Week 32, Norcross, GA- Spanish Speaking

 Talking to my family on Christmas.

 The dinner calendar we made.

 By the Creek...

 Best Christmas lights in the neighborhood.

Making Tamales

Dear Family,
What a wonderful time of year this is when we celebrate the birth of
our Savior and are blessed to approach a new year. A new year, which
can mean clean slates and new resolutions. How perfect as we celebrate
the birth of He who made such repentance, or change possible?
I wanted to share the story of a resolution that has not only changed,
but blessed my life immensely.
Exactly one year ago, I made a resolution to choose love. Behind
everything we do, there is a driving force. It comes down to either
Love or Fear. For example we can chose to be obedient out of fear of
what others think of us, or we can chose to be obedient out of love
for the Lord. John 14:15. When we chose fear, we ultimately grow
depressed and miserable because we have lost the meaning in life. 1
Corinthians 13: 1-3 However, when we chose love, we grow in happiness
and joy. John 15:10-11.
Well a year ago, I decided to chose love. I was and am in no way
perfect, but it has been amazing to see where this decision has taken
me. It took me to Spain, where I was able to explore an amazing
country, and was ultimately led to my decision to serve the Lord. The
prompting came strong and prominently. I needed to serve NOW. I
completed my papers in February, opened my call March 14, returned
home April 15, and entered the MTC May 13. That was a whirlwind. In
the meantime love continued to guide me as I traveled to 8 different
countries and did what I could to prepare myself to serve the Lord.
I am convinced however, that all one needs to serve is Humility and
complete trust in the Lord.
The Lord has promised to qualify those He calls, and I can testify
that He does.
In the MTC I continued to learn, and even stumble in my quest to
"Chose Love". A MTC teacher pulled me aside and challenged me to "Dare
to Love Completely." (He said he read it on a chocolate dove wrapper.
How perfect! Lol) He said "dare" because it implies that there is a
risk, but rewards would be worth it.
When I arrived on my mission, I was almost immediately exposed to
those risks. Just 2 weeks into my mission, my trainer and best friend
was ETed. I could have chosen to be mad and wallow in murmuring, but
thankfully I chose to continue to love and became best friends with my
new companions.
As I have continued in this quest this year, I have made another
discovery. Really "to chose love" meant "to chose God". 1 John 4: 7-9.
This week we had a wonderful Christmas. There was a tornado warning,
and definitely some rough patches, but as I have contemplated on the
peace that comes at is time from truly taking the time to honor the
Savior, I am so grateful for how the Lord has blessed me. I am so
grateful for this privilege to serve HIM, with the hope and faith that
what I'm doing each day is helping someone to maybe feel a piece of
the love and happiness that His restored gospel brings. On Christmas
Eve, we visited a family of investigators. We shared a video of the
first presidency's testimony of our Savior and gave them "The Living
Christ". We then bore our testimonies of the Savior. They were amazed
by the reverence in which we referred to Him, our Lord and King. One
even said, "Wow. That is definitely something I would like to have in
my life". We promised him he would as he continued to study the
scriptures, and keep the commandments. I testify that we are children
of a Loving Heavenly Father, who loves us so much that He sent is son,
Jesus Christ. He was born of humble circumstances and lived a humble,
perfect life. Yet he suffered everything for us. He died for us. I
testify that He rose the third day, and that He continues to live. He
lives to grant us peace, joy and happiness. I know that as we continue
with patience, that  the blessings come. Mosiah 2:41
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May This time be FULL of Peace and Joy!
Love always,

Hermana Wallis

Week 31, Norcross, GA- Spanish Speaking

My electronic version of a Christmas card:

Feliz Navidad!
Wow. Where has this year gone?! Definitely not where I'd thought it'd
go, but while the Lord's way is most often different, and more
difficult, but it's definitely more rewarding. It is such a privilege
to be able to serve him, especially at this time when we celebrate the
birth of His son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.
This week was crazy, but what week isn't? About a week ago, we were
privileged with a visit from Elder Holland. He shook our hands and
spoke to us about the significance of serving a mission. He said his
mission literally changed his whole life. He defines his life as
"before the mission" and "after the mission". He spoke about the
importance of being our number 1 converts. He went through and talked
about how we can teach with "Power and Authority" like in Helaman 5.
He said that to teach with "Power and Authority" we must have it (as
in the gospel) inside of us. I am convinced that we are here to learn
how to completely rely on the Lord by applying the atonement
continuously. The Lord gives us challenges that bring us to our knees
time and time again, so that we may grow closer to him, and maybe
begin to understand how the gospel works in our lives, so we can help
it works in others.
I know that we have a Savior and this is His restored gospel. Because
His gospel is restored, He is able to strengthen us through our
burdens through the covenants we make to him at baptism and the
temple, and renew them each week as we partake of the Sacrament.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life."
He was born in humble circumstances. He lived the perfect life, yet,
He suffered everything for us. Alma 7:11-13 So that through Him, we
might be saved. Not only to return to live with our Heavenly Father
again with our families, but to also be changed and strengthened. To
continue to better ourselves. To have a peace of mind in a world full
of trial and tribulation.
I love my savior so much and am so grateful to be able to serve Him.
We had our Christmas Party on Saturday and it was quite a success! Our
little Juanita came! She also informed us that she had not said any
real bad words the past week. She did confess to us though that she
called someone trash and told him his skin is white but his heart is
black, but that was because he was calling everyone else stupid. She
is so funny. I love her so much. She brought her granddaughters to the
Christmas party and they were so excited.
I love this work so much! It is such a privilege!
I love and miss you all!
Merry Christmas!
Hermana Wallis

