Monday, May 11, 2015

Change is Good and Brings Blessings!

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

I hope you all had a great week and that things are going well!

This week was really great and I defintely learned SO MUCH! This week was my first week with my new companion, Hermana Velasquez.  She is from Guatemala and is a great teacher and hardworker.  I have already seen the drastic change from having an American companion who speaks Spanish as opposed to a native Spanish speaker!!  She just speaks so amazingly (haha of course) and can talk with these people so directly and boldly and comfortably.  I have already learned so much from her and I know she is such a great contribution to our rama her in Vicente Noble.

Change is good but can also be hard.  There is always such a great opportunity to learn and grow and see miracles! It has been an interesting experience to adjust into being the one who knows the people and the area for longer.  It has honestly only increased the love I have for these people and my strong desire to share the Gospel and help them feel the love of Christ in their lives.  I am so grateful to be able to continue working with these amazing people and members here in Vicente Noble.  In the 3 months that I've been here so far, I have been able to get to know so many people and see the blessings of the Gospel in their lives. 

With a new companion, its been a great opportunity to rethink the way I've been teaching and working with these people.  Hma Velasquez brings a fresh perspective and teaching style and I know we are here together to bring about great change and blessings!  We've been working a lot in finding new people to teach and also working to fortify the investigators we already have.  This week we had several great lessons and finding experiences.  On Thursday we had an absolutely amazing finding moment.  A few of our scheduled lessons fell through and so we were walking around looking for some people. It crossed my mind to go look for a family menos activo that have always been super hard to find.  In my whole time here I have never been able to find them and Hma Johnson also explained how they weren't really open to having missionaries over much.  Hma Velasquez and I decided to go see and we were able to find them in their home. Even more amazingly, they were open to having us share a quick message.  They have been inactive for many years but we testified and shared about the blessings of this Gospel. Truly going to church isn't about the people there or other members.  The true motivation is for Heavenly Father and our love for Him.  It was such a small and simple thing but I walked away feeling so encouraged and knowing that the work will continue to progress here and the Lord will help us!

On Saturday we had the opportunity to help with a Primary activity in Tamayo and here in Vicente Noble.  It was so much fun and great to be able to interact with the members and spend time doing crafts and games with the awesome Dominican children.  I seriously love them so much and they are so fun to be around. We made tiny house out of popsicle sticks and paper flowers and all.  It was so cute and fun.

Last of all, this Sunday was another special Sunday here.  We are continuing to work with Wilkin and helping him learn and grow as a new member of the church!  I am just so happy all the time to be able to help him understand more and enjoy the blessings as a member of this church.  Sunday, Wilkin had the opportunity to receive the Aaronic Priesthood.  With this, he will be able to serve and bless the lives of others and continue growing in the Gospel. I was overwhelmed yet again with the amazing opportunity and responsibility I have been given as a missionary to serve these awesome people and help the children of God.  I know as I learn and work hard, the Lord will help us to bring to pass this amazing work here in the DR.

Thank you all so much for everything!

CON AMOR,

Hermana Graham

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