Monday we had a baptism. It was easily the most spiritual baptism I have ever been to. Saned and Sandra were super excited.
The members have really taken them in. They recently moved here from Venezuela and they have been such amazing examples to me of sacrifice and faith. They put the Lord first no matter what. It has been amazing on the mission; it is great to teach people but I think the people teach me more than I could ever teach anyone else.
We started reading the Book of Mormon as a mission. We read it in 5 days. I have read the Book of Mormon before but reading it in a short period of time was amazing. The stories made so much sense and the words really spoke to me. There were so many instances that I just had to sit back and think to myself "Wow, these words are so beautiful!" One scripture that really stood out to me was about faith. There was a prophet named Alma who was teaching about faith and he compared it to a seed - if we nourish the seed it will turn into a tree.
These are his words:
41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.
42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.
43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.
As we try our best and act according to our faith that we have in Jesus Christ, the blessings will be joy and happiness to a degree that we can not even imagine. As I had the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon and take the opportunity to pray about it. I truly know that it is the word of God and that it teaches us by plain and simple means. I love how the Book of Mormon and Bible work hand in hand to teach and testify of Jesus Christ.
I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and was given direction to translate the Book of Mormon by the power of God that is back on the Earth again today.
One thing that really hit me was that God is not just an all powerful being, but a loving Heavenly Father who knows us each individually. I loved the opportunity that we had as a mission to read the Book of Mormon. It really made a huge impact on me. As we read the Book of Mormon as an entire mission, it has already helped us be more powerful teachers of the Book of Mormon. We found a family right away and started teaching them. Here is a picture of my companion and I reading in a BIG chair at the beach.
A woman we are teaching made us some cute hats!
I had a fun surprise this week because a friend from Hawaii sent me a package and it had some great shirts in it.
Another fun thing that happened this week was I got to go on splits with Hermana Person - my companion from the CCM in Mexico- (she's from Lansing, MI-small world!) We had a great time together!
The work here is amazing and I am really loving it!
A NOTE FROM HER MOM:
She loves getting emails. This is her address:
Email: lily.pita@missionary.org (Don't reply to this blog - it is a public site)
Her mailing address is:
Hermana Lily Pita
California Ventura Mission
3301 W Gonzales Road
Oxnard, CA 93036
This is the direct link to her blog.