week 61 - patience

Bonjour!

Happy Birthday today to Carrie! and tomorrow to Nyall! I won't worry about guessing your ages. ;) Congratulations Jessica and Reid! I'm excited that I'll actually be there when this baby is born. When does Max turn one? and Jenny and Mike, when is Sam's birthday? I'm glad you're all doing well. It's fun to receive news from all of you! I have the best family in the world! We had a good week, but my goodness so much rain! and hail. We started laughing when we ran from Jacqueline and Sary's to the metro because it was sunny when we left their house and then about 5 seconds later a bunch of wind came and then it started pouring rain so we started running with our umbrellas in front of us like shields to protect us and then it started hailing. It's the first time Soeur Alves has stood under hail (she's seen it one other time in her life but was inside). We were able to fix a baptismal date with Veronique! She said she's going to talk to her boss about working on Sundays, so please pray for her. Even though the members helped a lot with Evelyne everyone has their free agency and for the moment she's too stuck in her evangelical ways to change. We're a little worried because we won't be seeing her for two weeks. Even though she didn't agree with how our church meetings went and didn't like the idea of being baptised again we told her to pray because she knows that God will always give her the right answer and she can know the truth through him; so, for the moment she said that she will pray and if He tells her it's true and that she needs to be baptised by the proper authority then she said she will. Now we just need to hope that she will actually pray about it and that she will be humble enough to accept and follow the response she gets, because we talked about real intent with her and that if the Lord tells her it's right, then she needs to follow through with it. My goodness was it an intense lesson, but she's still open to seeing us again.
This week Soeur Alves and I have both started to get a little sick... :(. I don't know if we picked up some germs at the hospital when we went to visit Rosita and a sister from our ward who is also there, but in any case I wasn't excited because I got sick last transfer too. I was trying to fall asleep the other night and I said to Heavenly Father that I don't want to be sick, because I only have two months left and I want to focus 100%. Then I remembered something that I've learned during my mission. "Patience is a virtue." I've learned a lot of patience with my companions, with our investigators, with the members and especially with myself and the Lord. When we went and visited Rosita some scriptures came to my mind that I decided to share with her and I think I needed it more at that moment than she did.

2 Corinthians 1:2-7
2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

I don't remember when I read this chapter, nor do I remember what was going on in my life at the time; all I remember was that I was alone in my room and I was going through a difficult time, whatever the trial was, when I opened my scriptures and fell upon this chapter. It helped me realise that just as Christ suffered for us so that he might know how to succor us, everytime we suffer, we too will know how to succor and console others. We will be able to serve others as we have been served. I know that when the Lord allows us to have trials it is for our own profit and learning and when we humble ourselves and have patience the Lord makes us strong.
I love you all!

Bisous, Soeur Reeves