Imagine this: Eating lunch at President's, lots of rain, no water for 3 days, and a baptism!10/10/2016 At the end of weeks like this I often wonder how in the world I'm going to get everything down in one email. But here I go.
I'll start with the best thing of all: Bethania got baptized on Saturday! Her son, Luis, baptized her, which was so sweet to see. She completely dropped cigarettes, an addiction she's had since she was 12. We went to the temple before her baptism and had a lesson outside. She bore her testimony in front of several other investigators and missionaries. It was awesome :) On Tuesday night, President Corbitt drove us home from a meeting we had with him, the Assitants, the Zone Leaders, and the Stake President. We began talking and like the second father he is to all of us, we began joking around.. I asked him, "So, President, when are we going to visit your house?" We went from joking to insisting a little more and he ended up calling Hermana Corbitt to set up lunch with them the next day. Well on Wednesday we went to their house and ate lunch! Awesome. President Corbitt is kind of the best. A lot of people have been asking about the hurricane... We are all good. There really is nothing to worry about over here. Monday and Tuesday were really rainy and windy, but we stayed inside mostly. There were some downed trees and an electric post we saw, but other than that, all good. We haven't had water for 3 days but it's got nothing to do with the hurricane thankfully. We discovered a faucet outside where we could fill buckets of water up. I have never been so happy to take a bucket shower in my life. We were so dang happy to see the water coming out of that faucet. Today we had a Zone Activity where we made a taco bar. Mmm. Before eating we also set up a table outside with candy and pamphlets to share the gospel with all of Gazcue! Woohoo! One thing President Corbitt has been talking to us lately is the power of our imagination. What we allow ourselves to imagine and ponder can be realized in real life. Part of our faith in Christ involves imagining His promised blessings as present blessings. What we think about affects what we do, and as we choose to think of exceptional faith in Christ, we begin to develop it more and more. I love you all. I know the church is true. I know that this is the work of the Lord. Keep shining, Hermana Shaw
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Last night we got a call from the Zone Leaders to inform us that we were all to stay inside because of the hurricane. We woke up to nothing, not even a drop of rain. We studied like normal then got a text saying that it was all good and we could leave. It started to rain after we left but that´s pretty normal for the DR. Looks like the hurricane isn´t going to reach Santo Domingo. :) We are happy and safe. General Conference was awesome! I got to see the two Saturday sessions in English (perks of serving in Gazcue, where the office is, and of having a bilingual companion) and the two Sunday ones in Spanish. Those two days were basically spent looking for everyone that'd said they'd come to conference and inviting and encouraging people to come. Almost everyone told us they weren't going last minute, but luckily Bethania and all her kids were able to go, and Pamela as well. They loved it. I loved the urge for us to really incorporate the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. To really live it. Luis, our recent convert (the oldest of the Familia Urraca), has kidney stones. He hasn't been able to go to church for a couple of weeks and is in quite a bit of pain, but he's taking medication and hopefully they'll pass soon. The rest of his family is going strong and Bethania is progressing so much with dropping cigarettes.She's down to just one a day! Yesterday we had a Family Home Evening with them. Bethania's testimony just grows and grows. She fell in love with Conference and frequently bears her testimony that she knows the church is true. I love that family to pieces. I know that this is the work of the Lord. If we let Him, He can change us. I've seen it in others' lives and in my own. We are malleable beings and it is beautiful. I love you all. Keep shining. Hermana Shaw Shout out to Hermana Taylor, one of my very best friends. She's going home tomorrow and I just can't believe it. We never even were companions but it's as if we were. She's the bomb. I'm going to miss her. English General Conference. Living by the Mission Office perks! And having a bilingual companion too! Woo! From another P-day. We went to the salon. Everyone here gets their hair done every week so I wanted to see what the fuss was about. They put my hair up in rollers and then stuck me in one of those blower things that makes you look like an alien. It hurt. I'm not sure if it was worth it, but my hair was incredibly soft afterwards.
