Stand Strong!: Come What May, and LOVE It

I love, Love, LOve, LOVe, LOVE being a missionary! This is the greatest work that there is, and I can't describe how I feel right now. I can't tell you how I feel, because I am just happy. But it is a joy, a peace from knowing that this is God's will and I am doing exactly what He would have me do with my life at this point. This transfer has been a "growing" transfer, as satan has worked on us and those we teach and we have battled HARD. I have felt the strength of God more in the passed week than I ever have in my entire life. At times, that is all I have had to hold on to. Sometimes life can be like sitting at an ocean front and the WAVES of adversity keep coming and hitting you down and punching you down and you feel like you just need air. But luckily, my lifeguard can WALK on water. My lifeguard and all of our lifeguard is Jesus Christ. He is the fresh air, He is the one who picks me up and reminds me of my potential and power as a daughter of God. For that, I do not fear the crushing waves of life. I love my Savior, and I love growing and learning and BECOMING. If you are stuck in a rut---ask yourself, "what is it that I am becoming?" Truly, nothing else matters. What are you becoming because of the things that you are going through? What is it turning you into? Are you better than you were before? That is what counts. And that is what Jesus Christ is there for, so that we can defeat it all and become the best that we possibly can. Life is really incredible if you think about it as a place where we are meant to CHANGE.....meant to be outside of our COMFORT zone...."there is no growth in the comfort zone" so God constantly is pushing us out of it. :) Let Him.

MIRACLES ARE HAPPENING ALL OVER THE PLACE. I AM SO GRATEFUL to be here at the time of the hastening of the Lord's work, it is literally the most incredible thing and time I have ever had in my life. I told my mission president that I might just stay a missionary forever. And then he said, "Well you will be a missionary forever, just in a different setting." So true. We are all forever missionaries.

Bullying. If you see this happening at your school. STAND UP and LOVE THEM. We are teaching Fransico and his entire family---the mom is going through a hard time because Fransico is being bullied, which has been the PERFECT opportunity to slip in how the gospel blesses families. She wants her kids to come to church and be around those of our faith because she says that they "lift up and inspire" all those around them. They are such a special family, and I know that one day they will be baptized. Some of these Hispanic youth grow up in AWFUL circumstances. From being abused in every way possible, and from coming from homes where neither of the parents are at home ever....because they are working. Fransico, is hungry to be cared for. For someone to treat him with respect. I have no doubt that God sent us to this family right when they needed it the most. They tell us that they feel so peaceful and happy when we come over. It has caused me to changed my outlook on life. Sometimes we are so caught up in ourselves and how we are feeling. But just like the apostles have said, "If we are constantly checking our temperature to see if we are happy, we will not be." True happiness comes from getting outside of yourself and looking for someone that is having a bad day too. Lift and inspire them, then your hate and your sorrow goes away. Even if it is someone who is treating you bad or someone that is rude to you. CHALLENGE FOR ALL OF YOU: Think of someone who is struggling. Will you reach out to them, and love them and help them feel loved? I promise you that you will feel a joy you haven't felt in a long time.

Sad/awesome lesson on accepting God's will story. Fernando was supposed to be baptized this past Saturday. Well, miracle after miracle kept happening with him and we were so excited to see how he was changing and coming closer to Christ. And then the DAY BEFORE his baptism, his ex-wife flew from California to swoon him. She won his heart. He called us and told us that he was leaving to California, and that his wife wouldn't let him become Mormon. We were so confused. Satan twisted our plan!! mean guy!! So we twisted it right back!!! We fought for Fernando to stay. We told him that he knows this is the truth, and that in denying it, he will be responsible for that one day. He said, "I know. But I love my ex-wife." WOW. So then they left for California. There was nothing we could do. There was like 4 families in the ward that were involved with his conversion and they were all so disappointed. But we didn't let it affect us...we pulled their spirits up! We knew that it was God's will, and we know that he is going to provide someone that is prepared for baptism soon. Maybe we will meet him in the after life....:) I hope so. He is a good man, and will be baptized one day soon.

So, there are like 5 or 6 families in the ward that want to kidnap me and take me to their countries. So if I don't come home....I am either in Guatemala, Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, El Salvador or Puerto Rico. :) I LOVE THIS WARD. These members are on fire! We had the COOLEST fast and testimony meeting I have ever seen on my mission yesterday. There has been such a MISSIONARY spirit in our ward. The elders in our ward baptized a FAMILY yesterday and there was just this incredible energy. Each member that bore their testimony bore about how they have been sharing the gospel to their friends and have been sharing their love for the gospel. It has been incredible to see!! And it is true! We had a ward party this week (complete with mariachi--Byron Leonardo sang) and members where coming in with INVESTIGATORS!!! They would come up to us and be like---I brought my friend from work, here she is, teach her...WOW. It is exciting to see how all the times that we have been working with these members and strengthening their testimonies is finally paying off. We are seeing HUGE miracles come because of it. MEMBER MISSIONARIES ARE THE KEY TO THIS WORK!! :)

Speaking of member work. We had just finished up a lesson when we received a call from Oliver Mejia, a member--who is also the only member in his family. He said, "Hermanas! Come to my house for a BBQ, my entire family wants to learn about the gospel." We went in haste and with hunger :) . When we got there it was a feast! Their ENTIRE family was there and they were so interested in who we are and what we do. They wanted to learn more! We are SO excited to be working with the entire family now...which is a miracle, because before the dad wouldn't even talk to us. But he is opening up and miracles are happening!!

I love working with the hermanas as a sister training leader. Seeing their growth, and seeing their areas morph into SUPER areas in the most fulfilling thing. It is wonderful to see them using the atonement to change and to become more like Jesus Christ.

As a missionary the most important thing/tool that we have is the SPIRIT. Without the spirit we can't do anything. I can't tell you how cool it is to be guided to someones house through the Spirit. Or to just be able to tell what someone is thinking through the Spirit. It is a joy and a feeling that is completely and totally overwhelming. If we live worthy of the Spirit and are willing to do and act upon whatever God would have us do, we are happy. We are free and we are made stronger.

Thank you for all you do for me. The letters, the emails, the SUNSHINE packages...and just for being the best people I have ever known. I love you.

STAND STRONG.

Hermana Weenig