Hello sa indo gabus!!!!! Kumusta kayo??? It’s crazy how fast the time goes. I feel like I was just here at this computer shop [with horrible internet] emailing you all yesterday. OH HOW TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN. Speaking of time.....I'm HALF WAY DONE WITH MY MISISON!!! I have just 9 more months until I will be home and I will see all of your beautiful faces. I feel like I just got here yesterday and I know it will just go faster...yikes!!! So you can all start preparing food for my homecoming now....hahaha joke. [but I do expect lots of food when I get home]
Well it was a crazy busy week with a lot of things that went on, but I want to focus this email on one thing...the power of the Book of Mormon. This week I finished the Book of Mormon again which was just another testimony to me it really is the word of God. I focused a lot of my studies about the Book of Mormon so I really could really testify of it with POWER. I've always known it was true, I really never doubted it. But I wanted that strong, unwavering testimony I could share with those that we teach and they could know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and really is the word of God. Little did I know that we would have an incredible experience answering all of my prayers pleading for this strong testimony of the Book of Mormon.
This experience actually happened with our youngest investigators, Janessa and John Christian [aka Michael Jackson]. Usually when we teach them they are super crazy and loud and obnoxious, [which I secretly love because it reminds me of my siblings] but usually it isn't a very conducive environment for the Spirit. Well the lesson we planned on teaching them was about the Book of Mormon and gaining a testimony of it's truth. I prayed right before we went there that they would feel the Spirit and that they would feel of the truth of the Book of Mormon too. Well we get there, and they are just sitting there waiting for us and so quiet!!!!!! #minimiracle [shout out to sister Knuth] Guys this really was a miracle though because they are usually so crazy. That was the start to the miracles of that lesson.
Well we start the lesson and read the introduction with them. Now the Book of Mormon in Tagalog is kind of hard for kids to understand since a lot of the translated words aren't commonly used now a days, so I was really praying so hard for them to feel something. We read the paragraph which says "We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost." We then just looked at them and they just simply said "we need to pray to God and ask Him." So we invited them to pray about it. Well the littlest one, John Christian [he just turned 10] said "Heavenly Father answers my prayers because sometimes I hear Him say things to me to keep me safe." OKAY HE'S THE BEST. He told us a story that last week he was going to go play with his friends and he said "Heavenly Father said I need to be careful and not go and play" AND THEN HE WENT HOME AND READ THE BOOK OF MORMON!!!!! WHAT 10 YEAR OLD DOES THAT??? He's so so prepared. Ah anyways, all the sudden John Christian said "let's pray right now." [guys the whole time they were so serious and never joked around.....#BIGmiracle]
We knelt down in prayer. John Christian offered the prayer and just said in the most simple terms "Heavenly Father, we want to know that the Book of Mormon is true. Please help us know." Then he went on with his prayer and listed all the things he's grateful for. He closed his prayer and just knelt and kept praying to himself. I looked at Janessa and she was doing the same thing. We all sat in silence and the Spirit was SO STRONG. I prayed and prayed so hard that they would recognize the answer from Heavenly Father, as I knew that the answer would be there. I just wanted them to recognize His answer. Sure enough, not more that 5 minutes passed and John Christian said "Sisters, I heard His voice again!! He told me the Book of Mormon is true because it is the word of God, and it is His help for me to be a good boy and He said that I need to keep reading it everyday." OKAY. Yes everyone in the room was bawling. The Spirit was so so so strong as he testified of the Book of Mormon. Those words were NOT his words. Those words were heaven sent and were the exact answer to his prayers. As tears flodded my eyes I testified to him that that was the Holy Ghost and that the Book of Mormon IS true. I was really kind of speechless because his testimony of the Book of Mormon was so REAL and POWERFUL.
Soon after, I looked over at Janessa as she was crying as well. I asked her what she felt. Her precious answer was "I know the Book of Mormon is true because Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, and if Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, it means that the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God here on the earth today for us to learn about where we came from and how we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again." OKAY. Her answer was heaven sent too. I had never heard her say any of that before, and we had never even said any of that before. By that point we were ALL in tears and Janessa just said "I really know it is true." Their testimonies were POWERFUL and REAL and I got to see it happen right before my eyes.
This experience was so so special to me for many reasons. I had been praying for a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon, and that was a direct answer to my prayers. Heavenly Father is REAL. He answers our prayers, old or young, rich or poor, HE ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS.
This experience reminded me of one of my favorite songs, "A Child's Prayer"...the lyrics go like this:
Heavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me every time I pray.
--
Our Heavenly Father is really here. He hears and answers our prayers. PRAYER IS REAL. The Book of Mormon is real and TRUE. I know it with all my heart. And because of the experience of two kids, I know it now more than ever. He loves us.
I challenge you all to read the Book of Mormon. It is the word of God and is here for us to learn more about Christ. It is 'Another Testament of Christ' and helps us come closer to Him. Take the invitation in the introduction and read, ponder, and pray. I know that Heavenly Father will answer your prayers.
I love you all so so much, and I LOVE THIS WORK. HOW GREAT IS MY CALLING!!!!!
MAHAL KO KAYO.
With all my love [and sweat],
Sister Reategui
sidenotezzzzz:
--I completed one of my life goals: to wear the "helping hands" vests...yes it was a good week. we even got to wear them two times this week for 2 different service projects. [see pictures attached]
--I taught my Filipina companion how to cook rice this week....#americanpower
--this week my companion said to our investigators "we are excited to share a message with you...."and before she could finish one little kid yelled "that's a joke!" HAHAHAHAHA. it was so funny but not as funny when I translate it out to English....