Well. This week was pretty good. Yumedi, Miguel, and Edison got confirmed and were so happy that they were "officially" members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They're the cutest. Their mom, Bethania, is progressing well. She dropped coffee and is on her way to leaving cigarettes behind. Hearing her bear testimony to us was the highlight of my week. She told us that her pastor freaked out when she told him she was going to be a part of our church. He began saying ridiculous things about how we worship Joseph Smith. She was firm and calm in her reply as she testified that Joseph Smith was a prophet just like the prophets of old. She said he was left in silence and didn't know what to say. She told us she knew that it was because the Spirit had touched his heart and had left him speechless. This week we had Zone Conference with 3 different zones. President spoke as usual and led an awesome discussion about exceptional faith in Christ. Alma 5:15-17. We can begin to look forward with the eye of faith, see the results as if they already happened, and imagine ourselves in the future. I am so grateful for this mission and what it's been teaching me. Every day there is something new to learn. I love you all, Keep shining, Hermana Shaw Yumedi, Miguel, and Edison's baptism! They are so cute. Even if they like to jump around during the lessons a lot, I love them to pieces. The sweetest part was seeing their older brother, Luis, being able to baptize them after having received the priesthood just a week before.
Remember Luis? The investigator that went through so many doubts to finally gain his testimony? The investigator that got baptized last week? Well on Friday we had the privilege to see him enter the baptismal waters once again, but this time to baptize his three younger siblings, Yumedi, Edison, and Miguel. The air was thick with the Spirit as he helped his younger siblings into the water. Hermana Silva, Hermana Delcompare, and I sang "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus", and a member give an outstanding talk, opening our eyes to the potential that each one of those precious children has. She helped everyone to see them as the future missionaries, spouses, and parents they are. I love that family with my whole heart. Their mom is more excited than ever for her own baptism. She is fighting her addiction to coffee and cigarrettes but with the help of the Lord, she's progressed a lot.
The Lord is really so amazing. The miracles never stop here. Every day there is something amazing to see. I'm grateful for another transfer with Hermana Delcompare. This week we learned how the Spirit works line upon line, precept upon precept. We arrived at an investigator's house to give a lesson and she didn't come out after quite a bit of yelling on her doorstep (don't worry, that's normal here, I didn't just turn into a barbarian. After knocking, everyone yells "BUENAS!" through the window). However, we stayed yelling for a bit longer and finally she came out. The lesson that we had was incredible. The Spirit inspired Hna Delcompare to share a scripture about the pure love of Christ then I felt Him work in me to share one about hope. He guided our words and the Spirit hit us like a wave. At the same time we all began to cry as we felt the pure hope and love of God in the room. It was as if He was there with us. When we left, we felt Him guide us again as I felt impressed to backtrack our steps. However, at a certain point I felt I didn't know where else to go. Hna Delcompare then said she felt we needed to cross the street and go back (again). We then found an adorable family that we stayed talking to for quite a bit. They don't live in our area, or even in our mission, but we were able to leave a pamphlet and take down their information to send to the other missionaries. That night, Hermana Delcompare and I learned a lot about how the Spirit works. It was amazing how He could reveal to us line upon line, bit by bit, where to go and what to say. I love you all. May the Spirit guide you in every moment. I know that the Lord's hand is in this work. Every day I realize more and more that isn't us. It's all Him. And it is glorious. Keep shining. Hermana Shaw In the mission we get to seed, sow, and harvest. Sometimes we seed and sow and sow and sow and someone else harvests. Sometimes we come just in time to harvest the work of someone else's sowing. Sometimes we only seed. Or only sow. But whatever we do, we help to get the Lord's work going. And in the end, we realize it never was our own harvest anyway, yet the Lord's. This week was miraculous. Do you remember Luis? He agreed to get baptized on Friday, the day before his baptism on Sunday. Wow. