How True It all Is

So this week I took a road trip and stayed a few days in Gotuzzo. 

As an LTS, every few weeks I plan a visit in a new area. I take care of Bage and Gotuzzo. So this week I headed to Gotuzzo to see how the Sisters there are working. I stayed with Sister Araujo Monday-Saturday. 

It was super cool working there. We had many adventures. 

Since I'm short on time I want to share one of my favorite experiences from the week. 

We were eating lunch with the Stake presidents wife and her mom, Vera. Vera is less active. She was explaining to us that she wouldn't be able to come to conference because her house was just too messy. Uh oh..

"We can help you clean it! When can we pass by Irma?" (me). 

Vera: "Nooo, no, we will have to take apart a bed and carry things down the staircase. It's a lot of work...."

Me: "The Elderes can help carry the heavy stuff," (Cue choking as the Elderes, who were eating, tried to say that they were busy haha) "And Sister A and I can do the rest!" 

I didn't know that we were getting ourself into an episode of extreme hoarders...

But it was seriously the best experience. We arrived before the Elders and got to work. This Irma has a consignment store in her house called a Brecho. Well, as a result she has a lot of furniture and clothing and things piled everywhere! Like, we didn't know where to begin. Don't hear me wrong, she has a lot of stuff artistic and vintage. Every thing super clean, but its just...a lot. 

Vera wanted to move a king-sized bed and bed frame to another room with the side tables and nightstands and mirrors. She explained that it was always her dream to put the bed in the center of the wall near the window, but for thirty years she had measured the space and it just never worked out...

Welllll, Sister and I cleared the room transfering piles and clothing to the designated areas (Keep, Sell, Garbage) and got to work moving the furniture. We took apart the bed, cleaned away the dust and set it up in the space. Well, when we set up the other room there was more than space to spare!

"Thirty years!" She exclaimed with embarrasment (super shy haha) "You're my fairy godmother's!! and there is space to spare!"

Sister Araujo, "Irma, you need space to spare, you know...Don't go putting more stuff here ok?"

"Ok ok, but a table here would be so cute and..."

"Irma!" haha:)

She is such an eccetric lady. When I told her, "Hey Irma, this perfume here is empty, can I throw it away?"

"Oh Sister, its just so cute...(Thinking how she could reuse it and save it in someway) but lets just throw it away, Sister." :)

My joy this week was receiving the news that she went to conference! :)

So many other wonderful things happened this week! Did I already tell you that when I arrived in Brasil Sister Araújo was my first companion? She showed me the ropes for the first day until I got my Trainer. And look at us now! I did my first week long division with her! How cool. The Lord truly knows what to do. 

Sadly, I forgot my conference notes in the mission house! But I will try to remember what I loved the most. 

I'm here in Porto Alegre. Tomorrow we have a Counsel Meeting with the Mission Leaders (And now I'm one of them!) Wish me luck. I hear that it is just brutal. Im nervous! haha

We are going to wander around a bit. I dont know anything about Porto Alegre so a Sister Ampuero will help me out a bit. I think we will only have time to buy ice cream though before our Pday ends. We arrived late in the day. Had to get on a bus at 7 in the morning. 

Anyways, I'm super happy. I received so many answers this weekend. What a blessed event. As my companion said, "We have all waited for the most important event in the world."

Truly, this is one of those moments. A moment to hear the prophets speak. A moment to hear God speak. A moment to hear the music ringing in our ears the song that redeems our soul.

How true it all is. This is the work of the Lord. Join in. Work with Him. Overcome the world. Don't walk on borrowed light but in the light of the Lord with your own testimony. If you don't know yet what is true. If you haven't felt yet the love of the Lord. Or maybe if your forgot what the love of the Lord feels like and have strayed from His path: Kneel. Where ever you are, find a place and find the Lord. Seek His Holy Scriptures. Seek Him in your prayer, your plea, with all your might and mind and strength and soul, until you find Him and until you know Him and know that He lives and He loves you and wants you to live with Him some day. Trust in Him.

And if you can't seem to trust Him yet, trust me. I know He lives. I know He loves me. I felt His arms around me as I prayed. I promise you that all you have to do is pray as a primary song teaches us:

Heavenly Father, are you really there?

And do you hear and answer ev'ry child's prayer?

Some say that heaven is far away,

But I feel it close around me as I pray.

Heavenly Father, I remember now

Something that Jesus told disciples long ago:

"Suffer the children to come to me."

Father, in prayer I'm coming now to thee.

2. Pray, He is there;

Speak, He is list'ning.

You are His child;

His love now surrounds you.

He hears your prayer;

He loves the children.

Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav'n.

Don't let doubts lead you away. Nothing is more important than this path. Because this path is a living path, a loving path, this path is Christ. And nothing, I say, nothing, matters more than one day living with Him. 

With all my love I pray that you will seek to know for yourself that this is the only path that leads to eternal life.

Sister Hemmert