I saw Scott Grow

Okay.

So I didn’t really look at my calendar this morning.. so if It's someone's birthday and I'm missing a shout-out.. sorry. You´ll get it next week, te prometo. (I promise)  

BUT. Can I just give my Companion, Hermana Lyon, a shout-out. Because It has already been a WHOLE CAMBIO with her and cambios are TOMORROW. I just simply can´t believe that I have already been with her for a month and a half.  And we are pretty sure she is leaving.. and I am staying. 

But, ya never know, God just loves surprises.

Everyone told me that the first 2 transfers were always the slowest, and after that, time absolutely flies. 

The Truth?

Unfortunately.. that is the truth.

THIS TRANSFER WENT SO FAST. I just can´t believe that in 2 transfers, I'm going to be half way done with my mission… that makes me a little sick to my stomach. It just came to me yesterday, as we were sitting in a conference with the Stake of Tarija and everyone was singing the closing song. I just listened. And I've grown to love hymns in Spanish and I just couldn’t imagine going back to English and it just hit me that, that moment.. will be a lot sooner than I expect.  

I've made myself a promise to not waste 1 minute of my time here. The thing is... that I have ALLLL of this time here, and I can waste it, or use it. The Lord will NEVER waste my time, I can only waste his. I'm really trying to take advantage of every minute I have here.

This week, C. Scott Grow came to have a conference with us.

And it only took me about ½ a second to realize that his name is a sentence.  :-)

Elder C. Scott Grow is a member of the seventy and it was actually really cool to hear from him and to learn how I can better my work here as a missionary.

During the Conference, Elder Grow started talking about "BAPTISMAL DATES".   About if our investigators baptismal dates are "OUR" dates, or are they the investigator's dates? 

I started thinking about an investigator we have, her name is Pilar.   I really felt like maybe her date, which was for this weekend, wasn’t ours. Hermana Lyon and I talked about it and last night we had an appointment with her.

We asked her if she was sincerely ready and if the date was "OURS" or "HERS".   She, after a lot of thought, let us know that the date was ours.   It was hard to hear for a minute, but she chose her own date and is really going to put forth her part now. 

I feel SO MUCH BETTER about it.   It was really cool to be able to apply something I learned to my work so fast. I really want to make sure that my investigators have testimonies and have a desire to continue forth in the Gospel even AFTER their baptism.

I've really learned to look beyond the font and to the real goal- The Celestial Kingdom. I've learned to stop looking at investigators in a white jump suit, but in white clothes at the Temple. It has helped me be able to prepare them so much more.

We have found a lot of inactive families that are SO unbelievably ready to come back to church. We are so excited to help them make goals to reach the Temple and become eternal families – because isn't that every member´s dream?

Leslye Uño, an investigator that Hermana Lyon and I have been teaching since the 2^nd week of the transfer, is getting baptized THIS SATURDAY. And she is so excited! I love my ward here in Paraiso, Tarija. It is right by the University so we work with a lot of College Students. It’s the best because I feel like I can relate to them, and they can relate to me. They are trying to figure out their lives and get on track, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ does JUST THAT.

 

That´s what Leslye´s dong. She is my first Convert, guys! I just.. ugh. I can´t express how much I love her. I knew people grew to love their investigators.. I just had no idea how much.

Okay, I don’t have much time, and something is wrong with my memory card or something because.. I CAN'T SEND PICTURES. I'm dying, I don’t know whats wrong with it. I'll find out later.

LOVE YOU ALL.

Love, 

Hermana Cedeño