"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear..." - 2 Timothy 1:7
First of all, sorry that I
didn´t write a general e-mail last week! I was busy sending pictures so I
didn´t get around to writing much :) But I still thought of all of you,
I promise :)
This week was probably one of the
hardest weeks of my life, but I have learned more from this week than I
think I could´ve in any other situation. And the blessings that have
been poured out have been innumerable. On Tuesday, we had a District
meeting, during which we found out that there will be some changes in
the way mission transfers happen worldwide. I was feeling pretty
stressed about that, but I know that God knows best and we just have to
trust His judgment. Then, on Tuesday evening, Sister Bundy and I were
assaulted (robbed) while tracting in a neighborhood in our area. It was scary,
yes. But we had angels on both sides of the veil helping us. As soon as
the men got back in their car, a young man who had seen the whole thing
jumped on his motorcycle and sped after them. Many people who lived
nearby and heard the commotion came out of their houses and helped us,
offering rides, phones, water, etc. Ten minutes later,
the man on the motorcycle came back with our bags! He had somehow
managed to get everything back. A kind couple from the street drove us
home and made sure we were doing okay when we got there. I will forever
be in debt to those generous people. It is amazing how God provides in
our time of need. I have learned so much from the generosity of complete
strangers during this experience. And I know that God was watching out
for us.
The rest of this week has been almost
as hectic as Tuesday, complete with visits to the office, renewing
Sister Bundy´s visa at the police headquarters, teaching a bunch of
amazing people, and eating A TON of chocolate :) We taught a new
investigator named Fran this week, and she is so prepared and wonderful!
She and her son came to church this week and they really liked it. She
even asked if we could come visit her neighbor sometime this week. I
love that when people realize how the Gospel is blessing their life and
the lives of their families, they can´t wait to share it with their
friends and neighbors.
Another exciting thing:
Julio passed the sacrament this week!! I almost started crying when I
saw him up there in his new white shirt looking nervous and excited :)
He goes back to Bolivia this week, and although I´m going to miss him, I
know he is excited to see his family again and share the Gospel with
his wife and daughters. If I go my whole mission without another
baptism, it will all be worth it. He is truly elect.
Another
miracle: Money has been a little tight this transfer because we had to
pay a bunch of bills, but this week, we were walking along as always
when I saw something on the ground. I bent down, picked it up, and it
was a $50 bill! There was no one around, so we couldn´t give it back to
whoever dropped it. We are currently saving it for someone who needs it.
It was a good reminder for me this week that God is always looking out
for us :)
I hope you all had a great week and
are enjoying the cold weather of The United States :) I miss you all
very much but I am happy to be here serving the people of Brazil. Don´t
forget your prayers!!
All my love,
Sister Doyle