April 27, 2015:
Dearest familia y querido amigos!!! (Dearest family and beloved friends)
COMO ESTAN?! (How are you?!) :) I sure hope you are all doin swell! :D
We were able to do an intercambio (exchange) this week with our hermana lideres (Sister Trainer Leaders)...Hna. (Sister) Carrera and Hna. Perez. They are both great. I was able to spend a day with Hna. Carrera in my area of lovely Centenario 2. It was a little tough to remember everything without Hna. Sarat...especially for planning...but we were able to have a wonderful day together...with miracles! What a blessing that we are able to see the hand of the Lord in our lives if we really look for it! :)
Today I got a response from President Marler to my email last week...and he totally helped me and pumped me up...my favorite part was this..."You go girl!" He helped me look for the good in myself...because more times than not I only tend to see the bad or all the things I need to improve...there is a balance for sure...that is what I am trying to find.
"Don't be so hard on yourself Sister Coleman, the Lord called you, no one else. He could have called you to an English speaking mission but He didn't. You have some things to learn from this." I want all those who are preparing to serve in a mission with another language...especially you, Spence...to remember this! Love ya!
We are working with this sweet girl, Dali (11 años [years old]). She has been attending church for almost 2 years I think...with her aunt and others. But she still hasn't been baptized. We have been getting to know her more and she has a desire to be baptized...but her parents aren´t too excited about the idea because of how old she is and how she is. She is entering the lovely teenage years and they fear that she will make this big decision and then in a couple years not want to be a member of the church anymore. Hna. Sarat and I were able to sit down and talk with both of her parents last night and have a neat spiritual experience. We were able to listen and then Hna. Sarat was very inspired and we were able to bear our testimonies about how we KNOW that the church is the place for Dali...she needs this support ESPECIALLY at this time in her life. I loved how Hna. Sarat talked about how even if Dali does fall away from the church for a little bit...the church will never fall away from Dali...the leaders and friends and ward are eternal! :) The Spirit then helped me say a prayer to close our chat...it was very neat...what an incredible feeling to have the Spirit work through you and help you say what is needed.
We saw this beautiful sunset, so we ran back to get our cameras to record it!
My stomach has been a little weird this past week...always gurgling...and some pains...so I had a few couple days of just plain soup for lunch and dinner! Whew! Luckily I am feeling much better!
OK...so we have this sweet family in our ward...they actually live on our same street. The couple was married and sealed in the temple and they have two kids (5 and 3...mas o menos [more or less]). Anyway the husband, Alex is less active and he doesn´t have a desire to come back to church...and the horribly sad thing is that he is addicted to a game on the Internet. Every time we pass by he is playing whatever game it is and his wife says that most times he can´t "die" or pause his game so he brings his plate of food to the computer instead of at the table. It really is so sad...because he two kids are watching his example. We have talked to him about how he is the leader of his home and how he has special and specific responsibilities with his wife...but it continues. Please keep Alex and Ivon and their sweet kids in your prayers. We want to share the neat Mormon message about pornography and Internet addiction with him. The one with the dad and the two paths that he can choose. We were able to have a NDH (Family Home Evening) with them on Tues. and towards the end he was laughing and enjoying himself. Poco a poco (little by little).
RANDOM:
-A week ago we were able to clean our apartment with hymns blasting in the background...gotta love it!
-We were able to have our first activity with our ward! It turned out good...but we were a little worried at first when no one was there...it seriously started an hour late...but with Mormon Standard time and in Peru...I guess that´s normal! :)
Jennesa and Hermana Sarat Cleaning the church after their activity!!
INSPIRATIONALS Y FUNNIES:
-Hna. Sarat and I are trying to get a picture with a Peruvian dog to show you all! They are really ugly...honestly...but we need a memory! :)
-For my thought this week...amazing Sis. Gunnell sent me this wonderful story called..."The Bum"...or the homeless man. :) Please look it up...and remember that we ALL need help! :)
LOVE YOU ALL!
Con mucho amor (with lots of love),
Hermana Coleman :D
The Bum
Everyone respects and helps the millionaire, the famous, the boss, those with beauty and brains. What about the bum on the street?
I was parked in front of the church cleaning out my Jeep. I was waiting for someone. Coming my way from across the street was what society would consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money.
There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't want to be bothered times." " I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought. He didn't.
He came and sat on the wall in front of the bus stop to wait for the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very pretty Jeep," he said. He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard kept more than half his face warm. I said, "thanks," and continued cleaning out the Jeep. He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came.
As the silence between us widened, something inside said, "ask him if he needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true to the inner voice. "Do you need any help?" I asked. He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand.
He spoke the three words that shook me. "Don't we all?" he asked. I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge shotgun. Don't we all?
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to take a cab anywhere in the city and get food and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true.
No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.
You never know when you many see someone that appears to have it all. They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos that only you through a torn world can see. Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that.
Maybe God looked down, called and angel, dressed him up like a bum, then said, "go minister to that man cleaning the Jeep, that man needs help." Don't we all?
~Author unknown
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