Sprinting is My Favorite Part

Goodness I had so much fun reading emails this week.   Bishop Knight, reading yours I literally started having a panic attack!  What is going on!?  Three weeks left!  Good night nurse. It really is like running a race and suddenly you hit the last 200 meters and people start cheering from every direction, ¨Sprint! SPRINT!! GO! GO!! You´re almost there! YOU GOT THIS!¨  Gosh, what it´s that close! Flip!  Let´s go then!! Guys I´m sprintin okay!  Let´s win this thing!   I told Bishop, sprinting is my favorite part.  

This past week was a wild one. Goodness. Let´s see... where to begin. Well we got quite the down pore for a good four days. Lots of mud and it was just THE greatest thing bein soppin wet yet workin. Everyone wanted to let us in.  That´s the thing I love about Horqueta.  We got wet again that night with a fun water balloon game with the branch.  

My favorite lesson of the week we had just after consejo de rama Tuesday night. The spirit led it all. We were teaching Hermana Sofia. We helped her see all the progression she has made and how far she has come.  We not only put a date for the 18 of October but in the end she said the kneeling prayer. It was beautiful, and she pleaded with the Lord to show and help her understand that these things are true.  We embraced after the prayer and she looked us in the eyes almost on the verge of tears and said, ¨Owen, Border, I am doing this because I KNOW (che aikua´a...) it is a commandment of God, I want an eternal family, I know this is what will bless us forever and already has... thank you, thank you.¨ Goodness I almost went right down to bawlin. Lives change every day.  Also Hermano Frutos invited us over Sunday to eat. He expressed to us how much he desires to come back. He reading the Book of Mormon without fail everyday.  He just feels guilty or shameful returning.  Pray for him.  He is awesome.  

Oh we also found a GOLDEN investigator... Danaide Barrios. She is darling and has such curiosity and burning desire to know what we share.  Apparently a few weeks ago when we had divisions with Hermana Amado and Sanchez, Hermana Border and Amado met her, invited her Sunday to church, and said we´d return Sunday at 5 to share.  Well just so happens that Sunday she got ready to go and come to church and upon leaving they received the shocking sad news that her uncle had just past away.  She didn´t come.  BUT we past by this week and she told us everything that happen and we were able to talk about the plan.  She said, ¨I knew it! I knew it didn´t stop there! I  kept telling myself that.¨  She is awesome. Yesterday we shared with her dad and mom.  Little by little I think we´ll see great progress with this family.  

Just to end with a picture of our little picture perfect life here in the little town of Horqueta:   Cropped in a tiny turquoise house, with a banana and guava tree out front.  Sawing and nailing wood all day at  President´s carpentry next door. Roosters howl at 11 pm every night and 4 am every morning.  Red dirt follows us everywhere.  Gekos splat on the windows at night and we watch them catch moths, in amazement.  There´s heavy rain, lots of humidity, lots of green, and a big sun.  Motors and horses pass us on our way.  Watermelons are beginning to flood the streets, fruit stands, and home grown herbs are sold on every corner.  There is quite a bit of wind, and it is so clean here.  The purple tyjy flowers are blossoming and falling everywhere.  It´s a tranquilo lugar. Our little heaven.

This morning I was reading about Charity and I loved the quote I had written down in my Preach My Gospel next to the attribute in chapter 6.   ¨They don´t care how much you know, until they know how much care.¨  We have been striving to strengthen the love and relationships in the families here, lot´s of reading about eternal marriage, families, and charity.  It put a lot of things into perspective and really help me realize overall what I desire one day in my family.  Remember to love and try showing love this week to those you love and those you don´t through the small things.  I love Moroni´s plea with us... ¨pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him.¨  (moroni 7:48)

May others come to Him through us, and as we strive to attain this attribute I truly believe WE come to know Him.  

Love you all so much.  

Con Cariño,

Hermana Owen