Week 30, Norcross, GA- Spanish Speaking

Dear Family!

This week was amazing! Elder Holland came! I got to see Sister Kafu
and Sister Stenquist! And I'm currently sitting next to Sister Hanks!
Life couldn't get much better!
Elder Holland came on Friday to speak with all the Sisters in Georgia.
We were originally going to go, but last Monday we had studies and
breakfast with the sisters, and our Sister Training Leader non
chalantly told us as we were leaving: "President says you should only
go if you have an investigator or less active or you think it's the
best use of your time." Which left us confused and feeling slightly
guilty. We worked really hard and called and visited all of our less
actives and investigators and invited them, but none of them could go.
On Friday we were going to go, but the spirit told us no. So we tried
to visit a bunch of people we had for back up plans, but no one
opened. We're counting it as a trial of our faith. We are just here to
do the Lord's will. And His will that night was to not get in with
anyone. I'd rather do His will than anything else. Thankfully Sister
Hanks went, so she gave me her notes. I'll email them.
On Saturday, we met with the Atlanta mission and He came to see us! It
was amazing. I got to sit behind Sister Kafu and Sister Stenquist. He
shook our hands. It was great, except, I said the wrong thing.
So if you've ever been visited by an apostle of the Lord. Everything
is very precise. President Bennion emphasized a few rules: Elder
Holland sets the pace of the handshake. No hugs. And keep things
moving. We started lining up at 8:50, and
at Exactly 8:55 Elder Holland literally burst into the chapel. He went
up on the stand and whispered something with the mission President's.
Then he greeted us and told us to tell him his name and where we are
from. We are to shake his hands, then Elder Parker of the seventy,
then Sister Bennion's, then President Bennion's.  He comes down and
starts shaking hands. I start panicking. "where are you from?" Is
probably my least favorite question because I never know what to say
and this time, I don't have time to explain. I couldn't decide if I
should say "Texas" or "Colorado" or "Denver" or someone told me this
week that where you are from is where you are born, so for me that's
Chicago. I also wasn't sure if I should say my full name, or just
sister and last name. I needed more time to prepare! My plan became to
just follow my companion. Well my companion said "Sister Van Leuven,
I'm from Utah" so what do I say? "Sister Wallis, Utah" Then I shook
Elder Parker's hand and I realized that I just lied to an apostle so I
told him, "that's wrong! Colorado!" By now I'm shaking Sister
Bennion's hand, and she's confused, "What?" And I've moved onto
President Bennion, who's also confused so I just say: "I said the
wrong thing..." And walk away in shame.
I lied to an apostle.
Thankfully he told us later that he really didn't care where we were
from, he doesn't remember anything. He just wanted to look us in the
eye. But I'm still sure I don't think I'm going to ever forget that.
I wish we could have roll played that. Like they should have given us
a warning when we knew he was coming so I could at least have
practiced in companionship study or something. It made me think about
how we should prepare ourselves beforehand for the tough questions of
life and reminded me of how you would always practice us saying "No"
to things against the word of wisdom. This could also be used for any
temptation against the Law of Chastity or just any tough question
someone may have about the church. Practicing helps us make the
decision beforehand so we are prepared to be on the Lord's team when
those tough moments come. It's just like if I had gone to a party with
a friend and hadn't made the decision before hand of whether or not
I'd drink. If I had decided, "I'll just follow my friend" well, I'd
probably wind up falling into temptation and making a lot of decisions
I'd regret, because I hadn't decided beforehand. We cannot be
complacent in this life! We cannot be "Flojo". Make a decision of
who's side you're on and stay there!
(Update: I still don't know where I'm from. I'm working on it though.)
So yesterday we visited the less active we had watched the Christmas
devotional with. She was like a new person! She told us that she had
read the Book of Mormon every day and that she stopped saying bad
words! It was a miracle. She even told us she wants to come back to
church!
I love this work so much. I have received so many blessings. It's been
incredible.
I love you all!
Felix Navidad 🎄
Hermana Wallis

Pictures:
Me and Stenquist! So no pictures were allowed with Elder Holland. But Sister
Stenquist rode back with me because Sister Hanks and Sister Kafu (now
sister Stenquist's companion) went to a sealing for their recent
converts. So this is "my" back yard.
Stake conference was this weekend for us! No changes. Also, we have 40
missionaries in our stake. It's insane. President And Sister Bennion
spoke. They told some stories and miracles about the investigators of
Sister Barnard. One family decided to be baptized on her birthday and
Sandy, who I went to her baptism with Sister Kafu last July, decided
to go to the temple then too. It has been very bitter sweet. I cried.