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson, we felt it guiding us. I think I'm still in shock that he got baptized. Luis really has seen a great change. He's extremely intelligent so ever since the beginning of the lessons he's tried to pick everything apart and find errors. He finally admitted he needed to read The Book of Mormon with less criticism and with more faith. That's when everything changed. His little brothers, sister, and mom are preparing to get baptized as well and are so excited. I love that family with my whole heart <3 Mercedes also got baptized on Saturday. She was prepared for so long by countless missionaries (she's been going to church for more than a year). We just had to invite her to act and hope it was her time. Her husband and daughter are members and it was so beautiful to see that cute family completed. I admire that woman so much. Rafael Contreras got baptized on Friday! Do you remember him from the last transfer? Hermana Burrell and I started teaching him, then Hermana Silva and I, then I got changed to the other side of Gazcue. I am in love with that family. It was hard to accept that I couldn't visit them anymore this transfer but we got to see each other at church and I'm so grateful for that. His wife was less-active when we started teaching them, but is now an active member. Gioconda got baptized on Saturday as well! Hermana Silva and I started teaching her in the beginning of last transfer then I got changed to the other side of Gazcue. Gazcue perks? I got to attend the baptism! Gioconda is true evidence of extreme change. There is no soul too lost to rescue. Marie also got baptized on Friday. Hermana Burrell and I were teaching her quite a bit and she was going to get baptized, but then she dropped us because of family problems, then came back in this last transfer and told Hermana Silva and Antonio that she wanted to get baptized. The Lord's hand in this work. It's so joyful to be a part of it all. Each one of these people have grown so close to my heart and have been able to see great changes. I am so grateful that I have been gifted this time to be a missionary. I really can't express how humbled and grateful I am for the opportunity to be here and meet these wonderful souls. I love you all, Share the joy of the gospel with someone you love this week,you won't regret it, Hermana Shaw 1. The most shameful musical number of my life. We started out so great, Hermana Delcompare singing a solo, then comes my part to enter and I completely lose the melody. We tried again. I messed up. The third time we did it, I had to enter in English because I just couldn't get it right in Spanish (sometimes the rhythm is a bit different when the hymns are translated) Luckily everyone was a good sport and we all just laughed together. Gazcue = family 2. Mercedes! I love her! 3. Luis, his three siblings, and his mom. I love that family. 4. Gioconda and her stepdad on the left. They are awesome. 5. Hermana Antonio, Silva, Delcompare, and I. We all live together and it's great! We are staying together this transfer, so Hna Silva will be able to finish the training of Hna Antonio and I get to finish Hna Delcompare's training! Fun! 6. Marie :) 7. Rafael Contreras and Elizabeth, his wife. I love them so much.
I don't know how to capture all our week in one email. But here I go.
Highlight: We are teaching a single-mother family, the Familia Arrache. Each member of that family has grown so close to my heart. We were sitting in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and Pamela, the 17-year old daughter, asked if only those who were baptized could get up and bear their testimonies. We told her no and began to bug her so she'd get up. I pulled out a post-it and told her to write down her testimony so she didn't get nervous. She was laughing and telling us "no no no" but we insisted. She stood up several times to sit back down right away, After a few pushes and urges, she stood up and made her way to the podium and bore her testimony!! It was only her second time at church and when we looked over at her mom, she was crying. It was probably one of the most beautiful moments of my life. Familia Urracca: Familia Urracca is another single-mother family that we're teaching. Maybe you remember Luis, from the last email? Yeah. So. Turns out he STILL has doubts about the Book of Mormon, despite what happened last Sunday. But he continues to study and pray diligently. He even asked for a meeting with the Bishop because he wants to clear up some questions he has. Betania (the mom) and two of her kids made it to church this week. I love them. Even though the little ones move a lot in the lessons, whenever they see us they go crazy and always try to make us visit them every day. Mercedes is still excited for her baptism this Saturday. She is so adorable. She has been going to church for more than a year now, so this is a long awaited moment. I can't wait :) On Sunday we ate with the Peruvian sisters, these two cute little return missionaries in our ward that help us out quite a bit. They made us Peruvian food. Mm! I feel like there are more crazies in Gazcue than people sometimes. As we were contacting a lady in the street, this man approached us and pressed his finger to his lips, signaling us to keep quiet. After doing that several times and just staring at us, he then started yelling at the lady we were contacting, telling her some not too pretty stuff. She entered her house and came out with a stick to start hitting him! My goodness. Hermana Delcompare and I were scared stiff and backed away but afterwards we couldn't stop laughing about it. The man was fine and ended up walking away. There are just so many crazy people here. It's ridiculous. Ah. I love Gazcue. Crazies and all. There are people here I feel like I knew before this life. This is the last week of the transfer and we'll see where I'll go but if it's God's will, I would be quite glad to stay here. I love you all, Keep shining, Hermanita Shaw I think one of the hardest things about P-day is seeing a little white box on your computer screen and thinking, "How in the world am I going to get across how amazing this week was?"
