Update

Well I am not going to lie and say this was the best week ever.  I

really don´t have a ton to say.  It’s been a super hard week in terms

of the work.  Hermana Alailima is great though and we just keep going.

I decided because I am usually very scattered in my email that I will

just say one funny thing and one spiritual thing. :) that way they

won´t be so long!

   This Sunday we had a terrible lightning and thunderstorm during

church.  It was so loud that it was hard to hear the 80 year old

sunday school teacher and then when the lights went out it was hard to

hear over the squeals of all the little children.  haha. But the

thunder did keep all the sleepers awake so I guess that was a

brightside.  Anyway I was seated next to our pension, Hermana Eusebia

and next to me was a new investigator.  I was trying to help him by

following the scriptures that the teacher wrote on the board, but after

a couple of minutes Tomas the investigator told me that he couldn´t

read or hear.  So then I stopped trying to help him and he just sat

there. I didn´t get a chance to talk to him after priesthood so

hopefully he had a better experience there.  Or at least learned

something.  Anyways next to me was Hermana Eusebia.  She is very

faithful and loves the gospel.  She had the lesson manual with her and

was reading and highlighting the scriptures as she basically taught

herself.  I was asked a question by this 80 year old teacher and you

can imagine that besides the thunderstorm, the age factor and language

factor made it a little hard for me to understand  I think I rambled

off something about God´s love because after all he had written "God

is love" on the whiteboard and after I was done speaking I turned to

Eusebia and told her that I didn´t understand the question very well.

She whispered back that the question was in fact not understandable

and that she didn´t really understand anything he was saying.  So she

then proceeded to teach me the lesson with the manual.  It was pretty

funny.  We would read the scriptures alone and then she would

highlight it and point to a question that the manual asks.  I could

just picture her answering in her head.  It was pretty great.  ahh

Peruvian Sunday school class.

      This week we visited a less active member who is having a really

hard time.  She feels like when she was a faithful member of the

church she had more problems and that its better for her just to leave

the church alone.   She told us that she didn´t really think God loves

us and that she didn´t even know if he exists anymore.  We talked to

her about the plan of salvation and it was super hard at first because

she said that she´d just hopes that after this life that’s the end.

She didn´t really even want eternal life.  When she was telling us

this I offered a silent prayer that God would help me have the words

that would comfort her and help her.   I find myself bearing a

testimony about the atonement and all Christ did for us.  I felt the

spirit enter into her little room and even though she didn´t say

anything else I could see that for a moment she was truly reminded of

how much our God really does love us.  He loves us so much that he

sent his only son to suffer and die for us.  THis week I gained a new

perspective on the atonement when I asked this less active to think

about someone she knows and loves, suffering like the Savior did.  I

pictured my father suffering like that and felt overcome with a love

for the Savior.  There is no way to repay him.  All we can do is

accept his sacrifice and come unto him. That is all he asks of us.

Without Him the plan of salvation would include the spirit world,

life, and death.  There would be no eternal life. There would be no

eternal families.  But he lived and he still lives and because he

lives we have the opportunity to go, if we are obedient, right back

into the outstretched arms of our heavenly father. I am so grateful

for the Savior.  He  carried me this week and I am so grateful for the

opportunity to serve Him.

Hope you all have a great week!  Love ya guys!

Hermana Russelll