RECENT CONVERT, INVESTIGATORS, AND THE SPIDER INVASION

(EMAIL SENT APRIL 13, 2015)

Hola familia!

Oh man I sure do love you guys. Parker and Cass, you guys are one good looking couple! Holy smokes. Those pics are STUNNING! Keep em´ coming if you have more. I LOVE SEEING them!! I seriously cannot wait for you guys and your Marriage! And Em - I always knew you were smart, but now you are officially a genius for me. Keep it up sis!! Hope that you enjoyed your trip with Cade and all your pals Lovey!! Tell them I say hi! Overall, I just love hearing and seeing pics of what´s happening in your lives right now. Such a highlight for me. 

Fun Fact of the Week: To start, I wanted to let you all know that I am officially a pro at killing insects. I don´t know how this happened, but our bathroom is now filled with about 10 spiders on our ceiling. And ... they have invited all of their relatives, who now live all throughout our room. It is NASTY! Have no fear, we are buying bug killing supplies today.

This week was one of the most incredible weeks I have had in all of my mission! I have cried, laughed, and felt so much love for the people in our area. To start I want to share with you all an experience that had a major impact on me.

Right now we are teaching a recent convert named Jimmy. I don´t know if I have talked about him before but he is 13 years old and has a cousin who is a less active but overall he is the only member of his family. We have been teaching him for quite some time and I never understood his life story. He lives with ALL of his cousins and family members in a small home and has always been really sweet to us. But our LAST LESSON, we learned that he truly has suffered a lot in his life. It all started after my comp asked him about his parents. And then all of the information came out. We learned that he was abandoned when he was little, he lives with his Grandma (we thought she was his Mom) and that all of his cousins tell him he is worthless and is the outcast of the family. At this point in the lesson he started to choke on his words and broke into tears. My comp and I as well. All this time we have been teaching him and never truly knew his story. I didn´t even know what to say to him, but I felt like this sweet boy needed so much love, and had never received it. My comp and I testified that he has so much worth. That he will NEVER be alone in his life because he has a loving Heavenly Father who knows him PERFECTLY. We left with a prayer, and I decided that my goal before I leave this area is to make sure this sweet boy understands his worth, and that he is so loved. He came to church this Sunday, and actually surprised us that he had to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting. He is so amazing! I will try to send a pic when I have the chance. But this experience was such a blessing for me because I learned that truly EVERY PERSON has their story. Everyone goes through hard things, and challenges every day. But what an incredible blessing it is to have the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father who absolutely knows and loves each and every one of us. Jimmy and his desire to do what’s right, even in the midst of so many hard things is such an example to me.

Also, I wanted to let you know about our Family Home Evening with Marlo and Alberto. It went so incredibly! Marlo was the only one home with his parents, so we shared a lesson with him, and then returned to visit him and his brother the following Sunday. AND THIS LESSON was incredible. We decided to teach The Restoration again to them. By the end of the lesson we finished with our testimonies, and then we felt prompted to ask them again about Baptism. We have tried to challenge them to baptism so many times, and they always said maybe in the future, but we felt so strongly to give it another chance. And they ACCEPTED!! For the 15 of May. It was AMAZING! And they told us that they really don´t feel sure right now, but if they feel positive by then then Yea, they would be baptized. So we are so excited to keep teaching them, and to help them feel with absolute certainty that this is true! And I know they will! We have another lesson with them tonight. 

So our investigator Percy hid himself from us the last time we passed by his house. It was a heart breaker for me because he was so incredible, BUT his brother in law now wants to listen to us. His name is Grabiel. He has a listened from a distance when we have taught his brother and told us he would like to learn a little more. Honestly, it was a miracle.

Overall, we are THRILLED to start a new week. We have so many things going on right now and almost feel a little overwhelmed, but we really have felt so blessed with all of the miracles from this past week. We have been praying so hard to find those that are prepared for this message, and this week I truly feel like Heavenly Father has put so many opportunities in our path to find those that need this message. We even contacted our taxi driver today and he LIVES in our area and would love to learn more!

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!!! I truly feel so blessed to have this incredible gospel in my life. I truly know that when we rely on the Lord above everything else, we can witness miracles. And that it is so important to listen to the spirit! 

Until the next week, I love you all and keep on keeping on!

Con MUCHISIMO AMOR,

XOXO Hermana Shumway


My beautiful comp Hermana Ore and I ... doesn't she look like a beautiful Peruvian fairy?

I told you I am like a giant here ...