What a marvelous week! Rafael told us on Tuesday that he wants to get baptized in February! Wow! He's been investigating the church for YEARS. His mom, wife, and son are all members, and for the past couple of months he's been going to church yet avoiding our lessons because he wasn't ready to talk about baptism. He finally let us visit him this week and told us that he wants to get baptized!
This week we also met a baseball player from the San Francisco Giants! He played from 2003-2006. Cool. We taught him and his wife and hope to see them again :) Alfonso got baptized yesterday! His mom, Kilsi, has been going to church for over a year now but hasn't been able to get baptized because getting married has proven complicated. Alfonso turned 8 and she told us that he wanted him to be baptized. Seeing him baptized made her feel even more motivated for her baptismal day. We went to Rosanna's house this week, ready to tell her that we couldn't visit her anymore. She's amazing but just hasn't been willing to act for quite a while besides read in her Book of Mormon. She told us she was scared of praying because she didn't want to get an answer from God she knew she'd have to follow. Well, we went to visit her and we asked her how her reading was going. She told us that when she read her Book of Mormon she felt something hit her inside. Like she could just feel that what she was reading was true. She went to church yesterday and we are praying hard that her fear of commitment doesn't hold her back from coming closer to God. "...God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.." Mormon 9:15 I know that He watches over us. He loves us. Our Father is a God of miracles. When we open our eyes, we see the miracles in our lives. They are everywhere. I love you all, Keep shining, Hermana Shaw Photos: Alfonso's baptism We went to Gazcue and I got to visit Mercedes and the Urraca Family!
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What an ups and downs week. Luckily what started out with lots of lows, ended up with a big high. In church we were amazed; many of our investigators showed up, including a Haitian couple, Elord and Mariece, we´ve been teaching for a while that had stopped coming for more than a month. Kilsi is more excited than ever to get baptized and is encouraging her son to prepare as well.
Saturday my companion wasn´t feeling well so we didn´t leave. As she slept, a text came from the Zone Leaders saying we had received a referral from a member in a neigboring ward, and that she wanted to go to church. I called the number and began talking with Moraima, who agreed to meeting up close to her house so we could walk to church together. Sunday morning we went and found not only her, but her and her two sons, and her sister! We all walked to church together. Her sister fell in love with Young Womens and even went to an activity they had that same Sunday to visit less actives. We are so excited to visit her. She and her family are so prepared. The Lord does such marvelous things. His blessings are rich. When we see more clearly the blessings He gives us, the rest doesn´t seem so bad. He offers a greater perspective, which we must adapt and weave into our very beings. There lies true happines. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. I love you all!! Keep shining! Hermana Shaw Today we visited my old area, Benjamin, to see if we could find Diego... he wasn´t home but we visited with his sister, who´s a member and dear friend, and grandaughters. Love them! Transfers News: there are no transfers! All the Sisters in the whole mission stayed the same. There were no new sisters that came in.
Strange to think that this´ll be the last transfer of them all. There is so much more to do! We are seeing many miracles in Villa Verde. Jean came home from Haiti and we started teaching him again. Kilsi is getting married soon so that she can be baptized at the end of her month with her son, Alfonso. We met a new investigator, Madelin, who is adorable and came to church on Sunday with her member friend. She made us an amazing orange drink that literally translates to ¨die dreaming,¨ which consists of natural orange juice and evaporated milk and a little bit of heaven. We are seeing miracles and progress in the area despite opposition. I can feel my trust in God increasing. Whatever happens, the Lord is in it. This week I got to go to the temple sealing of some of my friends in my old area. Ely and Eryk Sosa got sealed for time and all eternity, and Manila as well to her deceased husband. It was beautiful and was a strong reminder to me of our real purpose as missionaries, which goes way beyond baptism. It is to bring people to the temple. We join with God in his purpose in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. It is glorious and joyful. Hebrews 12:1..3 ...let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. I love you all! Keep shining. Hermana Shaw I'm not sure if I'm going to have time to write today. Sorry to everyone that I didn't write. Which I think was literally everyone.
But I'm alive. I'm happy. All is well. Keep shining! Oh dear. I left my Daily Planner in the house and I feel like I can´t remember anything that happened this week.
But all is good. We had a Companion Home Evening and went a little crazy with the scarves and made a little Nativity scene. Jean´s mom is sick so he left to Haiti. He called us right before his baptismal interview was supposed to be. It was sad but he´ll be back eventually. He´s ready. We met these four little girls this week that just make my life. Every time we pass by they beg for us to stay longer with them and they´re always taking us to visit their friends. We found out that their cousin is a less active as well. We are excited to work with this new partial family! Wow I am drawing a huge blank about what happened this week. Scripture of the Week: 9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created allthings, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. Faith is so interesting to think about. Why do we have to believe in Jesus Christ in the first place? Why does faith bring to pass miracles? Simply believing in Christ can allow us to see marvelous wonders. I don´t know why, but I know that it does. In trusting that having faith brings to pass miracles and brings us closer to our Father, we develop our faith. As we trust that faith works such marvelous things, we develop faith in faith! And that just ends up strengthening our faith! Faith is pretty powerful. Keep shining, Christ lives, He is our Savior, Share the good news, Hermana Shaw |
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Letters: Sophia Shaw Santo Domingo East MIssion SDQ 4102, 2250 NW 114th Ave. Miami, FL 33172-3652 Packages: Sophia Shaw AP-000914 8540 NW 66th St. Miami, FL 33195 - 2698 lds.org mormon.org Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East MissionArchives
February 2017
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