Milo And Prunes

I got food poisoning this week and was SO VERY ILL for 24 hours, and I have never been so grateful for my health now. It was a good reminder to remember the little things we often take for granted. My obsession with Chilean hot chocolate and prunes has officially come to a hard close. #rip

The weeks are zooming by as normal, so I am just soaking up my time with my companion, Hermana Santamaria. She is such an example to me of patience and perspective.

Storytime: When it rains, usually the people on the streets run to their houses, making it hard to find friendly people in the streets, so this week, when it rained, we passed by members' and friends' homes that used to be taught by the missionaries.

In my area, there are mostly apartments, so we interact a lot with receptionists (conserje) of the buildings. After a night of a lot of "no," we walked into yet another apartment and immediately could tell that the man at the front desk was not excited to talk to us.

During our 3-minute unpleasant interaction, I thought, "Why can't this guy show at least a little respect? We are two missionaries, walking in the cold rain, trying to serve others."

As we were leaving the apartment, I was about to comment on his rudeness when my companion said, "Parece muy triste... que pena" (He seemed so sad; what a shame.)

BOOM! Her Christlike comment booted me right back into my place. Instead of thinking about our not-so-grand situation in the cold that night, Hermana Santamaria looked past herself and saw this man as God would see him.

I quickly repented, rang the doorbell again, and ran back in to give him a picture of Christ (a little card). Being even more annoyed at us than before, the man rejected my offer, and we left the apartment yet again.

Surprisingly, I was WAY happier the second time I left the building than the first. With this new perspective in mind, I thought, "Who knows? Maybe one day he will think back to the night when the gringa tried to give him a picture of Jesus Christ, and it could even make him smile."

I learned three things from this experience.

My comp is a spiritual queen.

Christ-like character is looking outward, even in the midst of our own difficulties.

I was happier the second time I left the apartment (after getting rudely rejected) because God's perspective helps us humble ourselves so that our hearts can be filled with empathy and clarity.

How many times are we blinded by our own selfishness/self-absorption to the needs of others around us, suffering perhaps even more than us?

Though we cannot be perfect, we can continually repent and try again depending on "the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah" (2 Nephi 2:8). Christ's "arm of mercy is extended towards [us], and whosoever will come, him[/her] will [He] receive; and blessed are those who come unto [Him]" (3 Nephi 9:14).

Highs:

Nancy wants to get baptized WUJU.

Our friends love church, and I am obsessed with this ward.

We now have hot water.

Angelica helping me in all of our lessons.

Laughing attack in our lesson with Javier.

Goal setting with Hermana Santamaria.

I finished Helaman and started reading in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon.

REVELATION from president in Consejo de Líderes #iamasquirrelleader.

Intercambios with Hermana Muguerza. Her Ecuadorian accent has not yet been corrupted by the mission.

Seeing Hermana Arne on Friday.

FIRE consejo combinado, where we focused on how to powerfully bear testimony of the First Vision.