When I first came to this mission, things were bit more "Flojo" as
well, but the accident was my first Friday in he field and I think it
changed everything. I think it's pushed us all to stand a little
taller in those sister's honor. You can see and feel a difference.
Anyways, the Rhams found me at stake conference. They were excited to
"retake" baby pictures. Haha

 With Sister Stenquist- a former companion

 The wonderful Rahm Family found Madeleine at Stake Conference.

Week 29, Norcross, GA, Spanish speaking

Dear Family,
How was the Christmas devotional?! One of my most favorite Christmas
memories is watching the devotional in my pajamas with my brothers
while we all drank root beer from he bottles. This year, We had
invited all of our investigators to watch it with us at the church,
and they all cancelled. So by 7 we were out visiting, doing our back up plans. We
decided to visit this less active who's older, and really just
non-complacent about life so it has been hard to make progress with
her. We shared a short message with her about enduring to the end, and
she opened up to us about a language habit. At first I though she was
complaining about a friend's language habit, so I was saying pretty
bold things that I probably wouldn't have said if I had realized that
the one with the language problem was actually her. The gift of
tongues for me is sincerely divine. I have found that I only
understand what the Lord wants me to understand, and how He wants me
to understand it. He knows me so well.
We committed her to watch the Christmas devotional, but she wouldn't
come to the church. So we set it up for her on her tablet, but when we
looked at the clock, we still had about 30 minutes until it started,
and we didn't want to leave her because we wanted to make sure that
she actually watched the devotional. I looked at my Book of Mormon and
just said, "Let's read the Book of Mormon Christmas story!" We read 3
Nephi 1 and talked about the signs, and the people's faith, and then
related the end of the chapter back to enduring to the end because
even though these people had amazing spiritual experiences, they
failed to endure to the end and fell back into the habit of war. Then
we watched the Christmas devotional. At this point, HOW PERFECT was
Elder Bednar's talk?! She was so excited, "we were just reading about
this!" It was really cute. It was also sweet as she recognized the
tune of all the hymns telling us, "oh, I remember singing these
beautiful songs in church!" (I have to admit, I'm slightly
disappointed there isn't a secret Spanish Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so
they could at least translate that part. Oh well, the spirit has no
language.)
Yesterday Fanny left for Columbia. She has been so nervous. I looked
up her new Ward and church building for her and gave her the address
as well as the Bishop's name. She is so sweet. It was so sad this week
to not plan anything for her. It's really cool to think about how the
Lord's hand is in everything. I could have been called to Columbia and
taught her there, but he has me here and this mission has brought me
more blessings than I could count.
This week we are really excited because Elder Holland is coming to
Atlanta to speak with all the Relief Society this Friday, and then
this Saturday, He's going to speak to our Mission and the Atlanta
Mission. It's the best Christmas gift ever. I'm really excited because
it also means I will see my former companions again too.
I love being a missionary so much. I love this work. This week I had
been studying some of the talks from General Conference and a few of
them talk about how Laman and Lemuel had the same spiritual
experiences as Nephi, but their attitude and lack of spiritual habits
prevented them from ever growing spiritually. They chose to grow
bitter while Nephi chose to grow better. In the talk, "Turn to Him and
Answers Will Come" Elder Martino then compares Laman and Lemuel to the
sons of Mosiah: "Both groups of men were raised in righteous families,
yet both strayed. Both were called to repentance by an angel" but the
difference was that the sons of Mosiah developed spiritual habits of
obedience, daily scripture study, daily prayer, and sincere fasting
with prayer. Because of these habits, they were made strong in their
trials, unlike Laman and Lemuel. I think it also goes to show that
after the sons of Mosiah had repented, they wanted to grow closer to
the Lord and had that sincere desire. They changed their attitudes,
unlike Laman and Lemuel. Our attitudes make all the difference in this
life. No one is exempt from trials. We get to chose every day if we
are going to grow bitter, or better.
I know that this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that
He is our Savior and that He lives. I am so grateful for Him. I love
my calling, "to invite others to come unto Christ". 2 Nephi 19:6 " For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government
shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful,
Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace."
I love and miss you!!!
Love,
Hermana Wallis
Sent from my iPad

