Letter from Hermana DeLong

Dear Family,

Let's start with Monday. Monday was good. I had a really good study about faith. And how faith is an action. How faith is more of what we do than what we think. Moroni 7:33 if ye will have faith in me ye will have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. Meaning good things, like be baptized, repent, follow the commandments. So if you act on what the Lord asks of you, you have faith. Also about how faith comes by knowledge. The sons of Mosiah, who were very bad guys at one point, became very faithful and powerful missionaries through prayer, scripture study and fasting. Which are all acts of faith. Alma 17:2-3

We also played this game called werewolf. It's a game kind of like the game mafia but cooler. I would explain it but it would take too long. I started to feel sick with a sore throat part-way throught the day I bough some airborne to try and combat it but it was already there. SO tuesday was difficult. I was coming down with a bad cold. But we still went out. We went to visit this lady named Guadalupe she is really sweet and humble. She is also really smart and totallly understood everything we taught. She lives in a 2 bedroom apartment with 7 people. And lives with her husband and baby in a tiny room it's crazy the living situations some people have. Well anyway we taught her and she accepted a baptismal date for september 16th!! Too bad she didn't come to church and her phone got shut off. Hopefully we will get a hold of her this week.

We also had this weird lesson with a woman named Norma. She invited us in and let us sit down, then automatically said she was getting ready to leave and had to go in two minutes. So we had a prayer and shared something really fast, then left. In a 3 minute time frame. It was really awkward but hey, it was a "lesson". We ended up going home really early that night because I was feeling really sick.

Wednesday I just felt worse. We stayed home from service then, that afternoon Elder Schlechty our Zone Leader made me home-made chicken and rice soup and brought it to me. It was really good and very nice of him. We still went out that night. We went to teach Juan and Dulce. Juan is super catholic he is also really argumentative. I was quite most of the lesson because to me, most of the lesson felt like a debate, or a fight. and tha't's not how it should be. I tried to bear my testimony and explain to them how they either want to kno what we are saying is true or they don't. We can't force anyone. And that the only ways they could recieve an answer is by reading the Book of Mormon and asking God. If they didn't pray and didn't read, they wouldn't know. But if they had no desire, it wasn't worth their time or ours. Somehow my companion still thinks we should go back. I don't want to But it's not really my call.

Thursday, we had a lunch appointment with a member, Hermana Jean-Jospeh, at 11:30am so we got on the bus. I saw this man who I thought was hispanic and asked him if he spoke english. He said no and so I gave him and english class card. We got off the bus and Hermana Jean-Joseph had changed the time of our appointment so we went back to the church. On our way back the guy I had fearlessed (talked to) was there again. He had half of the bus trying to help him find the address to our church. We got off with him and were standing down the street from the church. Sister Gray tried talking to him in Spanish but he said, "No. I want to learn english, please talk to me in english." We tried but he didn't understand. So we asked him if he knew spanish and he said, "a little" then we asked him where he was from and he said, "bangladash!" Oh my goodness it was crazy and confusing. So we gave him a card in English and explained where the church was but he was still really confused. So we gave him our number to call us for english class that night and we walked away. As we were walking down the street he called us. We didn't answer and ran and duked into the church. He then proceeded to call us 7 more times that day. There was no explaining to him what we meant he was too confused.

When we got to the church Elder Schriener and Elder Duran gave me a blessing then we all headed to lunch. Lunch was really good. Afterward we went to the Cueva's house. They both speak english and spanish and are some of my favorite members. They are both return missionaries.Sister Cuevas was there and we went in and talked to her. She was having a hard time and we were able to talk to her It was a good conversation and I got to bear testimony of families and how they have the ability to be eternal but that it is hard work and it's not always going to work out perfectly. It was really hot this day and I was feeling super sick that night. But we went to another appointment with Richard. We read with them out of the Book of Mormon it went well. on my way home this lady from a baptist church preached to me about the end of the world and the second coming. I gave her a card as I got off the subway.

Friday I was still sick but not as tired we went out and did look-ups and fearlessing with hermana Cuevas. We made a deal with her husband if we contact 125 people this week and got 25 addresses, they would take us out for sushi. We counted our contacts and fearlesses and we got 132 contacts and 44 addresses! We didn't get into any houses that day, but Sister Cuevas bought us popsicles. :)

AFter that we went to a dinner appointment at Hermana Jimenez's house she is dominican and really sweet. We tried to pull out this huge weed by heer stairs with a kitchen knife and an old shovel. I got eaten alive by mosquitos, I have over 20 bites on my lefs, it's horrible and super itchy. Yes you can send me bug spray and anti-itch cream and something to get rid of the scars I already have! hahah it's horrible. But we had a good chinese dinner and taught about gaining christ-like attributes. Hermana Jean-Joseph came by too and they have us a ride home. Two dominican ladies talking about humility and gaining christ-like attributes, so funny.

"Going to church without scriptures is like going to school without shoes"

"Mormones de domingo! (Sunday Mormons)"

"Hay mi madre! (Like saying oh my gosh)"

I may or may not have video taped part of their conversation on the drive home.

I've decided that Midwood, Brooklyn is like Provo, Utah but Jewish. Everything is closed on Saturday for the Jewish Sabbath and there are more Jewish people than anyone else.

Saturday we started planning the open house for the church. We have two weeks until the open house and we hadn't planned anything. Let's just say planning with Elders is like being in a student counil with only boys. Horrible. I love them to death, but wow. haha I can't even explain it. After planning we went to park slope to use the computers there and make flyers for the open house. There was also hula pratice for the Luau in two weeks. I decided I'm not doing the dances. I'm not really a dancer. So I've decided to just sit this one out. Which is cool because watching is so much more fun.

Sunday, oh beloved Sunday. We had church and none of our investigators showed up but 2 less actives we have visited did. Which was super cool We also got these stickers before sacrament meeting that said, "This Book Belongs to: Hi Bienvenido!" which means welcome. It was really funny. Only in the spanish ward.

We also saw these two crazy homeless people on the street. The old man was sitting on a crate and the lady started screaming at him. She asked him for food and he said, "You can have this bagel" and she took it from him and threw it on the ground and kicked it and said, "I DONT HAVE MY TEETH! I don't get my teet until thursday!!" It was funny and crazy, So we crossed the street and next thing we know the old man is peeing into the street. It was gross.

After that we went out to a far area to find less actives but we he wasn't there. So we came back. On the way back we stopped so Sister Gray could use the restroom and I saw a quick shot of the storm issac that is going to bue a hurricane. Scary, Glad it's not up here!

All in all this week was tiring, I'm feeling much better not 100% but better. I also had to use a lot of patience this week, so I'm mostly out now.. hahaha We will see how it goes. Transfers are in two weeks! I might move areas, I might stay here... there is a possibility that I could TRAIN a new missionary, which would be crazy because I've only been here for 2 transfers. And my spanish is not that good.

We shall see! The church is true. Repentance is real. People can change their lives. God loves us and wants us to return to him. It's true I know it will all of my heart! I couldn't deny it if I tried. If you haven't read the Book of Mormon read it, pray about it. ASK GOD. He is the only one who can tell you for sure.

 

Love you,

Hermana DeLong