Hold Fast to the Iron Rod

Lunch With Keila, Adriana, Rodrigo and Bianca

This week started off super great! We watched the Restoration video with Keila and she is doing just too well. We stopped by Tuesday to fill out some information about her and her aunt invited us to stay for lunch which was a blessing because we didn't have much food in the pension. Keila averages reading about 4 chapters in the BOM every day, and remembers everything!! We visited la familia Montenegro early in the week and as we entered we just felt this tension. They had a long day, a long week, were tired from work, stressed from everything. We decided that we would read the prophet's talk on the Book of Mormon from this last conference. It is amazing how the environment changed. The spirit was piercing and it brought peace and tranquility. I know that Thomas S Monson is a prophet of God called to help us understand how we can return to God and what we have to do in this life. It was a short lesson because it was already time to return for the night, but in a matter of minutes we were amazed by how the Spirit transformed their hearts and left them with a feeling of peace. 

Zone Conference

Wednesday we had zone conference! This was President Zanni's last conference, and yes there were a few tears shed. There were of course many things that stood out to me, but one was a very special moment in which President was talking about Lehi's vision and the importance of holding fast to the iron rod. He emphasized how Jesus is the tree, and we must stay close to His love, and continually invite others to take part. He stopped in the middle of his explanation and stood in front of the 6 hermanas that were present. He told us that we must hold fast. He said that Satan hates us, possibly even more than the elders. He said we are going to bring precious spirits into this world. Satan will try to intervene, but he promised us that if we hold fast to the iron rod, the word of God, and continually surround ourselves in God's love, we will come off conquerer. He got emotional as he looked into each and every one of our eyes, and we felt the truthfulness of his words through the powerful Spirit that was present.

 We found a new family this week that is great! Two daughters, 16 and 8 years old. We contacted the 16 year old a few weeks ago in the street. We showed up at their house and she was excited to see us again. Her little sister listened to us explain the Doctrine of Christ very attentively, describing the 5 steps afterwards. She took the pamphlet we left and immediately began to read it--smart little girl. The parents seem great as well, trying to find a time we can teach all of them together because their work schedules are complicated. 

The week took an unexpected turn on Friday when we went to the doctor and they told me I had amigdalitis (tonsilitis) woohoo. Less than ideal. So we have been catching up on church history, reading all sorts of Ensigns and scriptures, and trying not to go crazy trapped in the walls of the pension without many forms of entertainment. Last week of the transfer and we want to hit the ground running!!!! 

Have a great week! 

much love,

Hermana Mathis