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| Cuban food - the best |
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| A little dirty work |
Sunday, August 16, 2015
August 10, 2015
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE AND LETTERS FAMILY! the $20
came in perfect time for bike repairs. How did ya know?
Investigator update: the man we met last week is still preparing
to be baptized on August 22nd and we have taught him up to Word of Wisdom and he
understands and is very accepting of everything we are teaching him.
We have another woman who is planning to be baptized August 29th.
Each time we teach her she is more and more prepared and has a true
understanding of the gospel and Heavenly Father’s plan.
We are teaching a family who will likely be baptized while I am
still here. They are wonderful people and we love teaching them the gospel.
Miracle: as we were biking from a member meal to our next
lesson, we met a man and invited him to church (which was right across the
street). He gladly accepted and said that his member friend had invited him the
week before and he decided not to go, but he said he had been wanting to come
and would bring his wife, too. WAY COOL. Also, we got to know another potential investigator, gave
him a card and sure enough he called us up, wanted to come to church, and now
the YSA (young single adult) sisters are teaching him.
2 Nephi 9
29 But to be
learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.
40 O, my beloved
brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of
Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye
will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I
know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the
righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.
I did not realize but 2 Nephi 9 is probably one of my favorite
chapters in the Book of Mormon. Verse 29 is so simple, and 40 really reminds us
that the wicked take the truth to be hard. This verse can serve as a self-check
to see how we are accepting counsel and being humble.
I love this area and we are making HUGE amounts of progress with
the members thanks to the ward mission leader (during the 2 classes of church
yesterday, we and the elders - separately - were able to have one-on-one time with
a dozen members). The work is going forward!
I am so grateful for my companion and how well we get along and
do the work together. Sister Edwards is just amazing. She handles stress really
well and is in this with me. She is involved in every aspect of the work and we
are equally yoked. It is really helpful and will be conducive to baptizing
frequently. Sister Edwards' Spanish is awesome and we introspect after each
lesson and role play and her only desire is to improve. We are always
laughing... once at this door so hard that we could hardly get through the door
approach and the person laughed with us. Good times. Also, funny moment... one
door we knocked and the door unlocks, opens slowwwwwly and a dog nuzzles his
nose out. We look at each other and are both thinking, "uh-oh. How are we
going to explain this when the person answers the door" and then after
like 10 seconds, the woman comes out from behind the door and looks shocked.
She was trying to play a joke on her mom and sister and thought we were them!
Hahaha we all laughed so hard and she did not accept us but it was a hilarious
and beautiful moment. I love teaching and testifying at the door and doing so
joyfully is even better. There is beauty in every moment and every phase of the
work.
I love you all and appreciate your love and support.
LOVE,
Hermana McCormick
August 3, 2015
Hello everyone!!
TRANSFER WEEK MIRACLE: We were biking
from one appointment to another on Thursday and some man got out of a car in
front of us and just before he was about to cross the street, we talked with
him. He is from the DR, in his late 30s, coming home from painting. We taught
him there on the spot and he agreed to a return appointment on Saturday. He got
called into work and I figured maybe he wasn’t interested, but we called him
and rounded him up for church anyway. He said he had to work Sunday, but the
more we talked with him, he realized he needed to get work off and come to
church. He called his boss, and then called us back and said he would be there.
He took two buses and got to church and stayed all three hours! Tender mercy...
There is this family that I got to know
from Lauderhill that just moved into Fontainebleau south! They welcomed him and
shared their testimonies and it was awesome. He left a few minutes early to
catch the bus, but the elders showed him the baptismal font on the way out and
he committed to baptism! His desire is to bring his life in harmony with
Christ's teachings. He says he has a ways to go, but we told him that's what we
are there for. Transfer training is hard and brings growth... usually the
miracles come later in the transfer, but we got one asap and are so humbled by
this one.
We are teaching a great family. At our last discussion, they
dropped everything and listened to our lesson. They bore their testimonies how
they know this is the true church by the way they feel and the people there and
they know they need to be baptized. They also asked how we came to know that
the church was true and we both shared our experiences. It was tender and the
spirit was so strong. We taught them out back by their pool and hammocks and I
felt like I was in paradise and that will always be one of my fondest memories
of teaching as a missionary. They are going to New York this week but are
working towards baptism mid-August when they return.
My new companion? Sister Edwards is rock solid. We are the same
person!!! I have yet to hear her complain. She jumps in with two feet, studies
diligently (especially Spanish) and is not afraid of making a mistake. She is
so desirous to be exactly obedient and each little rule I tell her she writes
down in the back of her white handbook. She is always happy and loves her
Savior. She enjoys OYMing and biking and I truly could not ask for a better
companion to finish out my mission with. I do not feel like I am training one
bit. We are just two sisters doing the Lord's work and she catches on quickly.
She is a strong one... would not surprise me if she was ready to train after
she is trained. She is that good!
1 Nephi
11:1
For it came to
pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and
believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering
in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an
exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I
never had before set my foot.
I was studying this and have been really impressed these past
few transfers at how much the spirit has taught me during personal study. I
feel like this verse sums up the recipe for revelation. We must 1. desire to
know things of God, then 2. believe that we will gain understanding and then 3.
ponder. We prepare spiritually for studies, we ask for understanding, we use
each minute to receive revelation and we write down our impressions and study
them. As we do this, the spirit floods our minds with answers. I am so grateful
for the quiet personal studies that have strengthened my testimony.
