Earthquakes, thunderstorms, baptism oh my! ⛰️☂️🌊

 Week 48

Currently feeling super jealous of anyone who has a wash wachine and dryer. I hope you realize what a luxury that is 🧼🧤

First week of the transfer wooooo!!! Honestly this week felt a million years long, but it's always that way when it comes to adjusting to new things. Also new comp alerttt! I'm now with Hermana Reyes who is from about 40 minutes from the Texan border! President do be swamping me with Northainas these days (keeping the american-free comp streak strong tho)

Buttttt we started off this transfer with a bang because....

YOLANDA GOT BAPTIZED! She is genuinely one of my best friends here and the chillest person ever. She worked hard and had to change a lot of things about her lifestyle to get this point. I'm so so happy and excited for her and what the future holds! Only missed out on having Hermana Evia at the service 😪

Hence the title, we had some crazy freak nature stuff go on this week as well. I woke up at about 4:30am on Friday to our apartment shaking pretty significantly. Fortunately it stopped before we had to run downstairs. It's kinda weird for me as an Idaho girl to get used to such frequent earthquakes but it's kinda fun when nothing bad happens hahaha. The next day we got hit by LITERALLY the most insane thunder/lightning/tropical rain storm I have ever experienced. I thought my eardrums were gonna break from how loud the thunder was. We were completely soaked within 2 seconds of being outside but it was a fun experience and we made the most of it.

Other things:

- it was Mothers Day! Shoutout to all the dope moms in my life! 💐

- had out first exchanges of the transfer 💪

- had to go to the dentist... sorry dad 🥲

-sweat more than I ever have in my life. May is the hottest month of the year here and boy am I a witness of that 🌞

To be candid, this week was kind of hard for me. Transfers always require an adjustment period, but this week I felt like I had to yank myself out of bed everyday and seriously ponder what the heck I'm doing here (a universal missionary experience). However, yesterday as I was getting ready to leave the house with absolutely ZERO motivation, I found myself in sincere prayer with my Heavenly Father pleading for a miracle, for something that would pull me out of my slump. As we left, I felt a little better and was sure that the Lord would put someone in our path. As always, He delivered, and we were able to put a family of 4 that we have been visiting on date for baptism that day. It was another huge reminder to me that the Lord ALWAYS hears our prayers, and made me think a lot about these scriptures in Alma 37:

"Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.

Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever."

The Lord is definitely helping me to be more humble, meek, and lowly recently, and to rely on Him in all my doings. I am grateful for the insane learning experience that a mission is, and for the rest I find in His work. I love it even when it's hard. That is the real testimony of something worthwhile. 

Go to the temple this week if you can! 🫵🏽

👋

- Hermana Stephenson