Sometimes it is hard being a missionary

Let me preface this letter by saying that this past week has helped me learn patience and perseverance. We have walked a TON and talked with even more people but unfortunately I don´t have many exciting stories to share. On a good week we teach 12 lessons in 2 or 3 days. The past week we talked to a great number of people and walked 8 hours in the streets every day and only managed to have 12 lessons. Our exhausting week was finished with a text from Jimmy saying that he doesn´t feel ready to be baptized. (We, of course, went up to his house to see what was going on but he was heading out the door right as we got there. I´m not too worried though... I am sure that once we help him resolve some of his fears all will be well). All I know is that faith precedes the miracle and the Lord knows what He is doing and this is His work and so that makes it ok. 

I hope you all had the chance to watch conference because it was amazing! I have definitely grown very grateful for the blessings that we tend to take for granted in the states. It is so wonderful to speak the same language as the prophet and not have to listen through translators! It is also quite a blessing to have fast internet (or cable) to watch conference. We were able to see 3 sessions in English but the internet was slower so it took us 3 hours to watch each one instead of 2. The other session we watched in Spanish with an investigator. I am so grateful that we have living apostles and prophets in our day who talk to us. It is such a wonderful blessing to be able to receive direction from our Heavenly Father every 6 months that is directly pertinent to our day. It also never ceases to amaze me that a talk can feel so perfectly directed toward you and your unique situation. That just goes to show that the spirit is real and testifies to our hearts the things that we need to hear and know. The talk that seemed to be directed to me this conference was Elder Holland´s. We had problems with the internet Saturday and missed the first 30 minutes of the session. We were all feeling a little frustrated after a hard week and decided to take a little extra time Sunday after the final session to be able to catch up on the part that we didn´t see the day before. I think the Lord knew that I needed to hear that particular message at that particular time. It became more of a miracle because it wasn´t until after everything else had happened, that we finally had the chance to hear it. I wish I could copy and paste the whole talk right here but I´ll just put part of it which I feel is a wonderful invitation to all of us. 

"Friends, especially my young friends, take heart. Pure Christlike love flowing from true righteousness can change the world. I testify that the true and living gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth and you are members of His true and living Church, trying to share it. I bear witness of that gospel and that Church, with a particular witness of restored priesthood keys which unlock the power and efficacy of saving ordinances. I am more certain that those keys have been restored and that those ordinances are once again available through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than I am certain I stand before you at this pulpit and you sit before me in this conference.

Be strong. Live the gospel faithfully even if others around you don’t live it at all. Defend your beliefs with courtesy and with compassion, but defend them. A long history of inspired voices, including those you will hear in this conference and the voice you just heard in the person of President Thomas S. Monson, point you toward the path of Christian discipleship. It is a strait path, and it is a narrow path without a great deal of latitude at some points, but it can be thrillingly and successfully traveled, “with … steadfastness in Christ, … a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.”¹⁹ In courageously pursuing such a course, you will forge unshakable faith, you will find safety against ill winds that blow, even shafts in the whirlwind, and you will feel the rock-like strength of our Redeemer, upon whom if you build your unflagging discipleship, youcannot fall."

I encourage you all to study the talks again and more importantly apply what they say in your lives. Take time to love and serve those around you. I had a great time this week as well planning a surprise party for my companion for her birthday. With a lot of sneaky moves and a ton of help from the district we were able to pull it off and it was such a wonderful reward to see her face as she walked in to the decorated room in the church. When we are serving others we can truly feel the love of our Savior and it helps put our life into better perspective. I hope you all are doing well! Love you tons!

Hermana Ewell