Hermana Owen ~ Paraguay Asuncion North: 2013-11-10

Today is beautiful. We had a chill p-day; i wrote two letters! haha two. ya. Anyway this week was great. My numbers aren´t as great as they use to be but I am striving. Hna Silva and I enjoy every second together and set awesome goals every week to help. Exciting news I ran every day this passed week and I have never felt better!

Tomorrow we get to see Elder D. Todd Christofferson!! Super super excited. I did a special fast and have been preparing some questions. It will be awesome.

I am listening to Music with a Message as I type this and I think I have a new favorite church song. Holy amazing!!! It is ¨He Hears Me¨?? By somebody Osborn. So So so amazing!!!

This week we had a neat experience... We were out walking in the streets late one night and all we needed was one more lesson with an investigator with a member present, yet this particular member family kept popping into my head. I was torn. But we seriously weren't around any of our investigators... well those who we were close to couldn´t meet with us, so we went to the Culman Family´s house (a member family). They are a darling little family and absolutely awsome but lately have been skipping out on the first two meetings... coming only for sacrament. So we showed up and had an awesome lesson. We started with doctrine and they literally just started opening up to us. The reason they haven´t been as strong lately is because they can´t feel the spirit when a certain member in the bishopric is conducting, because his spanish isn´t too good and he´s not formal? (I guess you could say) I just wanted him to see past that. So I shared my experience of arriving in the mission and seriously not being able to understand but two words in a lesson. I felt disqualified and there was no spirit to be felt because I had no clue what we were talking about. Then I related that I had been reading a talk where we must learn to ¨listen with love¨! Hno Culman had been talking like the whole time just complaining slash telling us why it bugs them and that they have done ¨everything¨ possible to help him but nothing is changing. Often times it is ¨us¨ who need to change. Sometimes - all the time, right? we should be looking inwardly not outwardly. He looked up at me in silence after i said that and he said, you know i need to try that. "listen with love". He looked down at the ground a little humbled by the thought. Quiero testificar cuando escuchamos con amor (I want to testify that when we listen with love) we really understand a lot more and it´s because of the spirit, we are happier about our work, and find joy in what the Lord has called us to do and doing his will. I love you all dearly. Sorry this week was a lil rushed. xoxo

Con Cariño,

Hill Hna Owen

p.s. still small voice by mindy gledhill - it is so fun!!!

"We become what we want to be, by consistently being what we want to become." -Richard G. Scott