family!
First, I am so glad you got the package! Kayla was so sweet to take it for me. I'm so glad everything made it safe and I hope you like your gifts. I will work on sending another package soon. It was so fun to have the efy group here and it was a tender mercy to be able to send the package with her.
So this was my last week with Hna Torrico. It was a crazy week. The good thing is, we worked really hard. We had another baptism this week! It was the baptism of T. She is 14 years old. It was a beautiful baptism with a lot of support from the ward. The ward of Independencia never lets me down. They are always there when we need them. We are also working with the sister of T and she will be baptized the 25th of this month. The next step is to get her parents in the font as well!
Because Hna Torrico leaves tomorrow she had a ton of meetings in the mission offices during the day. So once again Gipsy was my companion. I feel like I am losing two companions this week. She is so prepared though. She teaches me so much when we are together. Her testimony is so strong. She is really nervous to leave her family, but I told her that is normal. However, the Lord will help her family and protect them.
So last night was a real test not only for my Spanish, but for how well I can react in scary situations. We were visiting T so that Hna Torrico could say goodbye, and our investigator A knocked on the door. She was crying really hard and said that her husband F had fallen and was bleeding very bad. We ran with her to where her husband was to help her. When we found him he was with his two kids and a lot of the neighbors had gathered around. Someone had already called the ambulance and they were arriving to help. However, A and F are very poor and don't have money to go to the hospital. So they bandaged up his head and left. While Hna Torrico was talking to the doctors I was busy trying to call the bishop. The bishop told me he was going to send someone to give F a blessing. Luckily, one of our converts, A, lives very close to A and F. He pulled up in a taxi right at this moment. I explained to him what had happened and he invited F and A and their two kids to stay in his house for a bit and have something to eat. It was such a blessing to have A show up because we didn't have any food to give them and it was really cold. We waited there in the house with them until two other members came to give him a blessing. I am so thankful for the priesthood power.
So I should explain a little more about A and F. (I think I did a little last week as well). For their job they watch over the cars in their area. They have a home, but it is really high up on the hill and they don't have much there. So they are always out on the street with their kids. We didn't know it before, but they usually don't have food to eat. F has had problems in the past with drinking and recently has been trying to stop. For this his body has been really week. Between trying to overcome this addiction, and not eating, this is when he fainted and hit his head. We went to visit him again this morning and he was doing ok. His face is super swollen and his head is wrapped, but we gave them breakfast and he is going to be alright. I am thankful for the Holy Ghost and the guidance it gave us last night during this experience. Also, I know the Holy Ghost guided A as well. She didn't know where we were, but she had a feeling we were with T. She is a woman of a lot of faith. She is so humble and I feel very blessed to know her. She, her husband, and her two kids will be baptized the 25th of this month as well.
I don't have a ton of time to write anything else, because I have to go with Hna Torrico to the offices again today. But I will have a big letter next week letting you know all about my new companion. The truth is the transfer has been hard, but I have learned a lot of important lessons. I'm excited to see what this next transfer will bring.
I loved all the pictures this week! It looks like you guys are having a fun summer. Dad, I liked the story about Grant Taylor. This is a lesson I am learning as well. I love you all so much and miss you like crazy. However, I am also very happy to be here and to be a missionary. The work is hard, but so rewarding.
Hna Vernon
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| T's baptism |
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| Hermana Vernon and Hermana Torrico |
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| Investigators F and A |
