9/1/14

 I feel like my heart is turning a little bit Texan all thanks to my new companion sister Boyd. I actually used "y'all" out loud yesterday without thinking, she was super happy.

Last week was really interesting.

 I have been sick since I arrived in Mountain View and it has made working really hard  and not very productive. It was difficult to feel the spirit and even harder to concentrate or remember people's names or addresses. I finally admitted I needed help and asked the Elders in the ward to give me a blessing. I wish I'd done it sooner because it helped tremendously. It was really interesting to see the way Heavenly Father worked. I was still sick but the symptoms were so mild that we could work harder and longer, I could feel the spirit's promptings, and I honestly enjoyed walking around for 3 hours. 

There are a ton of very interesting characters in the city. Yesterday we talked with a man who kept saying he wasn't going to kill us but made weird remarks about burning himself with the acid from my stomach and having to go to jail. We also ran into a man who believed the Book of Mormon to be an accurate historical record of a people who populated the Americas long ago but he believed Joseph Smith had added chapter (3 Nefi 11) about Jesus to make a religion out of. He failed to notice that the WHOLE book testifies of Jesus Christ. There is not a single chapter, or page for that matter, that does not talk about him or refer to him or his work. 

We also met some really incredible youth. Yesterday we spent 30 minutes talking to a young woman about Christianity. We shared a lot of the same beliefs and then she found out we were Mormon and she freaked out. We kept talking and by the end she said we were her favorite Mormons ever.

This week's spiritual message comes in the form of a quote we received from Sister Mella (Mission president's wife).

"One of Satan’s most frequently used deceptions is the notion that the commandments of God are meant to restrict freedom and limit happiness. Young people especially sometimes feel that the standards of the Lord are like fences and chains, blocking them from those activities that seem most enjoyable in life. But exactly the opposite is true. 

The gospel plan is the plan by which men are brought to a fulness of joy. This is the first concept I wish to stress: The gospel principles are the steps and guidelines that will help us find true happiness and joy."

Ezra Taft Bensen

I know that God's commandments are given to us for our protection, for our benefit, and are given with love to help us return to the presence of our heavenly father.

Love all y'all,

Hermana Quintana