Week 28, Norcross, GA- Spanish Speaking

Black Friday at the Atlanta Temple

 We made a gingerbread house

The District

Hellooo Family!
This week was pretty good. Highlight was definitely the temple.
On Tuesday we had exchanges. Sister Kang came to Norcross with me, and
Sister Van Leuven went to the English Ward with Sister Kuterer (we did
make the connection ;) ).
Sister Kang is from Taiwan. (She has on a teal sweater and striped
dress in the selfie at the temple) She's amazing. Fun fact: so temple
square was low on mandarine speaking missionaries so she and sister pi
(like ), who is also from Taiwan, were sent to temple square for the
summer. They came back in October. Sister Stenquist actually drove
Sister Kang to the mission office, the day that she was also coming to
the mission office to pick me up! Just thought that was cool. And then
Sister Pi is one of my most favorite people ever. In her testimony at
zone conference, she expressed her frustration with rejection: "I come
here, from far away, learned this stupid language (she actually said
that), to give you salvation! You should be grateful I knocked on your
door!" I felt like I related way too much in a first world problem
kind of way.
Having Sister Kang with me for a day was interesting. Thankfully we
wound up teaching a lot of teens that day so she could contribute,
because she doesn't speak Spanish. We did have one lesson though where
we were teaching the kids, then their mom came in and one of them
started translating for their mom, so I started teaching in Spanish
because I can do that, but then we were translating it back into
English for Sister Kang, who was over there writing out mandarine
lettering to explain repentance (which I'll explain in a bit. It's
really cool.) yea, I had no idea what language was really going on at
that point.
That night we had a family home evening with Fanny and Vannessa. I was
trying to think of a game, and "don't eat Shawna" is what came to
mind. So we stopped at a Kroger (big mistake 2 days before
thanksgiving) to go to the bathroom and buy some m&ms. I had $1 left
on my card and the Book of Mormon gives us a 20% discount, which would
reduce the m&m price to $.68, so I figured I had enough. Well, when my
card didn't work, I resorted to change. I was able to find $.31 in
pennies (no wonder I've been so lucky!), and then by a miracle I found
a quarter and a dime! It was seriously a Thanksgiving miracle.
On Wednesday, it was very populated. There were cars, everywhere. I
don't even know where all the people came from! Because on Thursday,
it was as empty as a Sunday morning. There was no traffic. At all. The
whole day.
I woke up feeling really sick on Thursday with a bad head cold. I was
miserable. I have been plain exhausted for the past few weeks, and
waking up sick on top of it made me just want to curl up and cry
myself to sleep. So during language study, I went into the bathroom
and had a heart to heart with the Lord about it, which involved about
30 minutes of crying, and then deciding that I actually have to get
out and work. I called the mission nurse, but she didn't answer. So I
left a detailed message, and we just went out and visited people. We
showed the video, "Thanksgiving Daily"
(https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-11-23-thanksgiving-daily?lang=eng)
and then we talked about this great quote from "Is it Still Wonderful
to You?" In the April 2015 General Conference:
"I have often wondered what it would have been like to live at the
time of our Savior. Can you imagine sitting at His feet? feeling His
embrace? witnessing as He ministered to others? And yet so many who
met Him failed to recognize--to “see”--that the very Son of God was
living among them.


       We too are privileged to live in an exceptional time. The prophets
of old saw the work of the Restoration as “a marvelous work … , yea, a
marvelous work and a wonder.” In no previous dispensation have so many
missionaries been called, so many nations been opened for the gospel
message, and so many temples been built throughout the world.


       For us, as Latter-day Saints, wonders also occur in our individual
lives. They include our own personal conversion, the answers we
receive to our prayers, and the tender blessings God showers upon us
daily.


       To marvel at the wonders of the gospel is a sign of faith. It is to
recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives and in everything around
us. Our amazement also produces spiritual strength. It gives us the
energy to remain anchored in our faith and to engage ourselves in the
work of salvation."


How great is it to be alive at a time when we have a living Prophet! A
time of Revelation! A time when we can be a part of the same church
Christ established! This is His church!

We ate dinner with a bunch of families from the branch, because they
are kind of all related to eachother... No tamales, but I had sole
(Hispanic soup) which was a miracle because I felt so sick.

On Friday we got to go to the temple! And we had interviews. I love
President Bennion. He's great. Due to the MTC time change, I am now
presented with the option of either going home in October or on
November 29. The only thing about going home November 29 is that I
miss another Thanksgiving. But I think I'll just chose that date
because I don't know of anything better I could be doing than serving
the Lord.

And the temple was wonderful. I wish we could have just spent all day there.

