The end of the transfer of a lifetime
Good morning! Well first things first the big news is that I am getting transferred to Santa Rosa. Hermana Zimmerman and I knew that we were not going to be staying together for another transfer and I really felt like I was leaving but it is still a little shocking. I will be serving in the Spanish branch there which makes me happy because I have missed serving in a Spanish branch. My companion will be Hermana Whitney she has been out for two transfers and I will be senior companion. I am excited! I still do not feel like it is real but I feel peace and know that it is the will of God.
I have been thinking about how amazing this transfer has been. It has been hard but also so amazing at the same time. This work is incredible and is changing at a rapid speed. Sister Alba wrote an amazing mission letter today and basically summed up all my thoughts. She said:
"If you don’t know it already, you have just experienced the transfer of a lifetime… and this is just the beginning! We, the California Santa Rosa Mission have been greatly blessed. We, the CASRM have been given a great trust… Like no other mission in the world. It happened on our watch. Make no mistake; it is no coincidence that you are serving here at this time. The Lord has chosen you to be here. You have a great purpose to fulfill."
It truly has been so incredible and I never doubt that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I know that I have been here in Saint Helena for specific reasons and that I am leaving and going to Santa Rosa I am needed there.
It kind of breaks my heart to leave because I have seen this area grow so much. Hermana Zimmerman and I have built up this area and I still feel like there is so much to do but I know that it will continue to get done because the work carries on. I forgot to mention that Hermana Merkley (who I served with in Fairfield) is coming here to take my place. I am so happy about that because I love her so much and know that she will get a long with Hermana Zimmerman and everything will be great.
This week has been great! We had a great lesson with Eva on Monday. The Garcias came again. We taught her more about The Gospel of Jesus Christ. We invited her to be baptized and she said she knows that she wants to be baptized she just feels like she needs more time. Sister Garcia told her conversion story which is that she has met with missionaries for over 13 years and she loved learning but never wanted to act. A few months ago she finally decided that she needed to stop being so stubborn and so she decided to finally pray and ask Heavenly Father if this was His church. She told Eva that the second she prayed she knew that this was the only true church and that she needed to be baptized. Eva was impressed with this experience and said that she would pray to know for herself if this is the true church. We are going to teach her today so hopefully we will progress towards setting a baptismal date with her. Gilberto has not been home for our last 2 lessons so we really hope that we will be able to see him tonight too!
This week we also taught one of our newer investigators Consuelo. She is a mother of two teenage boys and is really busy but loves the peace that we bring into her home. We introduced the Book of Mormon to her and she loved it. She was so mesmerized by the story it was great. I am almost done with reading the Book of Mormon all the way through in Spanish. It has been such an amazing experience I have learned so much as I have studied the Book of Mormon in depth trying to apply the story to my life and trying to understand in a different language. The Book of Mormon is just so powerful and life changing.
Online work is coming a long! I had an amazing idea this week. I was looking up people that I could message for referrals and then I got the impression that I should look up some of my return missionary friends (especially those that spoke Spanish) and ask them for online referrals. I have not had anyone respond but I sent out about 6 referral messages so I hope that I will get some referrals out of it soon. So for all of you readers, please think of who you know that I could teach online or who you know that might have someone I could teach online. We really need more people to teach online so please message me on facebook with anyone who comes to your mind. DO NOT FRIEND ME only message me by facebook name is Hermana Hillary Andrews. I would really appreciate your help!
This week was really great! as far as work wise it was similar to the week before but we had better attitudes and greater desires to do this work so I feel like it was 100 times better!
This new week will bring wonderful changes and experiences and then the week after that Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis of the Seventy will be coming and we have all been asked to prepare a 3 minute talk on diligence and many will be asked to present their remarks.
Diligence is one of my favorite Christlike attributes to study. One scripture I came across that I love is D&C 6:20: "Behold, thou Hermana Andrews, and I have spoken unto thee because of thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love."
As I diligently serve I feel the arms of God wrapped around and I feel an out pouring of His love. Be diligent in all that you do! Thank you for your prayers and support!
I look forward to receiving messages with referrals!
Love you all!
Hermana Hillary
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