 minutes, so we had her call her friend who actually lived 20 minutes in the other direction from where we originally started. So we drove back in the other direction and ended up getting to the friend of the friends house because she didn't actually know where they lived. This friend showed us where the other friend lived and when we finally got there they yelled and banged on the door...and wouldn't you know it? Norma was on vacation. After we dropped the little members off we promptly went and bought ice cream, for it's healing properties to heal days gone awry.
Yesterday I was told about 2 minutes before sacrament meeting that I would be giving a five minute missionary moment in sacrament meeting. My stomach dropped because as the Pedro incidence indicates my Spanish isn't amazing yet. Well, I talked to the Lord all during Sacrament and as soon as the speakers were announced I walked up bore my testimony and sat down. Both of my companions had eyes as big as saucers. "That was perfect!" It was all the Lord. I'm here to tell you the gift of tongues is real.
Tatiana is doing amazing! Oh my goodness! I love Tatiana! She will be getting baptized in two weeks from Saturday and she can hardly wait. Yesterday she practically bolted to us to show us her new Book of Mormon triple and mini Spanish Hymn book. It was a beautiful thing to see her so happy with her new books. This week she is going to set up an appointment for us to start teaching her Mama. We are so thrilled!
This week was one of those trial of my faith kind of weeks. But the Lord was there, as always. It seemed like no matter how hard or long we worked nothing worked out. At night I would talk to the Lord and never ask why, but just talk to Him. I always feel like Heaven is so near than when I'm praying after a long day. There are times in those really tender moments that I can feel His warm embrace and I know that I am His. Yesterday we were planning a spiritual thought and my companion, the lovely Sister Cantu, shared this scripture
24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock—
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand—
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
And then she shared that just because we are members of the church it doesn't mean things will always be rosy. This scripture teaches us that the rains will still come, but if we are built upon a firm foundation, our testimony rooted in the Savior, we won't be washed away in sorrow when those rains come. I've been studying the Book of Mormon in Spanish and this week I was stunned to see how many things I learned differently from reading in Spanish. In 2 Nephi 2:25 says "Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy." I always took this to mean that because of Adam's fall we should all be walking around with big grins on our faces all of the time. But as I read in Spanish I realized what this scripture is saying is that because of the fall of Adam we will know joy, because we also know pain and sorrow. Each trial brings us closer to better understanding why Adam's fall is so important, so afterwards we can experience joy.
I hope you have so much joy this week! And if you don't feel it this week I know it is on it's way. We are here to feel joy! If you can't find it look in the scriptures, talk to the Lord in prayer, listen to the speakers at church. Joy is all around us.
I love you!
Sister Perkins
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