Our 16 year olds want to repent! On Tuesday I took sister Kang over
there, and we were talking about repentance. She said that in Chinese,
the characters for repentance are "Heart" + "daily" so it's "a daily
change of heart". Which was really cool. It was very evident though
that they didn't understand the atonement and what Christ did for us.
So we've started to show them the Bible videos that make up the
atonement, starting with the Last supper, for each lesson. When we
showed Christ suffered in Getsemane (https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/the-savior-suffers-in-gethsemane?lang=eng), it changed everything. Our

investigator just looked at us and said, "Did this really happen?" When
we told her yes, she told us that she wanted to be baptized. So she's on
date for December 26! We read D&C 19:15-19 with the less active:
"15 Therefore I command you to repent--repent, lest I smite you by the
rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings
be sore--how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how
hard to bear you know not.

16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they
might not suffer if they would repent;

17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to
tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer
both body and spirit--and would that I might not drink the bitter cup,
and shrink--

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my
preparations unto the children of men."

And it changed everything. He told us about how he needs to repent.
The investigator came to church on her own! She found a ride and
everything! And then the lessons were on the law of chastity, and
fasting. It was perfect. She even went and talked with the Branch
President on her own too! Miracles are real.
I just kept on thinking about the promise from the Handbook:
"As we come to understand and believe these truths and gain a firm
testimony of Jesus Christ, we strive to obey His commandments and want
to share our blessings with our family and others (see 1 Nephi
8:9–37). With this secure foundation of testimony, other elements of
Church activity follow naturally.'

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he walked this earth and
lived a "matchless life"; He went about only doing good. I know that
He suffered everything for us. He is our Savior. I am so excited for this Christmas season, a time when everyone can unite in celebrating His Birth, because He is the Savior of the world. (http://christmas.mormon.org) I love Him. 

I know that this is His restored church. That the Book of Mormon is another

testament of Him. That we do have a living Prophet that testifies of
Him and His atonement and that the Lord's authority is back on the
earth. We can have complete and total access to the atonement of Jesus
Christ  because of the restoration.

I love this work so much!
I love and miss you!
Love,
Hermana Wallis

Week 27, Norcross, GA- Spanish Speaking

New District

Hermana Wallis and Sister Hanks an old companion, both excited to be in the same district!

Dear Family,
Sometimes as a missionary you try to think about your week and quite
honestly so much happened, it is difficult to summarize.

Yesterday I spoke in church. When you're a missionary, it's funny to
speak in church. Because, you still get nervous and have the same
feelings speaking from the pulpit as you did from before your mission.
Then when it's all said and done, you kind of expect those you care
about most to say something, like I expected Fanny to say something,
but she didn't. Then I realized that I was technically kind of her
minister, so hearing gospel insight from me, really wasn't all that
rare or different. It was probably more like, "of course you spoke in
church! You taught me the gospel!" Oh. I guess I was actually there
for that. But let's just clarify- the spirit is the one who taught you
everything. I was just used as a vessel.
Haha, the branch President said what I said was perfect, so that made
me feel good. His opinion was really the only one I cared about.
On Saturday night, the branch had another activity. They had a
Thanksgiving dinner! It was great because Fanny brought one of the
other grandmothers of her great Grandchildren. She is from Peru, so
the family that was from Peru came up and started talking to her, and
then the mom was showing her the Book of Mormon and was explaining it
to her. She got really excited so she showed and explained the
pictures in the front, and then when we gave her the book, she
couldn't believe it! I love what I do.
This area is honestly booming. The Lord's hand is so prevalent in this
area. It's kind of funny because between Spanish and English
missionaries, we have 10-12 missionaries covering our area. Once when
I was on an exchange with another sister here, we saw 7 other
missionaries in he span of about an hour. It's kind of fun and really
nice as we'll cross paths going from neighborhood to neighborhood,
because we are quickly able to refer each other to Spanish and English
homes where we visited. The Lord is definitely hastening His work
because I can't think of a time when I ever saw missionaries out and
about before my mission. (Except when I was in Spain because I'm
convinced Brad Wilcox is a missionary magnet. As soon as he left the
continent, I never saw another missionary for the last 2 weeks).
Other quick news: the 16 year olds that ran away, THEY'RE BACK! I
don't know if they're wanted by the police still, but we are focusing
on the law of chastity and obey and honor the law. They read Mathew 24
on their own and have been sufficiently freaked out about the second
coming. We are hoping this humbles them. She knows they need to
repent, he is still in denial, which is kind of ironic because he is a
member. But still. We are kind of freaking out about how to call
someone to repentance. We have been leaving them with pretty blunt
scriptures to read.
2 weeks ago we found 3 new investigators all on the same street,
that all live right next to each other. When we went to go teach them
this Thursday, one of them was talking to this kid, who is about 18.
We were following up to see if He (our original investigator) had done
the reading assignment we asked from the Book of Mormon, and
recognizing that there was another person here who didn't know what
the Book of Mormon was, we began to explain it to him. Our
investigator said he likes us because we tell people to read the book
and then pray about it. He then had to go inside for something and
just left us saying, "Teach him!"
So we taught him the restoration and he was really intrigued. We
emphasized the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and praying
about it to know for himself that it is true. When he was a little
confused about what we mean, we showed him the video "Origen"
(https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-06-002-origin?lang=eng)
He was then so excited. He knodded and just said, "¡sí!" To everything
we said. He was so excited when we gave him a copy of the Book of
Mormon.
The Book of Mormon is crucial. It's either true or it's not. The only
way to find out if it is true is by following the promise in Moroni
10:3-5. By reading it, pondering about it, and praying about it,
because our Heavenly Father is all knowing, and He is not going to
lie.
I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It is another testament of our
Savior Jesus Christ. What a privilege it is to have a part in His
work. I love it.
I love and miss you!!!
Love,
Hermana Wallis

