"The issue is not who is right but what is right"

Como estan? Ay...tengo 22 anos. No me gusta pensar en eso. (It doesn't help that my brothers are calling me a viejita)  Entonces no voy a decir nada sobre eso.  So this week we started teaching Rosa who we are helping quit smoking she is amazing!  Elder Malm from Sweden, a member of the 70 came and spoke to us...sure was something else.  Overall, I just continued the journey of recognizing and striving to overcome my millions of weaknesses...become a better missionary every day. 

So Elder Malm called up some missionaries to share a success story in the conference.  Sure enough I was one of the 3.  My name does not serve me well in situations like that :)  So I shared the story about Rosa who just showed up at church when she was ready...after a prayer to Heavenly Father for Him to bring those who are prepared to church.  It is super cool to see how when we leave it in the hands of the Lord it always works out best.  In His time and in His way.  That lesson I am learning over and over again and becomes more and more clear each day. Elder Malm started by giving us a loving call to repentance...He had some really good points all which focused on a higher law of obedience~consecration.  Also his focus was on not becoming comfortable in what we know and doing things because we have to or it is part of the routine.  Something that really stuck out to me was "The issue is not who is right but what is right."  He challenged us to really try and not focus on ourselves and what WE THINK but instead work together as a companionship to find out what the Lord wants.  To discuss things as you see them not as you believe they should be seen.  Elder Malm also talked about the question, "How old do you think you really are?"  He told us about how we are here now because of who we were over there.  We, everyone on the earth now is a "yes" sayer.  Everyone I talk to every day has said yes to God's plan they just don't remember.  It gives me a different perspective when I talk to people.  He gave us really good ideas for contacting...things to work on...ways to become a better teacher.  Every apostle or church authority that has spoken to us as missionaries has told us our families will be blessed..in quite a powerful and unique way.  And in essence asked us to internalize with faith the mission we accomplish at home while we are serving here.  Heavenly Father really knows what he is doing.  Sure is amazing to me!

Yesterday we had like 6 investigators at church!! So much fun.  And it was the primary program.  What better birthday present could I have asked for.  Seriously!  I am so blessed it is unreal.  So, Rosa who has 2 little ones Destiny and Pollo is working on quitting smoking so she can be baptized in a couple of weeks.  She came to a baptism with her kids and then church yesterday.  Destiny is like my new little best friend.  We colored all through the program so her Mom could pay attention.  But last night we started this non-smoking program that helps people quit smoking in 7 days if they follow all the steps perfectly.  It involves a lot of cinnamon, grapefruit juice, prayer, faith and desire.  It was so cool to see someone who decided she was going to do this commit herself.  We are going to do everything we can this week to help her stay on track.  During the lesson with Rosa..at the end I came to a realization as I do every once in a while and often of similar things that I have just forgotten.  I just felt so much love for Rosa when I was bearing to her my testimony of the Savior.  I recognized that love does not come from me.  At all.  That love comes from the Savior.  He allows us to feel this love he has for others in an effort to strive to convey that love to those who haven't felt it...who are searching for something familiar.

This week we also came across a few people who expressed their disbelief in God.  One of these was little Ana..she only is 12 years old but has the maturity of almost a 15 or 16 year old.  She expressed to us her bad experiences in other churches and how her Dad was just taken from her and she feels like God isn't really helping her out.  So we taught her about the restoration and really the Love of God for all his children and how we can feel that love.  We also came across a young 18 year old mom with a little baby boy who really was something else.  I couldn't believe some of the things she was saying.  Sometimes the only thing you can do is bear your testimony and invite someone to do something.  But proving something is not our job...Sometimes I wish people would just listen to what we are saying because it is only going to help them be happy!

Se que el senor vive.  Estoy tratando siempre recordar que necesito cambiar algo cada dia y mejorar.  Cambios son las claves de progresion.  Cambios segun lo que quiere nuestro padre celestial.  Se que soy humano y estoy aprendiendo mucho y cada dia puedo vero mis errores tan claros.  Pero se que todo puede ser justo por el senor.  El puede aliviar nuestras cargas.  Nunca voy a entender exactamente por que es tan dificil vivir las leyes de dios en este mundo y con este cuerpo mortal...pero voy a seguir haciendolo por que se que es la unica manera para regresar a dios un dia.

Les quiero mucho.  Abueltio le quiero.  Esta en mis oraciones :)

Hermana Holland