Hola! Como esta? Espero todo esta bien!
The weather sure is getting cold! I do not even want to hear about all of you enjoying the warmth back home! Lucky Ducks! Hermana Romo and I are popsickles in the morning! the sun is out but the humidity makes the chill more cool and we are needing to bust out the winter gear... I hardly have any that I brought so im going to look all kinds of mismatching outfits haha. Im going to need to get some new shoes in a month or two. Its funny how I read through my last update and I kept making the typo saying, EVERY instead of EVERYONE... I have really gotten alot of my english mixed with Spanish. In Spanish you just keep it much more simple, you just say todo (meaning all) hence me saying every. haha its wierd how that happens with time. Im learning more but the language is a never ending learning process. Theres so much to still get down. My hair is getting longer by the days, it grows an inch every month so im stoked to have my long hair again when I get home. I still weigh the same as I did when i left, 118lbs. I hope to get all my muscles toned again when I return and have the gym everyday. As for right now, im just trying my best to keep healthy considering the food out here is horrible for you. Im not concerned about my physical nearly as much as my spiritual during my mission. Being spiritually filled is so much more important to me anyway. Virtue is the most important thing.
Church for one hour the last two Sundays has been interesting. So funny how we just RUN out of water...? haha really makes you appreciate the church services we have back home in the states. The little things that are often overlooked. We are so blessed to have so much there at our fingertips. When I get home everyone might think im so wierd for being amazed at all we have there. I like bagging my own groceries and washing clothes by hand to hang them up to dry haha can you tell that ive been here long enough? So as you can guess, walking into Sacrament Meeting was quite funny. Everyone just kept saying... wow hermana, youre still here? haha it was so fun for me to explain that ironically yes, im still in this area. This will be my 6th month here in April! Everyone was surprisingly overjoyed about the situation. They all just kept hugging me and kissing my cheek and saying oh, good we prayed that you would stay here. So I could feel the love for sure but i just kept joking with them saying, "Si todavía estoy aqui...porque necesitan parar de orar!" haha meaning stop praying! haha they know that they all mean so much to me, we are close enough now that they expect me to joke like that. Truly I feel its a blessing to be able to finish what Ive started here and continue to serve these people of Campana 1. They are very special.
I have been having pain in my right side for a long time now and the doctor thought it might be my appendix so he had me on a different diet and get some blood work done in Hospital Austral which we had to travel to Escobar to get to. It is the biggest hospital that Ive ever seen. Its really clean though, and they are all very professional there. My only worry was when I was about to get my blood work, the Phlebotomist didnt properly clean my arm and inject the needle. (being a phlebotomist myself I notice details) My arm was swollen and bruised for a few days haha but im alive thats what matters haha. Turns out my results came back fine, and if it was my appendix it would cause a severe fever which I dont have. The Doctor suggested I go for an ultrasound when we have time due to the fact that it may be a cist on one of my ovaries. No big deal just annoyed with the pain really.
We were also able to make it to Mercedes Flores big 15th quinceñera! Hermana Romo and I did service for their family and we styled all their hair and helped with makeup for the fiesta. She looked like a princess, her hair and dress were gorgeous. I was so happy to see her family´s reaction. They think I should do hair and makeup for movies haha. they are so funny. The Bishop was very grateful for our service for his family. He couldnt stop thanking us for the potatoes that I made and we plan to serve him more often with time that we are given. Service has now become a yearning of mine. I will not miss out on an opportunity to help serve my community however I can when I get home. Just baking cookies for someone makes such a difference. Often we run into a couple that will say, "oh you are mormons? oh we dont know much about you but we do remember how someone from your church once did something very sweet for us and our family!" PEOPLE DONT FORGET SERVICE! Its always a blessing to the missionaries like us who again cross their path and they already know the kindness our church is based upon. Thank you members of the church who are striving to serve in little significant ways! You better believe that you each make a difference!
Hermana Romo and I tried to do much service this past week and we were given the opportunity to feed a hungry family.
We had cooked up some chicken to bring to a family of 8 who barely has a loaf of pan (french bread) to split for the week. The Children´s eyes lit up when we came to share our message and bring a warm meal for them as well. The baby has trouble with speech and it worries them so we invited them to recieve a blessing and attend church next Sunday to feel the peace there.
Our President called with great news that Alejandra has greatly been on his mind. Talk about revelation because she has been praying constantly these days to be able to be baptized as soon as possible. Her living situation is interesting because in there brick home, its attached to several other dwellings and living quarters so being a single mother with five girls, an ex spouse, and a few homeless friends, she is struggling to get her own place. She wants so badly to be able to have her own home for her girls and her so she can be baptized. We are working through this process for her as best as we can and she has so much faith that I have no doubt the Lord is very mindful of her and her family. I have so much faith that she will be baptized soon in the Lords time. One blessing we saw from her daughter Susanas baptism is we promised her mother would find a job and guess what... that very week, we visited them with a photo of her baptism and they were overjoyed to tell us her mother had found a job. Talk about Blessings of the Lord! Every single one of our investigators have seen miracles when they come to church. I get so excited for them to recieve the blessings because I know they will be closer to the Lord by trusting in him to take care of them.