Ps: So Thanksgiving. Yea, that's an American thing. But thankfully
it's a big enough deal that it's what convinced Fanny to move her
baptism up. Haha, she originally wanted to be baptized November 28,
but, "apparently it's Thanksgiving or whatever you people do and
that's a really big day, so I think it would be better if I got
baptized sooner". I love her.
We are eating with a family. I'm not sure much is going to change
other than the fact that I am in Atlanta suburbs over Thanksgiving and
on Black Friday we are going to actual Atlanta to go to the temple
so.... One word: Traffic. Or in chile as they would call it: Taco. 🌮
Also, here is my talk/ outline of my talk. It's in Spanish, for
obvious reasons... But the subject was on becoming a disciple of Jesus
Christ, and I loved it.

A medida que pierde su vida al servicio del Padre que está en los
niños cielos, las tentaciones de Satanás pierden poder en su vida.

Hola Hermanos,
Soy Hermana Wallis. Yo soy su misionera con hna Van Leuven. Yo tengo 6
meses en la misión. Sirví 3 meses en una rama en inglés, y 3 meses en
español aquí con ustedes. Gracias por su apoyo en la obra del Señor.

"Los principios fundamentales de nuestra religión son el testimonio de
los apóstoles y de los profetas concernientes a Jesucristo: que murió,
fue sepultado, se levantó al tercer día y ascendió a los cielos; y
todas las otras cosas que pertenecen a nuestra religión son únicamente
apéndices de eso"- José Smith

1 Nephi 19:9

Hoy yo voy a hablar sobre de cómo podemos ser discípulos de
JesuCristo. A ser un discípulo significa a ser una persona que recibe
enseñanzas y una persona que sigue las ideas, doctrina, y métodos de
un maestro.
Hermanos y Hermanas, JesuCristo es nuestro maestro. ¡Que grande es a
oportunidad que tenemos a ser su discípulo si solo seguimos su ejemplo
y sus enseñanzas!

En la Biblia, Juan 13:34-35, Él nos dice:
"34 Un mandamiento nuevo os doy: Que os améis unos a otros; como yo os
he amado, que también os améis los unos a los otros.

35 En esto conocerán todos que sois mis discípulos, si tenéis amor los
unos por los otros."

 Este amor no es normal. Es la caridad. Moroni 7:47 dice
"pero la caridad es el amor puro de Cristo, y permanece para siempre;
y a quien la posea en el postrer día, le irá bien."
Luego nos dice
"48  Por consiguiente, amados hermanos míos, pedid al Padre con toda
la energía de vuestros corazones, que seáis llenos de este amor que él
ha otorgado a todos los que son discípulos verdaderos de su Hijo
Jesucristo; para que lleguéis a ser hijos de Dios; para que cuando él
aparezca, seamos semejantes a él, porque lo veremos tal como es; para
que tengamos esta esperanza; para que seamos purificados así como él
es puro. Amén."
Para empezar nuestro camino a ser un discípulo de JesuCristo, podemos
empezar con oración para la caridad. También en el discurso
"Verdaderamente bueno y sin engaño" Elder Ringwood nos dice:
"Las buenas nuevas del evangelio de Jesucristo son que los deseos de
nuestro corazón se pueden cambiar y que es posible educar y refinar
nuestros motivos. Cuando nos bautizamos para entrar al verdadero redil
de Dios, comenzamos el proceso de convertirnos en nuevas criaturas
(véanse 2 Corintios 5:17; Mosíah 27:26); y cada vez que renovamos el
convenio del bautismo al tomar la Santa Cena, avanzamos un paso hacia
esa meta suprema y final. Al perseverar en ese convenio, obtenemos la
fortaleza para llorar con los que lloran y consolar a los que
necesitan consuelo (véase Mosíah 18:9). En ese convenio encontramos la
gracia que nos habilita para servir a Dios y guardar Sus mandamientos,
incluso los de amarlo a Él con todo nuestro corazón y amar al prójimo
como a nosotros mismos. En ese convenio, Dios y Cristo nos socorren a
fin de que nosotros podamos socorrer a aquellos que necesiten auxilio
(véase Mosíah 4:16; véanse también los versículos 11–15)."

