11/25/14 antes del Dia de Gracias!

Funny, but I think all of the missionaries in the zone get fed except for us, our area is pretty sparce for members.  But this past Sunday a member brought an Apple Cake to church because, she told her son, the Lord told her to.  She ended up giving the Apple Cake to us as we were very hungry, and it was a good little sign to let us know that the Lord really cares about his missionaries.  I'm sure we will eat very well for Thanksgiving.

This week was wonderful!  We had Elder Foster, a member of the Quorom of Seventy come down and speak to us, along with his wife and President Maluenda and his wife.  Their words were just what a lot of us missionaries needed.  I know that prayers work.  This week I went on an exchange with a sister who has terrible back pain and has gone to the doctors, and they aren't helping her. In one of the many companionship prayers we had, I prayed for her back.  She told me that after that prayer, that her pain went away. I think about all of the prayers made for missionaries in the temples every hour and so many from home and from members, and I want to tell you thank you.  We surely need them. I can feel the angels around us that are bearing us up, and I know that one of Satan's targets is the missionaries because of the important message we carry. Satan tries to make us feel like we aren't doing a good job, that are efforts aren't worth anything, and that we are only making mistakes.  I feel the prayers that are sent for me and for the other missionaries here, and they are a huge support. 

     This week we got to help some sisters out with weekly planning and it was so fun! I feel like we really were a blessing for them.  

    Sad news: Amber and her family called us and told us not to come by. We still pray for them. 

     Omar is a college student who came to church. We are teaching him, and he is doing really well right now. 

    Robert Lopez, our recent convert is having a tough time because his family isn't supporting him and giving him anti-mormon information, so keep him in your prayers.  A wonderful Christmas gift would be to give him a quad or a doctrine and covenants. Let me know if that is something you would like to do. 

Love,

Sister Campbell

11/17/14 3 Days of Training

Going to to 3 days of training is like going on vacation, the best kind, where you get completely filled up spiritually. And you have a notebook full of things you want to change and things to share.  Then you come back to your area, and feel like you haven't worked in it for months and everything and you get overwhelmed because there are so many people who need you to visit them and so many people you want to help but there just isn't enough time or miles. We've been very blessed.

My favorite things from 3-day was that we constantly need to be thinking about how we can serve others.  The only difference there is about being a leader is that you have a wider scope of people you can serve. I want to constantly keep this in mind.   President taught us a lot about David in 1st and 2nd Samuel.  I loved the story about David being chosen as king and then battling Goliath. Can you imagine the valor of a young boy declaring to an army that they would fall because he had Jehova on his side? Would you have the same faith and accept the call to fight Goliath. We are on the front lines of a war. It is by small and simple things that we do to give us faith to fight this battle. Faith in the Lord comes as a result of our obedience. If we are obedient we will have the spirit to guide us as well.  It is also by small and simple things that we lose our exaltation.  In 2 Samuel 11 (I think) the first verse tells how great King David simply chose not to go to battle. That sin led to another until he chose to murder Bethsabe's husband and lose his exaltation. We have to be obedient in all things.  

As for our area, Amber and her 3 brothers came to church again. They love it.  I think little Manny is going to perform in the primary program next Sunday.  That family is so cute. I hope that we will be able to keep up and keep the people we have progressing. It is interesting how investigators tend to fall away if you aren't there to visit and help them see the light of the spirit a couple of times a week. Keep praying for Amber's family. 

Love,

Sister Campbell

11/10/14 Member Missionaries

We have some incredible member missionaries here! One 16 year old in our area, invited us to meet with her friends. And they are some of the most humble people I have met. Amber is 15, and her three brothers are so ready to hear the gospel.  The kids got ready for church early all by themselves and were ready with ties and skirts and all when their ride got there. It is sad to see the lack of parent support. It just goes to show how bad the kids really want and need this gospel in their lives. They are such great examples to me. Meeting with them and teaching them has been a joy.

    This week was kind of crazy because we had mission leadership training, so we were only in our area for about half of the week.  Somehow the Lord provides, like finding these kids who want to learn. And then this next week is a three day training, and the week after that is a mission tour where a member of the Seventy comes and speaks to us. Then the week after that is transfers, so hopefully we will find a way to get in enough exchanges with other sisters.  There is much to be done and I feel like we are receiving more training, more things that we need to change and work better on than we have time to plan for.  I'm so grateful for this time to learn!

 

I had a great spiritual experience this week when I was reading a scripture President gave to me, 1 Nephi 16 where it talks about how we need to find direction from God through the scriptures. Then I also received a blessing this week and in the blessing, the Lord very clearly told me to look in the scriptures for answers and guidance. 

love,

Hermana Campbell

11/3/14 Here come the Holidays!

On Wednesday I got to go on an exchange with Sister Myler in Port Isabel.  She had only been in the area for a week. We went running for morning excercises and she decided to leave the keys in the house and leave the door unlocked while we exercised. We had a good run, but when we came back the door to the apartment was locked. We shoved and picked, and shoved, but it wouldn't budge.  We knocked on the next door neighbor to see if they had a card and asked someone who was leaving if they might have a card so we could try to break in. No one had a card. To our horror, we heard the lock from the inside move, and the door to our apartment begin to open.  I didn't how to react.  I thought our apartment was getting robbed and all I could do was act casual.  So a man answered and asked if we needed anything.  I said yes, and then awkwardly stood there, not knowing what to say, so I started a door contact, "We're sister missionaries . . . and. . . . " Then he said, Oh, the sister missionaries live back there," pointing to the next row of apartments.  Bewildered, we said thanks and found the right apartment door. :) What a great embarrassing moment. . .

 

This week was super good. We are helping Robert Lopez's mom progress, and her friend. We left her with the Restoration pamphlet and followed up on it.  She said she prayed about it and felt good, and wants to join the church. It was an incredible lesson and we can see the workings of God to prepare this family to enter into the fold. We are also working with a member's sister, names Griselda, who on the second lesson really opened up to us. We are also teaching Liz's daughter Ashley. 

 

It was Sister Vazquez's birthday on Thursday so I snuck out with Sister Barton from the apartment while she was praying at 10:20 and we chalked out Happy Birthday for her to see the next morning. Thanks Sharli, for the original idea about 7 years ago. We made her brownies, but still haven't had time to eat them. I don't know how we live sometimes, the Lord just takes care of us. We had interviews with President on Halloween and spent the night planning for the week, so nothing special. 

Hope you all had a great week!

Love,

Hermana Campbell