April 25, 2011

well this week in Uruguay they have what they call tourismo or a vacation week so we kind of knew coming into it that it may be a bit hard to find people, pretty much everyone we are teaching was not able to meet with us. but nonetheless it was still a really great week. remember that man i was telling you about that always asks about mom when we go over to teach his children?? okay his name is alejandro, he looks like a south american version of david hasslehoff if you ask me haha. when i first met him i thought he was going to be really scary but really it was just the opposite, i really felt like we have understood eachother really well and have just always had a good feeling about him. he has been joining us in our charlas with his children and really is a very spiritual guy. just this week we had a lesson with his kids and the whole family was there and he for the first time opened up and expressed some of the doubts he has which helped us to focus a bit more on helping him, just his two kids go to church, him and his wife do not participate in any church organization. alejandro struggles a bit right now because his son died tragically just recently and is not really sure what he believes. we really had the greatest lesson and then on saturday when we went back we were able to plan and focus a bit more on how we could help him, it went reallly well. anyway at the end of the charla he told me something that i have felt the whole time i have known him, but thought maybe it was just in my mind but he said it and confirmed it. he told me that he knows that we knew eachother before this life, call me crazy but i really think it is true. i think he may be the one person that i was sent to uruguay to help.

another really amazing experience we had this week was when we went to the house of a man named anibal, just back in december he decided to turn his life around and started to apply the gospel and was baptized. he struggled with alcoholism and heavy smoking problems. well anyway he has fallen back into his problems, and we were not sure if it was going on but when we showed up at his house his door was open and he was sitting there smoking, and had been drinking heavily not too long before. he was shocked to see us... of course, and got really awkward for a second, and we started talking and he just opened up and told us that he is struggling again, but wanted so bad to turn his life around. i have never really felt before how i did at that moment with him, instead of feeling frustrated with him, or mad about what he was doing, i really just felt sad, i could feel how sad heavenly Father must be seeing one of his children suffering with addictions. i could feel how much God really loved him and wanted to help him. Anibal told us how different he felt when we were there and that he wanted that feeling permanently in his life. we had a really great lesson about the sufferings of christ and how he suffered for our pains, temptations, addictions, everything really, and that through him he could overcome his addictions. so we are going to work with him, baby steps.

i really have felt heavenly Fathers love for his children so greatly this week and i feel it helped a ton that i was able to dedicate my studies to learning about the life of christ in reading the four gospels. and really i cant express how greatful i am for the time i had to learn more about my Savior, his suffering in the garden of gethsemane, death on the cross, and resurrection, or otherwise known as his Atonement. every visit we had this week we shared a really special scripture that i love and want to share with you. it states, ¨and he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind, and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. and he will take up on him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people, and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.¨ alma 7:11-12 i love this scripture so much, i truly know that Christ has already suffered everything that we go through in this life and that through him we can be healed. his love, and the love of the Father are so great for us, no matter what happens or what we do. God longs to hold us again, and  only through Christ, this is possible. 

well fam, i love you to pieces, as always, that never changes, i just love you more and more each week, well each day really. i am so greatful for you and all that you have done for me. thank you and i am excited to talk to you again soon. speaking of that will you send me what time you can talk so we can figure that out?? Llllooooooveeeeeeeee yyyyyyyooooouuuuuuuu. -Jess 

ps hope you like the picture, we couldnt pass up the moment, took some real skill to not scare the cow hehehe. teach those that will receive us, even the cows sometimes.