El primer piso en a ser un Discípulo de JesuCristo es a hacer
convenios con Dios para que él puede cambiarnos. Luego, podemos ayudar
a otros a recibir sus convenios. En el discurso de Elder Hugo Montoya,
él dice
"El Salvador dijo: “… y a cualquiera que te obligue a llevar carga por
una milla, ve con él dos”. Por ejemplo se nos pide ir al templo de
acuerdo a nuestras posibilidades. El asistir al templo requiere
sacrificio de tiempo y recursos, especialmente para aquellos que deben
viajar una distancia larga. Sin embargo ese sacrificio podría ser
considerado la primera milla.


                                Empezamos a recorrer la segunda milla cuando entendemos las
palabras: “encontrar, llevar, enseñar”; cuando investigamos y
preparamos los nombres de nuestros antepasados para realizar sus
ordenanzas; cuando ayudamos en indexación; cuando servimos como
obreros en el templo; y cuando estamos atentos a las necesidades de
nuestro prójimo y le ayudamos a tener experiencias significativas en
el templo.


                                Una estaca de las que yo supervisaba como Setenta de Área
participó en una excursión numerosa al templo. El templo es pequeño y
hubo miembros que a pesar de hacer el largo viaje de doce horas se
quedaron sin entrar, pues se sobrepasó la capacidad del día del
templo.


                                Días después visité esa estaca y le pedí al presidente que me
permitiera entrevistar a algunos de esos miembros, que ese día, se
quedaron sin entrar. Al entrevistar a un hermano, él dijo: “Élder, no
se preocupe, yo estuve en la casa del Señor, me senté en una banca en
el jardín y medité en las ordenanzas. Tuve la oportunidad de entrar,
pero cedí el lugar a un hermano que entró al templo por primera vez
para sellarse con su esposa, para que ellos tuvieran la oportunidad de
asistir a dos sesiones. El Señor me conoce, me ha bendecido y estamos
bien”.

Aquí, Yo conozco una mujer quien maneja un grupo de hermanas al templo
cada semana para que ellas pueden entrar; conozco una hermana quien
traiga una otra hermana quien no puede manejar a la iglesia cada
semana para que ellas puede recibir la Santa cena. Dios sabe que
ustedes hacen y somos agradecidos para sus sacrificios para ayudar a
otros en la obra del señor. Moisés 1:39
"39  Porque, he aquí, ésta es mi obra y mi gloria:  Llevar a cabo la
inmortalidad y la vida eterna del hombre"
Y Si no podemos entrar al templo o participar en la Santa cena, a
ayudar a otros a hacerlo puede prepararnos para la Día cuando podemos
participar en estés ordenanzas.

También podemos ser discípulos de JesuCristo cuando estamos sirviendo
a otros. En el articulo "El Servicio y La Vida Eterna" del Liahona
Marzo 2014, Presidente Eyring Dice:
"Jesús fue entre la gente enseñando el Evangelio y haciendo el bien
(véase Hechos 10:38). Él sanó al enfermo, levantó a los muertos, y con
Su poder alimentó a miles cuando estuvieron hambrientos y sin comida
(véanse Mateo 14:14–21; Juan 6:2–13). Después de Su resurrección, dio
de comer a varios de Sus apóstoles cuando llegaron a la costa del mar
de Galilea (véase Juan 21:12–13). En las Américas, sanó al enfermo y
bendijo a los niños uno por uno (véase 3 Nefi 17:7–9, 21)." Todo que
JesuCristo hizo fuera para los otros, para nosotros. Seríamos bien
para seguir a él y su ejemplo.
En Doctrinas y convenios 52:40 dice:
"40  Y recordad en todas las cosas a los pobres y a los necesitados, a
los enfermos y a los afligidos, porque el que no hace estas cosas no
es mi discípulo."

El primer modo en que podemos ayudar a los pobres y a los necesitados
es ayunar y dar una ofrenda cada mes. En el discurso “¿No es [éste]
más bien el ayuno que yo escogí?” Presidente Eyring nos dice una
historia de una hermana se llama Abbie Turray, "de Sierra Leona, donde
una guerra civil que se desencadenó en 1991 azotó el país durante
años." Durante la guerra ella recibió "una camisa de rayas blancas y
azules [que recibió] en un paquete de ropa usada [donada por miembros
de la Iglesia], y una frazada que ahora está gastada y llena de
agujeros”. Ella dice: “Esta camisa es la primera… prenda de vestir que
[recibí]… Me la ponía para ir a trabajar --era muy buena. [Me hacía
sentir muy hermosa]. Yo no tenía otra ropa”.
                                        “Esta frazada nos mantuvo abrigados a mí y a mis hijos durante la
guerra. Cuando los rebeldes [vinieron] a atacarnos, esto fue lo único
que [pude] agarrar [al huir hacia los arbustos para ocultarnos]; así
que la [llevábamos] con nosotros, nos mantenía abrigados y a salvo de
los mosquitos”.

