Uno

Helllooooooo. 

 

The Seahawks won. 

 

I may be in El Salvador, I may only hear Bachata and Cumbia, I may only see Futbol games, but I still know that the Seahawk’s won. 

 

Pride. 

Atta boys. 

 

Well. This week Sis M and I did our thing. Putting fechas, preaching the gospel to every creature in every corner of San Salvador. In full or part health. Because one time we ate some skeeeetchy chicken at Mister Donut and I was not feeling on my a-game. Menos Mag dawg who spent the night throwing up. 

 

But I'm pretty convinced that after 16 months of hard labor, my body is breaking down. Just down and out. Who knows the kind of intensive recuperation I will need after this. At least 4 months in a spa I’m thinking dad. :))))))

 

But by this point, I'm feeling 100% El Salvadorian. I’m just like...in it you know? I’m a professional at hand washing my clothes in the pila. I’m whipping them out faster than the Latinas these days. Pupusas are my main sustenance. I need the basics to get by. No sheets? No problem. 

Also, I realized recently, that I have been teaching English almost my whole mission. 

 

And I really enjoy it. It was kinda hard at first...because I didn’t know any of the rules of our ridiculous language, but now I do. It’s pretty neat. Our class right now is a blast. This week I made them write get well cards to Elder P, who is another missionary that also teaches with us. (He got his appendix taken out and was pretty ill). Well the idea seemed promising from the start. But the students delivered much more than I had ever anticipated. Let’s take a look at some of their best phrases for our all-American friend Elder P:

 

-your presence necessary in the community

-let you to be healed the Holy Ghost 

-you are a great person, a best friend

-welcome to the club appendix

 

 

There were some more charmers, but I forgot them. Hopefully these will suffice to give a taste of the laugh we had. Clearly we have a little more work to do. 

 

Also. One time I took a young investigator to church with the blessing of her mom. but then a little demon girl took her out of her class while Mago and I were in our own class and the girls decided to play in a plant that the young investigator was highly allergic too. Of course.  After church we found her almost hysterical and scratching her arms like crazy. 

 

 

I got a little panicky, but then I remembered that I had American meds at our house. AMERICA. We poured water on her arms and ran to our house and gave her an antihistamine!! Never have I been so grateful for antihistamines ever. Add to that, we gave her some cookies and pudding and she calmed down right quick. I was about to offer her peanut butter, but was afraid of further allergies and further law suits.

 

Her mom was super chill about the situation. 

 

PHEW. 

 

JA, another investigator, also came to church. He is super tender and last week got to church literally an hour and a half early. I have NEVER made it to church and hour and a half early... We met him like...2 weeks ago. And he’s getting baptized! He is an elderly gentleman, but he is full of faith. He trusts in the Lord and is getting baptized this coming Sunday!  He lost his wife about 5 years ago, and he misses her something terrible. He had many questions about the plan of salvation. It was so fun to teach him that God has a plan--a perfect plan even--and that he WILL see his wife again:)) In fact, families are the central part of that plan, and it’s all possible thanks to Christ. 

 

Also, I’m rereading the general conference talks. What else. Ah. I just love learning. Mago and I have been using the talks a lot. 

 

So basically I am extremely grateful that God still speaks to us today. That He calls men to be His servants, His mouth piece, so that we can know what is going on. Also, here is a warning, I’m about to put in a really long insert. But just...hang in there. It will be worth it. 

 

As an airline pilot, I flew numerous hours across continents and oceans during the darkness of night. Watching the night sky out of my cockpit window, especially the Milky Way, often made me marvel at the vastness and depth of God’s creations—what the scriptures describe as “worlds without number.”¹

It was less than a century ago that most astronomers assumed that our Milky Way galaxy was the only galaxy in the universe.² They supposed all that lay beyond our galaxy was an immense nothingness, an infinite void—empty, cold, and devoid of stars, light, and life.

 

As telescopes became more sophisticated—including telescopes that could be launched into space—astronomers began to grasp a spectacular, almost incomprehensible truth: the universe is mind-bogglingly bigger than anyone had previously believed, and the heavens are filled with numberless galaxies, unimaginably far away from us, each containing hundreds of billions of stars.³

In a very short period of time, our understanding of the universe changed forever.

Today we can see some of these distant galaxies.⁴

We know that they are there.

They have been there for a very long time.

But before mankind had instruments powerful enough to gather celestial light and bring these galaxies into visibility, we did not believe such a thing was possible.

The immensity of the universe didn’t suddenly change, but our ability to see and understand this truth changed dramatically. And with that greater light, mankind was introduced to glorious vistas we had never before imagined.

It seems to be a trait of humanity to assume that we are right even when we are wrong. And if that is the case, what hope is there for any of us? Are we destined to drift aimlessly on an ocean of conflicting information, stranded on a raft we have poorly pieced together from our own biases?

Is it possible to find truth?

The purpose of my remarks is to proclaim the joyful message that God Himself—the Lord of Hosts who knows all truth—has given His children the promise that they can know truth for themselves.

Please consider the magnitude of this promise:

The Everlasting and Almighty God, the Creator of this vast universe, will speak to those who approach Him with a sincere heart and real intent.

He will speak to them in dreams, visions, thoughts, and feelings.

He will speak in a way that is unmistakable and that transcends human experience. He will give them divine direction and answers for their personal lives.

Pres. Uchtdorf

 

I know this gospel is true. He lives. We can find truth, but we would be wise to not rely on our limited experiences. I know we are children of God! 

 Good luck this week. Be righteous. 

 

Love,

 

Hermana Hirschi