Letter #43 07/15/2013

I felt like I should write to my home ward. If possible, Mom, could you have this one be read to our ward? Thanks.

But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

1 Nephi 1:20

Dear Family and Friends

Thank you so much for all the support, prayers, letters, emails, packages, and good thoughts that have been sent my way. I don't think that until now I have been as grateful as I should have been. I know that it is a sacrifice. I know that Heavenly Father has heard your prayers and honored your sacrifice, and that He, in His infinite mercy, is choosing to bless me and the people of Uruguay as a result. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

Last week was an extremely difficult week for me. Where missionaries are the recipients of so many blessings, I believe that we are also subjects of great opposition-- and opposition is not something that is always immediately visible to the natural eye. Fortunately, the Lord looks upon the heart, and one of my favorite names of Christ is the Great Physician.

I know that the mission is the only place in the world where I could understand the Atonement at the depth of understanding that Heavenly Father has blessed me with through these experiences. I am so grateful to be surrounded by leaders who have firm and unwavering testimonies of Jesus Christ. It is through their faith and help that God has reached out to me this week. I testify of the power of priesthood blessings given by faithful and worthy priesthood holders.

I testify of the incredible strength and divine help that is found in the Gift of the Holy Ghost, a gift which I too often take for granted-- or even forget that I have. During times of difficulty (whatever form that difficulty may choose to manifest itself), I testify that we can find refuge in the Holy One of Israel, who will never fail us, who will never loose patience with our own repeated failures, who remembers His covenant people in everlasting mercy and grace. It is through His small, tender mercies that He manifests His mighty hand. The same hand which crafted the universe and keeps the cosmos in order is in every aspect and every corner of our lives, and if we look we will see that we have, in reality, have enough resources to keep going, the strengthe to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ.

My dear family and friends, I plead with you wherever you are that you turn to Heavenly Father in prayer, and search the scriptures diligently for His guidance and counsel. In short I plead with you to remember that Jesus Christ is your Savior, that He gave all of Himself for you, and that there is no such thing as not worthy enough, not smart enough, not experienced enough, not spiritual enough, too old, too young, nor too sinful to have access to the Atonement of the Son of God.

I love you forever,

Hermana Phillips

Letter #42 07/02/2013

Family and Friends!

It's cambios week! We found out about cambios last night, and Hermana Hansen (my oro) is going to Treinta y Tres, which is about 400 kilometers north of us. I'm sad to see her go, but I know she'll do great things there. She just finished the 12 week training program and she's going to go finish training one of the hermanas whose trainer is finishing her mission. That's the only change in our house of four. I'm pretty excited for the new hermana to come. Hermana Peña is from Colombia (woohoo!) and she was in the MTC with me. I've always wanted to be able to work closer with her and  now I get to!

I'm finding new energy this week as I got an opportunity to talk to my trainer again, Hermana Vargas. The begining of our companionship when I first got into the field was pretty rough. I have learned so much from her example and over time she has become one of my favorite people in the world. I didn't appreciate her as much as I should have when we were companions and I judged her very harshly at first. Now I want to become the kind of missionary that she is. The hermanas that I'm with are great but it's been really emotionally draining for me. Now I think I'm getting back on track as I'v recommitted to being 100% devoted to and absorbed in the work. There's no other way to do it.

Love you forever,

Hermana Phillips

Pictures: Cleaning the Temple

Letter #41 06/24/2013

Dear Family,

Sorry this email is going to be short because this keyboard requires some persuasion. It's been a wonderful and crazy week, and really eventful.

We had to travel around a lot, with District Meeting on Tuesday, and Zone Conference in Montevideo on Friday. It was a really emotional Zone Conference, because Hermana Armstrong is leaving on Tuesday for the States and it will be the last month we have with President Armstrong.

Also we had an interesting experience with an investigator whose mother is 150% Jehovah's Witness and burned her daughter's Book of Mormon that we gave her. The rest of the story will have to wait.

I'm so sorry for the shortness of this letter. I'll write a really good one next week to make up for it, and tell you all the things that happened next week.

Love you forever. I hate this keyboard.

Hermana Phillips

Picture: At the Temple

Letter #40 06/17/2013

Dear Family and Loved Ones,

This week has been awesome. We got to go to the temple with some of our investigators and have a special lesson in the waiting room with them! The temple president came and talked to them for a while, and we took some pictures, taught The Plan of Salvation, and then afterward we had some refreshments in the hostel dining room. It was a really cool experience, but we got home at 11:30-- SO late for missionaries!

The investigator we brought is named Josè Yelaskov (Russian heritage) and his family: Alejandrina and her son, Luis (Josè´s step-son.) They are awesome. One of my first weeks in this area they rode up on their motorcycle and stopped us on the street. Alejandrina introduced herself as a member; Josè introduced himself as not baptized-- yet! He explained he had every intention to get baptized because of the example of his wife. He's been going to church in Las Piedras (the next city over) for three years, but now they are moving back to La Paz, where Alejandrina was born. They are my favorites! Alejandrina has two boys from a previous marriage, and she and Josè have two adorable little girls together. However, the thing keeping Josè from baptism is that they are not married. The divorce and marriage proccess is very long here in Uruguay and a little expensive. Fortunately, his divorce finally went through and her divorce is in the final stages. After that, it could be up to two months before they can get married and Josè can get baptized. They are willing to do anything for their family to be together forever.

Sunday we had stake conference, and they came, even though the stake center is quite far and Josè had to make two trips on his motorcycle to get everyone there!

Also this week we are having a stake baptismal service-- about 15 people are going to get baptized! ¡¡Noche Blanca!! We're planning on bringing all of our investigators. Please pray that they'll come!

In other news Hermana Hatch and I have started a tradition of picking a topic together every day and studying it individually for 15 minutes in personal study, and then sharing what we learned. Today's (and yesterday's) topic was charity:

 1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand allmysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whetherthere be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

This is the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians. It is interesting how when I pray for a certain Christlike quality, that quality is tested immediately thereafter.

I love you so much! Remember that the Lord loves you so much and that His love is the only thing in this world that will NEVER fail.

Love you forever,

Hermana Phillips

Letter # 39 06/10/13

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm not sure where to start this week. There are lots of things happening. I was in a triple companionship this week until my new oro, Hermana Hatch, got here on Saturday. My corto plazo was working on her own mission papers and things got a little complicated with the medical part, so she wasn't able to come back, even for a few days. So instead, Hermana Hatch came and now we're companions. Another oro from her group tore a tendon in her knee (those knees-- they just don't make them like they used to!) and had to go home, poor thing. She didn't even do anything strenuous, just walking! But things got moved around again and hopefully I'll get to finish training Hermana Hatch. I've learned that anything can happen.

My poor area. It's suffering a little, like a garden I haven't been able to tend :( But now I'm really excited to start things again and get my rhythm back.

I'm sorry I don't have very much to say this week. Things are a little bit tense at the moment in our house of four sister missionaries. I have found a lot of refuge in my personal study every morning. This morning one of the hermanas was talking about how missionaries are the last to receive the Liahona (if we get it at all) and how we hardly ever get to go to the temple, when we're the ones who need it the most. I disagree a little. There is so much strength to be found in just personal prayer (as Enos discovered) and scripture study (as Nephi tells us over and over again) and, as missionaries, I feel like we are the most prayed-for people in the world. I feel support from my family and my friends, and I have often felt support from the other side of the veil. There are a lot more people working with us than we can see. It would be so wonderful to get to go to the temple, but if we live worthily of the Holy Ghost, our covenants stay with us always.

Siempre,

Hermana Phillips