Presidente Eyring continúa:
                                        "donaciones de ofrendas de ayuno de personas como ustedes,
permitió a los santos comprar alimentos que la mayoría de los
habitantes del país no podían adquirir.
Luego Él nos dice:
Un visitante de los Estados Unidos estuvo con Abie recientemente.
Mientras estaba con ella “notó un juego de Escrituras sobre la mesa”.
Tomó las Escrituras en la “mano y dio vuelta a las páginas con
delicadeza. Al [hacerlo, halló una] copia amarilla de un formulario de
donativos y pudo ver cómo, en un país donde un [dólar vale su] peso en
oro, Abie Turay había pagado un dólar de diezmo, un dólar al fondo
misional y un dólar como ofrenda de ayuno para quienes, en sus propias
palabras, eran ‘realmente pobres’”.

A ayunar y pagar la ofrenda es una moda muy simple en que podemos
servir cada mes.

También podemos orar para que podemos recoger oportunidades a servir a
otros. "El élder M. Russell Ballard, del Quórum de los Doce Apóstoles,
nos ha animado a orar por oportunidades de servicio en su Discurso
"Estar anhelosamente consagrados": “Cada mañana, en sus oraciones,
pidan al Padre Celestial que los guíe a reconocer una oportunidad para
servir a uno de Sus preciados hijos. Luego, vayan durante el día…
buscando a quien ayudar” (“Estar anhelosamente consagrados”, Liahona,
noviembre de 2012, página 31)".    Si somos obedientes a los sossoros
del Espíritu Santo, que Dios va a darnos más oportunidades para servir
a nuestros Hermanos.
En el Ensign de este mes, hay un artículo que dice:

"La mayoría de las veces, las respuestas a las oraciones no vienen a
bombo y platillo. Comfort durante tiempos de prueba se presenta en
forma de una comida entregada por un vecino que cuida, una tarde-noche
llamada telefónica de un padre amoroso que sintió la necesidad de ver
a su hija, o un complemento de un extraño en el supermercado."
Cuando seguimos los sossoros del Espíritu Santo, podemos ser la ayuda
a una otra persona.

Por fin podemos estudiar las escrituras más para aprender los
atributos de Cristo para aplicarlos a nuestras vidas. En el discurso
"Soy yo Señor" Presidente Uctorf nos dice:
"si [tenemos] el gran deseo de cultivar los atributos cristianos de la
“la fe, la virtud, el conocimiento, la templanza, la paciencia, la
bondad fraternal, piedad, caridad, humildad [y servicio]”, el Padre
Celestial los hará instrumentos en Sus manos para la salvación de
muchas almas."
Qué lindo es la oportunidad a ser un instrumento en las manos de dios!

Pero a veces a veces es un poco difícil; en
Mateo 19 hay la cuenta a algo que pasó a JesuCristo:
16 Y he aquí uno, acercándose, le dijo: Maestro bueno, ¿qué bien haré
para tener la vida eterna?

17 Y él le dijo: ¿Por qué me llamas bueno? Ninguno es bueno sino uno,
a saber, Dios; y si quieres entrar en la vida, guarda los
mandamientos.

18 Le dijo: ¿Cuáles? Y Jesús dijo: No matarás; no cometerás adulterio;
no hurtarás; no dirás falso testimonio;

19 honra a tu padre y a tu madre; y, amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo.

20 El joven le dijo: Todo esto lo he guardado desde mi juventud. ¿Qué
más me falta?

21 Le dijo Jesús: Si quieres ser perfecto, anda, vende lo que tienes y
da a los pobres, y tendrás tesoro en el cielo; y ven, sígueme.

22 Y al oír el joven esta palabra, se fue triste, porque tenía muchas
posesiones.

Y él escogió su vida de la tierra entre la vida eterna.

podemos tener la fe, la humildad y la confianza en Dios que dejar
nuestros deseos mundanos y optó por convertirse en discípulos de
Jesucristo.

Y por Fin, Presidente Uctdorf nos dice:
"quienes deseen mejorar y progresar, quienes sepan del Salvador y
deseen ser como Él, los que se humillen como un niño y traten de poner
sus pensamientos y hechos en armonía con nuestro Padre Celestial,
experimentarán el milagro de la expiación del Salvador. Con seguridad
sentirán el Espíritu resplandeciente de Dios; probarán el gozo
indescriptible, que es el fruto de un corazón manso y humilde; serán
bendecidos con el deseo y la disciplina para llegar a ser verdaderos
discípulos de Jesucristo."

Testimonio y en el nombre de JesuCristo, amén.


Sent from my iPad