Family --
This week was filled with divisions and fun! I was hardly in my sector, but it was such a blessing to work with the other Hermanas in their sectors and visit their investigators, getting to know everyone! It is just so beautiful for me to see how the work is hastening in all parts of Quito.
Rosio was going to get baptized last Saturday, but there was a family emergency. Her sister in law has cancer and she turned for the worse on Thursday. Rocio left to go be with her brother and his family. She felt really bad to miss her baptism, but we are planning to have it this Friday. Rocio is excited and ready. We are excited too. Hopefully her sister can get better to come to the baptism, that would be the most beautiful thing. We had a huge fast last saturday that Rocio would be OK and be baptized the month of December. When we visited her sunday night after our fast, she told us everything was fine and that she was excited for this saturday. I know the Lord will answer our acts of faith and everything will work out this weekend.
We have found quite a few new families this week but no one came to church and so we are working hard this week to help them commit to their promises and receive revelation through church assistance. I`m excited to set some new goals for the new year as far as baptisms and convert families in my mission.
We had a really sad experience on sunday morning. We were going out to pass by for one of our investigators to go to church. Earlier that morning we had called a couple of the recent converts in our sector. Members who have been baptized in the past year by other missionaries. All of them our inactive except one. It breaks my heart and is actually a huge problem in our mission. Member Retention. Anyway, we had been working really hard with a mother, her daughter, and their cousin, the Familia Altamirano and they told us they would come to church but didn`t answer their phones sunday morning. We ran into all three of them. Coming back from the market with bags filled of purchases made on the sabbath. Then another convert was actually standing by us waiting for the bus and we tried to talk with her but she wouldn`t give us any type of attention. We have worked so hard to help these sweet daughters of God, and as I was sitting on the bus on our way to church, I just couldn`t handle it, thinking of the Hermana Missionaries that I did divisions with that asks me about their converts, and I know that they are just doing horribly. I felt insufficient. Tears may have fallen, literally I felt broken. As we walked into Sacrament Meeting they were singing, and I couldn`t even let words come out of my mouth. The only thing that helped, was I started to write my testimony down in my agenda. Slowly I was able to calm down, and by the time the sacrament made it to our row, a wave of peace and awareness passed over me. God knows how hard we work, and he will bless us with miracles in time. I am so grateful for that experience I was truly able to feel the love and guidance of my Savior. I know he watches over us and is the greatest gift of all time. This Christmas He is the gift.
I love you all! Have a wonderful Navidad:)
Hermana Powley
