4. Rosie & Paco

Buenas días mis amigos!

 

 

This week has been jam packed and went by pretty quick, but I'll try and put only the very best things that happened this week. First of all I just have to talk about my teachers. They are truly incredible; I don't know how they haven't gone absolutely insane planning lessons, teaching lessons, trying to understand our Spanglish, and everything else. Plus, Hermana Gonzalez always has such an energetic, encouraging attitude along with the sweetest smile. I will never get tired of hearing her say "I think you can do it, you are so smart" and "ah, super mega bien". Thanks everybody for your prayers, our district is doing so much better in the language (especially my companion who has recently turned into the ultimate memorization machine). 

 

 

I'm getting pretty tired of sitting in front of the screen all day every single day, but I have some ideas on how I can spice up my day and make it more exciting. One of my friends actually gave me one of those crystal sun catchers to hang in my window, and it makes me so happy to watch the rainbows start dancing around my room when the sun sets enough for the crystal to catch the light. Hopefully that excitement doesn't wear off anytime soon, but if it does, I could always start doing yoga in the middle of class to ~enliven~ my mind.  

 

 

We had another opportunity to teach some members of our church that live in Mexico (they volunteer to help us practice our Spanish teaching skills). These teaching experiences are usually super nerve wracking for me; I mean zoom is awkward enough on it's own, it doesn't need the language barrier too. But it always goes smoothly enough and the members are super sweet so it works out. This week was something special though since I was in a trio with Hermanas Moulton and Melanson AND I got the chance to meet Rosie. Rosie popped into the meeting with a little, bright green bird (affectionately named Paco) on her shoulder, so we knew it was gonna be good. She was super talkative, very genuine, and loved to listen to us. We shared a message about miracles and somewhere there in the middle, I started to feel the Spirit more strongly than I ever had when teaching. We read some scriptures, watched some videos, and talked about faith and God's love for us. Then Rosie shared an amazing story about how she had had a stutter since she was very little and had always prayed she could be healed of it. She told us how she joined the church and felt out of place because she wasn't good at talking with the people at church and then when she went to the dedication of the Mexico City temple, some little punk kids started making fun of her for her speech. She recounted a deeply sincere and heartfelt prayer she said to God that day at the temple, asking why she had to stutter and begging Him to help her. She started crying as she told us she hasn't stuttered since that day and gave a deeply profound testimony of miracles, God's love for us, and the importance of prayer. Needless to say, we were all a teary, sniffly mess. Rosie's testimony was so strong and inspiring, I think she taught us more than we ever could've taught her. 

 

 

I'm grateful for Rosie and the other people in my life who have made me the person I am now, without them I wouldn't be on a mission and I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am. This week I've been thinking about the phrase in 2 Nephi 1:15 that says "I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love". Guau! Eternally? That's a pretty long time. I know God's love for us has not changed, does not change, and will never change throughout all of eternity. There really is nothing you could do or mistake you could make that could change the way He feels about you. We are all His children, He is our loving Heavenly Father. Even though I've been taught this concept since I was little, something about that phrase will always fill me with peace. 

 

 

I hope y'all are happy and enjoying summer, go for a dip in the pool for me!

 

 

Un saludo,

Hermana Thrasher

 

 

Pics!

1. I now own the coolest shirt ever owned by a Hermana, thanks to my mom (thanks, mom).

2. Cool! Now I have 2 flags

3. My 3 companions all in one picture

4. I looked down after logging out of my zoom class one day and figured this pretty much sums up what the MTC classes are like... lots of books

5. Beans is a sucker for a good backroads sunset drive

6. Hermana Stonks + Hermana Trash = <3

7. Idk what she's doing either