Patience in Affliction - Sister Justyce Oliphant

Written by Sister Justyce Oliphant, serving in the Mexico Tuxtla Gutierrez Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaking Spanish.

Hola,

I got the Easter package but, sadly, I don't know when Easter is....was is yesterday?

I am so thankful for my trials. I have a lot. I have been studying about trials and how to overcome them in the scriptures. I love how each person deals with their trials in different ways. I am currently reading in Ether about the brother of Jared and how he had to come up with a way to light the barges. It is interesting to read the stories I have always known again but this time in Spanish! I don't  understand 100% but I see the stories in a different way. I love the Book of Mormon. It's sooo wonderful! It was definitely written just for us in this time!

Hermanas in my area

I have also studied a lot about patience, again. I love the scripture in Alma 17 where it talks about how if we are patient in our afflictions, the Lord will make us an instrument in his hands. I love it because 1. I love instruments (harp, piano, hahaha) and 2. because I am a missionary now and trying to do the work of the Lord, and do all that the Lord is asking of me. But if we are patient and accept the Lord's timing, anything can happen! I am working on accepting the Lord's timing.

We had a lot of really good investigators. They were reading and praying, and kept saying they would get work off to make it to church. I really felt like we were finally going to see success in this area! But one by one, we have had to stop visiting most of them. One had a really scary problem and then left her house and we don't know where she went. Last Sunday we visited her and everything seemed fine! We had an appointment to go back Tuesday, but Monday night felt like we should go see her. A hermana in our ward and her son were with this investigator and she was SOOO drunk. She said she could see devils, people in her house, in her trees, their eyes, that they had stolen her keys. All kinds of weird things. So a few members of the ward came, and the Elders blessed her house and we said a prayer and sang her a song and then left because she had calmed down a little. But we went to eat lunch with our ward member friend the next day and she said that the hermana had left in the middle of the night. It's a weird situation because she doesn't have any close friends or family and doesn't have any money. We pray for her, but don't know what happened. It's really sad because her problem with alcohol has taken over her life. :(

Another two investigators we had to stop visiting because after visiting them for 2 weeks they both asked me out on a date.... We think it's best that we don't go back because they weren't interested in the Gospel.... we gave their number and address to the Elders so they can maybe go and visit them though!

Well, that's all for today! We are headed to downtown to get some shopping done and then hopefully will have time to just relax today! Oh, and we don't have lunch with anyone today so we are going to buy some fried chicken and use up the Chick Fil A sauce that Becky sent me!

I love you all remember, "Decisions determine DESTINY" (Thomas S. Monson).

Hermana Oliphant

P.S. I have been out for 6 months this Wednesday! And yesterday, the 13th, marks ONE year until I go home. This is seriously going soooo fast!!

Faith + Obedience + Diligence = Miracles (April 7, 2014)

Scorpion! (April 27, 2014)