Well this week was pretty darn great. We saw so many miracles and we are getting really busy again which I LOVE. Yesterday a single mom and her daughter we started teaching came to church. They said they loved it. Another investigator we had dropped showed up to church all by herself. Mercedes, who's preparing to get baptized on the 10th of September also came and had her baptismal interview this week. Luis and his little brother Edison also showed up. It's hard to describe how much work and thought and prayer and worry and faith goes into each one of those people in an email, but let me tell you, it's a lot. Some of them occupy more space in your mind than others. This week Luis took priority as nearly all my study time, worry, and prayers were directed to him. Luis is an investigator we picked up not too long ago and he's been constant with coming to church and reading the Book of Mormon. You'd think he'd be fine and wouldn't be a concern. But for about two weeks now he's been telling us the same thing: "I just haven't got an answer. I don't know if the Book of Mormon is the word of God." He gave us a list of scriptures to compare to the Bible of things he didn't understand. We talked about the role of the Spirit in every lesson. We talked about asking specific questions. We brought members to share their testimonies. We told him to be patient and keep reading (even though he'd nearly ended the book already in just 2 or 3 weeks). Yet all the work seemed to be in vain as he continued to tell us the same thing: "I still haven't gotten an answer. I feel nothing." Yet something magical happened last night. Luis didn't show up to the appointment we had set to have in the chapel. We went to look for him and found him at home. His mom and his siblings weren't home so we couldn't go in and teach. We began talking through the window about when we could come back and have a lesson. We asked him if he was reading in his Book of Mormon still. He said yes. He then paused and proceeded to tell us that he had found the answer to one of the questions. He then began talking about how before he didn't believe God could choose modern-day prophets (a doubt he'd never expressed before), but that he had found scriptures in the Bible that helped him understand their importance. He then proceeded to tell us, "I know.. that The Book of Mormon.. is.. the word of God". The Spirit was so heavy and the loud music behind us didn't even seem to sound. The drunken laughter dimmed. It stayed for quite a bit that way, as we shared our testimonies that we, too, knew the Book of Mormon was the word of God. Before we could end with the whole thought, his younger siblings came bouncing down the street, "HERMANAS! HERMANAS!" By that time we had to go home and couldn't talk more, but wow. I don't think I'll ever forget that night. I know that this is the work of the Lord. This is where we are supposed to be. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that it is another testament of Christ. That book is something special. I love to read, but it's my absolute favorite book of them all. There is so much to learn from it. I love you all, shine bright, Hermana Shaw Today we had a Zone Activity! Kickball with flour, charades, and an obstacle course. Hermana Silva and I organized everything. It was a blast! Shout out to Grandma Flake - We used the water balloon and water guns you sent me a while back as part of the obstacle course :) Other side note:I turned 1 in the mission! I've got a year down! Crazy We are malleable beings. The mission has proved this to me. Do you remember Felicia Acosta? The one with nine kids? She didn't want to get married when I first got here. Then went to the temple and it changed everything. But her husband, pedro, who didn't accompany us on the temple trip, still didn't want to get married. It was hard to get her to church since she had work and there was a bunch of opposition, yet she fought to be able to make it each Sunday. Every day she became more and more determined to get married and get baptized. Soon her husband followed her example and one day as we went to fix her papers, he accepted the baptismal invitation we extended while waiting on the papers. After that he began going to church as well. And he has seen a great change. On Thursday, Pedro and Felicia got married, andon Saturday, Felicia got baptized. Pedro is preparing to get baptized soon. oh the joy! She was beaming the whole day and after her confirmation as well. I love that family with my whole heart. And the perks of being in Gazcue still = even though i technically left that area 2 weeks ago, I got to go to both their wedding and her baptism!
Sister Burton, the General Relief Society President, and Sister Marriot, the 2nd counselor in the General Young Women's presidency, came to visit our ward!! What??! So cool! Sister Burton even went to visit the Contreras Family and it was so sweet to see her present Elizabeth to the Relief Society in Gazcue and invite them to embrace her as their own, knowing that it took great courage for her to come back to church after many years. The mission doctor's daughter and grandaughter, Molly and Macy, accompanied us on Monday to go visit some people. It was awesome! We had a bunch of great visits and sweet Macy shared her testimony in each one. We translated for her and afterwards she told me she's really excited to serve a mission some day. Today we went to the Zoo and on the way home, the little guagua we were in broke down. well, the tire went flat. So there we were, on a busy highway, with the driver fixing up the tire as it started to rain. Adventures! He fixed it up and we returned fine, all in one piece. This week I felt pretty drained and oddly just out of energy. It was strange because I had been feeling so "high" lately. Yet I am grateful for every experience that has brought me closer to my Father in Heaven. We are malleable beings. I learned that, not only from pedro and felicia, but by seeing my own life and self change. The Carpenter knows how to use us and shape us. We must trust Him. He sees us as much greater than we do. Yet as we believe in our potential with great faith, we start to see ourselves as we are seen and know as we are known. The Lord has a better plan than we do. I love you all, may you shine as brightly as the Master sees you, Hermana Shaw How powerful is faith? They say it's enough to move mountains.
