Worms Are Scrumdidilyumptious

Buenos días, TODOS!!! Where do I even begin? To describe this past week, I would use the words: MIRACLES, HAPPINESS, sooo SPIRITUAL, a lot of LOVE, and starving because we only have canned tuna in our house.

My new companion is an angel. Like truly, she is just SO PURE, KIND, and FILLED WITH SO MUCH LOVE and DESIRE TO WORK HARD. She is from Arequipa, Peru, and has such a strong Peruvian accent, so let's hope my accent improves. It has also been so fun training in Spanish. I just love that new missionaries have so much faith in every single person we encounter. That's how it should be!!

My new area is a dream come true. People in the streets actually want to talk to missionaries, haha, and when we knock doors, they invite us in!!! We also live super close to the mountain range, so we have such a pretty view of the Andes. Very, very different than my last area (La Florida) in all aspects, but I love it. #promisedland

Spiritual Thought:

This week I came across a quote by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf (one of the 12 apostles of our church) that said,

"For these eaglets, the thrill of soaring begins with the fear of falling."

Context: Eagles build their nests high up on the edge of steep cliffs. When their offspring reach a certain age, the adult eagle brings the eaglet to the edge of the cliff and gently pushes them off into the canyon, where the only support to their wings is the open air. "For these eagles, the thrill of soaring begins with the fear of falling."

This analogy can be applied to so many aspects of life; however, I have focused on the fear we have as disciples of Christ of following the Spirit and "falling" or messing up instead of trusting in the power of God and experiencing the "thrill of soaring".

My first lesson this week in my new area was with a family of 5 who has so many questions. Not going to lie, this family is a little intimidating, and when the thought came to my mind to share a story in the scriptures that I studied the morning before, I let doubts and the "fear of falling" get in the way of me acting on this spiritual prompting. I thought... "What if I can't find the exact scripture I am thinking of and ruin the spirit?" or "What if I confuse them even more, trying to explain this unfamiliar story and applying it to their lives?"

When I read the quote by Elder Uchtdorf, this experience came to my head of how I let the "fear of falling" get in the way of the "thrill of soaring".

Two days later, we taught another family, but this time I promised myself whatever prompting I felt, I would immediately act on it, no matter how out of the box it was.

Long story short, strong promptings came, I acted confidently, and God blessed us with one of the most spiritual and edifying lessons I have ever had. We were all in tears by the end, and this beautiful family committed to being baptized in one month.

With faith and God's strength, I overcame the "fear of falling" and experienced the unimaginable sensation of the "thrill of soaring".

This experience was a game changer not just in my mission but in my life. How often has a name popped into our minds, but we do nothing about it? Or do we see someone that looks like they need help in public, but we let excuses and insecurity overtake our desire to help?

The thrill of being a true disciple of Christ begins with overcoming our worldly fears and trusting in the Spirit.

Highs:

Marcilia, Mateo, and Matias want to get baptized!!!!!

Natalia, Benjamin, and Tomas want to get baptized!!!!!

Vicente and Elizabeth want to get baptized!!!!!!

My companion LOVES to cook, hallelujah!

The weather was a dream this week.

I love my new house.

There is a 96-year-old member who accompanies us in lessons.

Our district leader has spikeball pro.

Leadership council!!!

The lunches here are soooo good.