In our last district meeting we recieved some letters! Thanks Matt Abernathy I recieved your calendar with paintings of the Savior and it was beautiful and very much appreciated thank you! ive been needing a regular calendar for a while! Also a great friend of mine sent me a DearElder letter that I found to be very inspired. One of the paragraphs read this: "The message you bring (the message of love) is that God so loved the world, that he gave his Only Begotten Son. Love is what holds things together and keeps families lasting forever, its what you are feeling everyday while you are out there. That´s when I found out what true love was... on my mission. Not in a romantic way that hollywood tried to show, but loce as an eternal principle. I learned to appreciate family more, and so many things I used to take for granted. Missions I believe, are to teach us how to love, love as the Savior did and does." ... You know who you are :) thank you for your letter!
Its true. Ive been out here 7 months and can truly say, ive already come to know this to be true. I thought I knew what I wanted before my mission... haha boy was I wrong! The Lord in His Everlasting love, has completely changed my hearts desires for the better. Ill never again stray from what Ive learned here in mission. A life lived for others, truly is the best life worth living. Not to mention im so glad ive learned to love these people in their culture and love this language that I know I will use all of my life.
I know that praying to be filled with Christlike love each day, makes all the difference in how we carry ourselves. Just yesterday we decided to go to our purple area on our map and start from the back of it and work our way up being led by the spirit and make sure to visit all those who have assisted church before. The spirit sure did lead us. We found several miracles, several people who said, they were grateful we found them.
Then as we were about to go straight I felt a pull at my heart telling us to go left. Down that street we found Andrea sitting on the curb with tears in her eyes. We sat along side her and asked if we could listen to her and try and comfort her. She is a mother four who struggles with self confidence and her place in this world. She has faced horrible things in her life. When my inspired companion asked her what her greatest question in life is... she cried and responded.. "why my father abandoned me and ive had to live all my life without him. He left for another woman and has another family but never has spoken to us again. It breaks my heart. I need my father, my children need him. I just dont know why he would abandon us." As these words rolled from her mouth tears welled up so much in my eyes. I put my arm around her. My companion spoke and said, "you know what Andrea, my companion here can relate to you very well... I have a feeling you should hear what she has to say." Then I spoke, " Andrea, I too have had a very difficult hand delt to me and my family has suffered this same pain when my Grandfather left my Grandma for another woman, to have another family. I also have never had a father in my life. I watched that pain through my grandma, my mother and my aunts, down to me. As much as I hate the fact that my wonderful Grandma suffered from His actions, I look at her as my hero for the burden she bore with courage, saying nothing of hurt it caused in order to stay strong for the rest of us. I too have questioned my worth and standing and purpose here on earth. I want to tell you that I used to let it hurt me for a long time, but now I am free from the pains that come through the actions of others. I have a lasting peace. I know that im a daughter of God, just as you are and God being our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to always be close to Him. Our mortal parents on earth are not perfect, nor are we perfect, but our parents In Heaven are, and they desire to comfort us. Our Savior suffered ALL pains to be able to succor his people and comfort us as needed. I know that you are a daughter of God Andrea, I know that He loves you and has sent us to you right now to bring the comfort you deserve."
That lesson was beautiful. walking away from that I felt so much assurity in my heart from my Father in Heaven. It was as if He told me, "you see my dear daughter... I have trusted in you so suffer great amounts in your life so far because I knew you would get through it courageously... I knew that you would soon enough find me and find the path you need to lead you right here, right now, to these people that need you. Now you can take your pain and use it for peace."
What a huge blessing! Some things in my life that used to be such sensitive subjects I can now speak about with a smile on my face. Knowing that my Savior has a great plan for all of our experience, no matter what the circumstance. It is not what happens to us that matters, its how we react to it. Im so grateful for this opportunity. I love my these people, I love my mission, I love my companion, I love our leaders and the greatness of this Church for being so perfectly organized just as it was when Christ established It during his time here on Earth. I think of my teacher in the MTC when this was said,
"If I can give you advice during trial, be patient, it is AFTER your test you recieve blessings, have courage, be honored to feel a small little fraction of what our very Savior of the world felt during His ministry, that is true Honor!" Are we as individuals remembering this? Are we truly applying His atonement daily in our lives as we should? Or are we peering too much inward as the Prophet has said "looking out of our own windows that need cleaning?" I know that I have been guilty of this. Charity doesnt come over night, its a daily need and take a lifetime to fully understand. I love my Savior and for the blessings he helps me to recognize right before my eyes everyday that im out here. I love the greatness of this life and how beautiful everything can be when you see it with spiritual eyes.
Thank you all for your love your letters, your emails, your time and support.
You are all amazing people living lives of your own masterpieces.
No matter what, JUST KEEP SWIMMING! :)
tenga cuidado y cuidase, diviertase!!!!
CHAO til next monday!
xoxox Hna. Ashley Gillum
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