Laundry y la Luna

Laundry: Everyone's least-favorite chore (though I actually don't mind it). Your clothes are agitated, drenched, lathered, rinsed, and spun dry. Eventually they come out clean (if you think you see a gospel parallel coming on, you're right.)

La Luna: The moon. An interesting paradox, always there, but always waxing, waning and changing.

Laundry, la luna, life comes in cycles. You know what else comes in cycles? The mission. I'm about to complete my second transfer (12 weeks, in total)  in the mission field which means that I'm technically out of training!!! I say technically because I've been so busy working on training Hermana Manotas (reading in Preach My Gospel and such) that I never really finished my own. I plan on finishing our training together (reading the other parts of Preach My Gospel and finally getting around to taking those online language tests), but as we get transfer calls this Saturday, all bets are off. Sure, NORMALLY I would stay to finish her training but NORMALLY they don't call a 6-week-old missionary to train, so I'm mentally preparing for any eventuality.

The miracle of this week (well, a carry over from previous weeks, but a higher focus now) is Genoveva. She's a live-in nanny of sorts, and when our cita [appointment] with her neighbor fired we decided to stop by and try and share something. She was hesitant to let us in but Mamma Africa (a member, bless her) insisted, "just for a moment". We shared a bit of the first lesson and answered her questions about the Resurrection and by the end of the visit, she was like a totally different person. She was open and loving and invited us back. We've been back to visit her a couple of times since then and each time she seems to radiate with greater happiness. This week she came to church because she said she WANTED to almost before we could extend the invitation. It's the first time that missionary work has seemed so effortless, and I honestly feel that I can't take credit for any of her progress or anything that has happened. She's been prepared from on high, fellowshipped/loved/welcomed by the members, and we're almost in the background. And I LOVE that.

We're getting her ready for the "rinse cycle" (BAPTISM).

We had an AWESOME cita with Margarita (I think I wrote a bit about her before) and planned to start at square one because she hasn't had contact with the church for almost 20 years. Once we got there, she sat her granddaughter down and told her to listen to us. So... we taught, testified, and used the video of the Restoration (It's AWESOME). One of the best lessons I've had on my mission so far.

I lost my companion and went on splits with an Elder.

Ok, so not exactly, but it's a great start to the story. We had a lesson planned and had called for Abrahm (our Ward Mission Leader) to come with us (more people to testify=better lesson.) but as we were getting off the Tramvia (an above-ground train) a flock of midgets (children) separated my companion and I. I made it off the train, but the doors closed behind me and we had a frantic moment of trying to get the doors open again as the train sped off sending poor companion away as I frantically tried to signal for her to get off at the next stop. I could have freaked out (should have) but I felt calm. I walked to a nearby bus stop where Abrahm was waiting and I had to explain to my ward mission leader (2 months off of his OWN mission) that I'd lost my companion. We started walking in the direction of the train and before long we saw Hermana Manotas BOOKING it towards us. All was well. We laughed. A LOT.

One thing I've come to learn on the mission is Love. ("Hermana Een," you say, "You're a little late. Valentine's Day was LAST week." But hear me out.)  Going to church every Sunday and seeing who's there-- which of our investigators showed up, our favorite member, menos activos [less active]-- I feel filled with joy, real JOY to see them there. And at the same time my heart aches for those who I don't see, for those who aren't there. And I think I understand just a small part of the love that our Father in Heaven has for each one of us. He wants us to come unto Him and be happy, and has given us the Doctrine of Christ as a guide in how to life a happy life.

Faith in Jesus Christ

Repentance

Baptism (renewal of our covenants)

The Holy Ghost (the gift and presence of)

And Enduring to the End (the hardest and most important, in my opinion)

Lather, rinse repeat.

We're good. We do our best, but we always fall short (there's always laundry to do). So we start the cycle again. It's better not to wait until the last pair of socks, but stay in a continually cleansing cycle.

And that's my week.

As I mentioned, transfers are next week, so don't freak out if I don't email until Tuesday or Wednesday (Love you, Mom.)

Stay awesome!

Keep us in your prayers!

-Hermana Een

Summary: Life comes in cycles, like laundry. We should be continually cleansing. I lost my companion and went on splits with an Elder (you´re going to have to read that one for clarification). Mission work is going well.