This week I learned that faith is strong enough to get a family of 5 to church, on time, dressed up, and very warmly welcomed by a Dominican ward. This week I learned that faith is strong enough to help a lady that's been investigating the church for more than a year and has never accepted a baptismal date, to finally accept one in the coming month. This week I learned that it's worth working to help an 11-year-old girl's mom that isn't too fond of the church, give her permission to get baptized. This week I learned that there are a bunch of people waiting to hear the message we have, but they just don't know where to find it. We are teaching an amazing family of four kids and a single mother - The Urraca Family. They are so adorable. Yesterday they went to church for the first time and they loved it. Afterwards the mom, Betania, told us, "I don't know what I'm doing in my church! Here is much better!" They were greeted by the members and embraced and participated and smiling and so happy. The oldest kid, who's actually not really a kid, he's 22 years old, is furiously studying the Book of Mormon. He's already in Alma and we gave him the BoM a week ago. Wow. Mercedes accepted a baptismal date this week for September. That in and of itself is a miracle. The sisters before had always told me she would never accept a baptismal date and would never tell them why. We entered in that house with all the faith we had and no fear, invited her, and she said yes! She is amazing and is so constant in church. She has such a good knowledge of the gospel and studies the Liahonas in English. I love her! We're working with a 11-year-old named Cookielove (yes, seriously that's her name) who wants to get baptized so bad, and has gone to church several times, but as of now her mom is not giving her the permission. We have plans to get to know her mom and help her soften her heart. We are hopeful and faithful. I love the work. All is well in Mi Sion. My companion, Hermana Delcompare, is awesome and I still get to live with Hermana Silva! We are working hard and it's like I'm not even training. She already knows everything! This week were interviews with President, Consejo de Lideres, and as always, District Meeting... lots of meetings, yet we were still able to get a lot done in the area. Awesome. Hard work and faith gets things done. I love you all, Hermana Shaw On Tuesday Hermana Silva and I met our new companions, fresh from the MTC. Hermana Delcompare is from Guatemala and is way awesome. She is beyond capable and I'm pretty sure she got called to train me. She knows way too much. The first week in Gazcue B went pretty well. We are learning how to whitewash together and getting to know the streets and investigators. Fun fun. Luckily the area isn't too unknown to me because of some intercambios we did over the last two transfers. I have learned a lot this week about the importance of not looking back. In Gazcue A I saw the what sometimes seems like a fruitless fight of missionary work grow and expand into an explosion of progress and miracles. It was just getting more and more miraculous every day. Then transfers came. And this week I really have learned how important it is to not look back (or even to the side in this case). The work will only progress here if I have both feet in and if my sight is fixed forward with a perfect brightness of hope. God has already proved to me that miracles happen. And who I am to doubt when He has already proven me so? There is so much to do here. We are going to see miracles. We already seeing miracles. And the increase will be even more wonderful because of the difference we will see. Everything is in His hands. This week we found a lot of cool new people that we are excited to work with. We are trying to talk with everyone and have found many that have had contact with missionaries before. The Lord is in this work. I love you all! Keep strong, keep shining, keep smiling, Hermana Shaw 1 - Our generation! Hermana Barreda (my first daughter), Hermana Barreda's daughter AKA my grandaughter, me, and my new daughter and companion, Hermana Delcompare. They're all from Guatemala! Apparently I'm Guatamalen. 2 - Last night with Hermana Silva. We visited the Contreras Family. Rafael's preparing to get baptized and his wife, Elizabeth is reactivating. I love that family and will miss visiting them! At least we'll still see each other at church! 3 - We made cookies! also... Hermana Delcompare is awesome!
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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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