My dear family and friends,
Hace mucho frio aqui! Just kidding! It's actually pretty warm here, I'm planning on packing up most of my sweaters and sending them back to Utah because it's February and I'm wearing short sleeves and sandals, and it still gets so hot! It's been pretty entertaining to hear about all of the snow storms and freezing weather from all of you up north...it feels like we are on completely different planets sometimes!
Well this week has had it's fair shares of ups and downs for me. We've been working really hard with a few investigators, Mary and Ashley, and were actually seeing some incredible progress with them. We found out, however, that on Monday they decided to up and move to Benson without any notice. We were so sad :( but we've been wondering about calling the missionaries over there and seeing if they can continue the work on them, even though it's pretty unlikely that they will want them over since they moved in with Mary's boyfriend who fired a gun at some previous missionaries a few years back. So we are being prayerful about sending missionaries over there.
We've also been sorely dropped by our investigator, Fai, who had stumbled across some anti-Mormon websites on the internet. We are also continuing to try to teach Yvonne, who seemed really touched by our message at first, but has since relapsed with drugs and won't give us the time of day.
On the plus side though, we were looking through some former investigators' progress records, and came across Myra and her daughter, Isabella. When we went to see them, they were so happy that we found them again. Apparently, they had previously taken missionary lessons but had to stop because Myra's husband is a stalwart Catholic and wouldn't allow it. I guess his heart has been softening this year and she has been praying to know which church is true (she's never trusted her priests in the Catholic church) and that's when we showed up! I'm always amazed at the timing of the Lord. So we have been teaching them and it's been a wonderful blessing to me.
We also had a baptismal service for Adrian on Friday. It was wonderful to see that light come in his eyes. He was so excited and so happy. We also spent the day in Mesa on Saturday to see the Thorton family be sealed. We even got to do an endowment session with them! I've been missing the temple, Heavenly Father always answers my prayers! What a blessing it was to witness the sealing! I felt the Spirit so incredibly strong, and I learned so much. The temple really is the closest thing we have to heaven on this earth.
On Sunday, I had the wonderful privilege of speaking in Sacrament Meeting...twice haha! In the English ward, I spoke on faith in Jesus Christ, and in the Spanish ward I spoke about holding up the Light of Christ. As I prepared for my talks, I noticed that they go hand in hand. Having faith in Jesus Christ will lead to action, and acting in faith in Jesus Christ will automatically catch the attention of others and it allows others to see the Light of Christ through our actions and by our example.
I've learned so much in my personal studies, and I'm so blessed with all the opportunities I have to learn and grow here. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father prompted me to serve a mission, I have felt so much love towards and from the people here in Nogales! I'm really starting to feel at home here, and I can't wait to see what other things Heavenly Father has in store for these people.
This work is real, everyone! Living the gospel of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way we can truly be happy in this life. Jesus Christ lives, and he works WITH us to help everyone return to Heavenly Father. It is so important that we prioritize Him. Remember, we are spiritual beings, and our spirits need food and nourishment just as much, if not more, than our mortal bodies.
Please, feed your spirits. Every day. Be a little bit better every day. We are commanded to be perfected in Him. Don't pass up that opportunity!
I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers.
Love, Hermana Townley
Sister Stacie Morgan Townley
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