Hola familia y amigos!
I'm just going to start off with a fun fact about Puerto Rico. You don't need to actually buy food here. Basically, people just eat out of their backyard. There are so many Pan, mango y carambola trees here, and on top of that, everyone has a garden, so you can really just survive out of your backyard. It's kind of great. Also, entering the summer months, it is SO HOT every day. But, the work goes on, and we still walk every where, and I am truly working on my tan :)
This next week we get a new mission president. President Boucher. We get to meet them tomorrow and I am so excited to see what great things they have in store for this mission. This is truly a special mission. This little island is being prepared for a temple. Many people here can't go because it is too much money to fly to the Dominican Republic, or Orlando just to go to a temple, however, and if we as missionaries work super hard, and the members respond, a temple is promised in the future for this island. Temples are important because we can make sacred covenants (or promises) with the Lord to further our progression to enter in His kingdom. They are also beautiful because in temples, families can be married for eternity.
As always, my companion and I are seeing miracle after miracle. I truly have a testimony of the love and the power of our Heavenly Father. For example. One day, my companion and I got to an appointment early, so we decided to stop by to see an older lady who is less active because of her health. We talked, sang, shared a thought, and then we had to go. When we arrived at our lesson, the mom of the family had just gotten home and was scrambling around to take care of her mom. So, we sat down with her husband before their girls came. The mom and the dad are recently baptized members, but their girls are not baptized because they have some concerns about the church. For the first time, the father of the home opened up about some of his concerns. He knows that his girls need to be baptized, and during the lesson we read about baptism in John chapter 3 which he read to the girls, and explained it. Then if he had a question, he would ask us. The spirit was so strong. We testified of Joseph Smith. That he was truly a prophet of God, and that his church was truly restored on the earth. This was not the lesson we had planned. However, the Lord truly directed this lesson, because he knew they were finally ready to start gaining their testimony again. I also learned that if someone has a concern about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, it is because they don't have a testimony of Jospeh Smith. The church was restored through Joseph Smith, so, if you know that Jospeh Smith was truly a prophet of God, you know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, because it was translated through Joseph Smith from God, and you can also accept the commandments that God has reavealed in these latter days.
I wish I could just write all of the miracles I see every day, but that would take hours to write. And I only have 60 minutes on email, but know that your Heavenly Father loves you. Know that he is aware of every need.
Mi amigos, la iglesia es verdadera!
Love,
Hermana VanKammen
I'm just going to start off with a fun fact about Puerto Rico. You don't need to actually buy food here. Basically, people just eat out of their backyard. There are so many Pan, mango y carambola trees here, and on top of that, everyone has a garden, so you can really just survive out of your backyard. It's kind of great. Also, entering the summer months, it is SO HOT every day. But, the work goes on, and we still walk every where, and I am truly working on my tan :)
This next week we get a new mission president. President Boucher. We get to meet them tomorrow and I am so excited to see what great things they have in store for this mission. This is truly a special mission. This little island is being prepared for a temple. Many people here can't go because it is too much money to fly to the Dominican Republic, or Orlando just to go to a temple, however, and if we as missionaries work super hard, and the members respond, a temple is promised in the future for this island. Temples are important because we can make sacred covenants (or promises) with the Lord to further our progression to enter in His kingdom. They are also beautiful because in temples, families can be married for eternity.
As always, my companion and I are seeing miracle after miracle. I truly have a testimony of the love and the power of our Heavenly Father. For example. One day, my companion and I got to an appointment early, so we decided to stop by to see an older lady who is less active because of her health. We talked, sang, shared a thought, and then we had to go. When we arrived at our lesson, the mom of the family had just gotten home and was scrambling around to take care of her mom. So, we sat down with her husband before their girls came. The mom and the dad are recently baptized members, but their girls are not baptized because they have some concerns about the church. For the first time, the father of the home opened up about some of his concerns. He knows that his girls need to be baptized, and during the lesson we read about baptism in John chapter 3 which he read to the girls, and explained it. Then if he had a question, he would ask us. The spirit was so strong. We testified of Joseph Smith. That he was truly a prophet of God, and that his church was truly restored on the earth. This was not the lesson we had planned. However, the Lord truly directed this lesson, because he knew they were finally ready to start gaining their testimony again. I also learned that if someone has a concern about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, it is because they don't have a testimony of Jospeh Smith. The church was restored through Joseph Smith, so, if you know that Jospeh Smith was truly a prophet of God, you know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, because it was translated through Joseph Smith from God, and you can also accept the commandments that God has reavealed in these latter days.
I wish I could just write all of the miracles I see every day, but that would take hours to write. And I only have 60 minutes on email, but know that your Heavenly Father loves you. Know that he is aware of every need.
Mi amigos, la iglesia es verdadera!
Love,
Hermana VanKammen