Dear Friends and Family,
Today I got to go on an excursion!
Isn´t that cool? We went to go see the volcano and some beautiful
spots around the lake and I took lots of pictures and we just got back!
It was fun. So this week was great as usual. Except crazy as usual
too. Our trainer got called to be the secretary to the assistants to the
president. It is a new calling in our mission because of the large number
of sister missionaries. Cool huh? She is going to train trainers
and she has only trained once...with us! And we aren't even finished with
our training so she has trained 1 transfer...it is crazy. But she will be
great and Hermana Zortman and I will get a new trainer who will probably be
great too. Except she might not speak English so I really need to learn
Spanish pretty soon.
Also, good news...we might move!
It is a small chance, but we will see. I would love to move...sigh.
Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to be living in a house with a roof
over my head and running water...it would just be cool if we had a higher roof
and the water ran a little less all over the floor:)
This week I had a wonderful
opportunity to witness the gift of tongues in action. During one of our
lessons with a family there were lots of very talkative people talking all at
once and I had a really hard time following a lot of the conversation. At
one point the mom turned to me and started talking and even though I normally
have a hard time following everything she says, I knew exactly what she said.
She said they have let missionaries from other churches in before, but with
us she just feels more calm. Her son had been asking questions the whole
time and he had never done that before. I think she really likes that.
I told her those good feelings were the spirit telling her our message
was true and I think as we have been teaching this family she is really
starting to understand that more. I have been struggling with
understanding people a lot this week, but I also know that when I need to
understand, I will understand.
So dad asked what we eat here.
Well, we eat a lot of rice, potatoes, meat, a lot of soups, and salad.
Except the salads are usually just tomato or lettuce covered in oil and
salt so I am not sure how healthy it is. We don’t eat a ton of seafood
here in Puerto Varas but I hear the closer to the ocean you are the more fish
you eat. We are by a lake so we only eat the fish from there...Anyway,
yeah...I don’t know how well that answers your question. The biggest
difference I think is how much oil and salt they dump on everything. It
is yummy, but I might also be fat when I come home. I can’t decide...I am
doing better on my push-ups though! This morning I did 42 man
push-ups...you would all be very proud. Although, in all honesty my nose
did not touch the floor. That was too gross...but they were still good
push-ups I promise.
I
was studying a few things this week that I want to share. So in
Mark 5 it talks about the woman with an issue of blood who touches the robes of
Jesus and is healed. Jesus immediately felt "that virtue had gone
out of him." Virtue means power or strength here. I am
guessing then that to heal and to bless was more exhausting than we might
imagine. And yet the Lord healed again and again. After being
tempted by Satan angels were sent to minister to Him, at which point he
probably could have used the ministering of angels, but he sent those angels to
John who was cast into prison. After the death of John the Lord probably
wanted some time to be alone. John’s death was gruesome and sickening and
I am sure the Lord mourned not only for his beloved cousin, but for the
wickedness of his murderers. And yet with infinite compassion he
continues to minister to the sheep of His fold and feeds the 5,000 and teaches
and loves and ministers to His people (Mark 6) There was never a moment in
his mortal life in which he acted with selfishness. He continually turned
out in love when we as the natural man would turn in. And the greatest
manifestation of his love is His infinite and eternal sacrifice. The Lord
begs the father to let the bitter cup pass (Matt 26:39), but he humbly submits
to the will of the father and drinks. At any point He could have said
no. He could have changed His mind about being the Savior of the
world. He certainly wasn't going to but sometimes we forget that Christ
had his agency too. And after suffering for the sins of all mankind,
being beaten, betrayed by his own apostle and nailed to a cross He cries
"My God my God why hast thou forsaken me." No one understands
the feelings of abandonment and pain more than the Savior himself. He
really truly knows our pain. He really truly can heal our troubled
hearts. He wants us to be happy, just as our Heavenly Father wants us to
be happy. How painful it must have been for God to withdraw His presence
from His beloved, perfect Son. "For God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish
but have everlasting life."
Love,
Hermana Wood
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