Life could not be better in FBS. We are working our guts out. If
it be the Lord's will, we want to baptize 10 in our time together. The ward
boundaries were recently changed and this ward shrunk. We are here to build the
ward up and find those families searching for their Savior's love. This will be
an incredible 11 weeks.
Thank you all for your examples, emails, and support.
LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART,
Hermana McCormick
Sunday, August 9, 2015
July 21, 2015
Transfers already and I am going back to Fountainebleau South. I
am training... so my baby will kill me, which should be fun. ALSO SISTER MORROW
IS TRAINING so I will be a grandma. We are both transfer training, kinda funny.
She is strong and will do amazing things.
The area is doing well and this week we put in a lot of work so
that whoever takes over will have a busy week 1. We knocked multiple hours each
day, used the ward's reactivation list, had solid member referrals, and did our
best to use the Lord's time wisely. We have been praying the 3 weeks that I was
here to find a family of 4 and then we found 2 potentials. Exciting times!
ETHER 4:12 And
whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none
save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not
believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me
will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the
light, and the life, and the truth of the world.
I have been thinking a lot about how my language/attitude have
changed on my mission and how I look at miracles. I am realizing that God
really is in the details of our lives and every blessing, challenge, learning
opportunity comes from him. Miracles still exist. This scripture reminds me
that miracles are ours; the only thing that impedes us from them is our
unbelief.
We have been knocking lots had a miracle lesson last night with
the first door we knocked... that hardly ever happens! We introduced ourselves
as representatives of our Savior, Jesus Christ and she let us right in. We
taught the restoration on the spot and she was asking what she needed to do in
order to be baptized. She also inquired about our activities outside of Sunday
service, which is super refreshing because most people want a convenient church
where they can get by with the bare minimum. I am anxious to hear in the coming
weeks how she progresses. Crazy it is already time to have transfers. Tomorrow
will be my last transfer meeting as a normal missionary... the next time I go
will be when I go to fly home... Really sad and I did not think it would be
this hard. Just motivates me to work extra hard. My greenie and I will be
working our guts out for these next 12 weeks.
All my love,
Hermana McCormick
Miami in July
Hello Everyone,
This week was a busy week full of biking and
OYMing but unfortunately, nobody came to church. We are teaching a member
referral and they are wonderful people from Venezuela. They are very interested
in the temple so we are planning to take them on a temple tour tomorrow night.
Saturday we got to go back to Fountainebleau
South to see Liarys' baptism! She is so kind and it was a great reunion. It was
such a tender mercy that I got to go back there with my companions. Her baptism
was incredible; the spirit was so strong. It was like a tribute to missionary
work. So many people were there. The RS Pres welcomed her and the whole
bishopric got up together and welcomed her; that was powerful.
MIRACLE of the week: we were biking and Sister
Bradley was in the front and was headed for a sidewalk that was ending but did
not realize it so we talked with this girl at the bus stop. We offered her a
card and she said, "Are you Mormon? I am too!" We got to talking and
she was baptized a year or two ago and has wanted to come back. Even better,
she is YSA! Those sisters in Miami Beach YSA are on fire and deserve all the
referrals in the world.
3
Nephi 26: 18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful
to be written.
This is a really simple scripture, but this
week during my studies I have learned a lot about spiritual experiences and
sharing them. I read in a talk that Elder Romney once said: We'd have more
spiritual experiences if we did not talk so much about them."
Additionally, it is so important to write down the things that the spirit
teaches us. As we do, it shows the Lord that we treasure our personal
revelation and are ready to receive more.
Also another cool talk to read: "Becoming
a Disciple" by Elder Neal A. Maxwell. It has changed my testimony and the
way I look at trials and the gospel and I can't read it enough!
This area is kind of hilarious. We cover this
city called Opa-Locka and it actually has a sign with 2 black guys saggin' and
says "Welcome to Opa-Locka. No ifs, ands, or BUTTS." and has a
municipal code underneath it, explaining that littering is unlawful. There are
signs around here that say: "Stop the violence. This is your hood
too." Wish I could say I was kidding.
Also we got to do a service activity on Key
Biscayne and it looked like Burn Notice and was super cool to go and see the
beach and pick up garbage (but we had to stay off the sand and just clean the
park). I was drippin’ sweaty!!! This humidity is something else.
I am losing track of time I SWEAR it is still
May. Having a hard time that it is already almost half way through July. Would
you all kill me if I extended? KIDDING m and d I would not do that to you.
I love this work. I love what I learn each week,
as I work and get exhausted, and as I am tried and tested because God always
brings me closer during the hard moments. I am grateful for each trial and hard
day I have had on my mission. I would not change anything. My mission is my
most prized possession.
During sacrament meeting next week, write down
your testimony of the Savior. Picture the sacrament being administered to you
as Christ outstretching His hands to you. I wrote it down and it came out way
differently than it was in my head and I know that I will treasure that page
with my testimony as a missionary forever.
I love you all so much! Heavenly Father really
blessed me with the most fun, loving, and hard working parents and
siblings.
Hermana McCormick
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