--the joke here is when people ask where my companion [sister Leonardo] is from, they always say "did you come from the Titanic?" Hahahahaha because of her last name. I laugh every time.
--i had krispy kreme for the first time in 9 months this week. #minimiracle #shoutouttoeldertodd
--updated my skydrive [I think] https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=B62DF9EB1FD8E770!336&authkey=!AOgC7NzYhhdTu9A&ithint=folder%2c.jpg
Well it was a crazy busy week with a lot of things that went on, but I want to focus this email on one thing...the power of the Book of Mormon. This week I finished the Book of Mormon again which was just another testimony to me it really is the word of God. I focused a lot of my studies about the Book of Mormon so I really could really testify of it with POWER. I've always known it was true, I really never doubted it. But I wanted that strong, unwavering testimony I could share with those that we teach and they could know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and really is the word of God. Little did I know that we would have an incredible experience answering all of my prayers pleading for this strong testimony of the Book of Mormon.
This experience actually happened with our youngest investigators, Janessa and John Christian [aka Michael Jackson]. Usually when we teach them they are super crazy and loud and obnoxious, [which I secretly love because it reminds me of my siblings] but usually it isn't a very conducive environment for the Spirit. Well the lesson we planned on teaching them was about the Book of Mormon and gaining a testimony of it's truth. I prayed right before we went there that they would feel the Spirit and that they would feel of the truth of the Book of Mormon too. Well we get there, and they are just sitting there waiting for us and so quiet!!!!!! #minimiracle [shout out to sister Knuth] Guys this really was a miracle though because they are usually so crazy. That was the start to the miracles of that lesson.
Well we start the lesson and read the introduction with them. Now the Book of Mormon in Tagalog is kind of hard for kids to understand since a lot of the translated words aren't commonly used now a days, so I was really praying so hard for them to feel something. We read the paragraph which says "We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost." We then just looked at them and they just simply said "we need to pray to God and ask Him." So we invited them to pray about it. Well the littlest one, John Christian [he just turned 10] said "Heavenly Father answers my prayers because sometimes I hear Him say things to me to keep me safe." OKAY HE'S THE BEST. He told us a story that last week he was going to go play with his friends and he said "Heavenly Father said I need to be careful and not go and play" AND THEN HE WENT HOME AND READ THE BOOK OF MORMON!!!!! WHAT 10 YEAR OLD DOES THAT??? He's so so prepared. Ah anyways, all the sudden John Christian said "let's pray right now." [guys the whole time they were so serious and never joked around.....#BIGmiracle]
We knelt down in prayer. John Christian offered the prayer and just said in the most simple terms "Heavenly Father, we want to know that the Book of Mormon is true. Please help us know." Then he went on with his prayer and listed all the things he's grateful for. He closed his prayer and just knelt and kept praying to himself. I looked at Janessa and she was doing the same thing. We all sat in silence and the Spirit was SO STRONG. I prayed and prayed so hard that they would recognize the answer from Heavenly Father, as I knew that the answer would be there. I just wanted them to recognize His answer. Sure enough, not more that 5 minutes passed and John Christian said "Sisters, I heard His voice again!! He told me the Book of Mormon is true because it is the word of God, and it is His help for me to be a good boy and He said that I need to keep reading it everyday." OKAY. Yes everyone in the room was bawling. The Spirit was so so so strong as he testified of the Book of Mormon. Those words were NOT his words. Those words were heaven sent and were the exact answer to his prayers. As tears flodded my eyes I testified to him that that was the Holy Ghost and that the Book of Mormon IS true. I was really kind of speechless because his testimony of the Book of Mormon was so REAL and POWERFUL.
Soon after, I looked over at Janessa as she was crying as well. I asked her what she felt. Her precious answer was "I know the Book of Mormon is true because Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, and if Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, it means that the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God here on the earth today for us to learn about where we came from and how we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again." OKAY. Her answer was heaven sent too. I had never heard her say any of that before, and we had never even said any of that before. By that point we were ALL in tears and Janessa just said "I really know it is true." Their testimonies were POWERFUL and REAL and I got to see it happen right before my eyes.
This experience was so so special to me for many reasons. I had been praying for a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon, and that was a direct answer to my prayers. Heavenly Father is REAL. He answers our prayers, old or young, rich or poor, HE ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS.
This experience reminded me of one of my favorite songs, "A Child's Prayer"...the lyrics go like this:
Heavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me every time I pray.
--
Our Heavenly Father is really here. He hears and answers our prayers. PRAYER IS REAL. The Book of Mormon is real and TRUE. I know it with all my heart. And because of the experience of two kids, I know it now more than ever. He loves us.
I challenge you all to read the Book of Mormon. It is the word of God and is here for us to learn more about Christ. It is 'Another Testament of Christ' and helps us come closer to Him. Take the invitation in the introduction and read, ponder, and pray. I know that Heavenly Father will answer your prayers.
I love you all so so much, and I LOVE THIS WORK. HOW GREAT IS MY CALLING!!!!!
MAHAL KO KAYO.
With all my love [and sweat],
Sister Reategui
sidenotezzzzz:
--I completed one of my life goals: to wear the "helping hands" vests...yes it was a good week. we even got to wear them two times this week for 2 different service projects. [see pictures attached]
--I taught my Filipina companion how to cook rice this week....#americanpower
--this week my companion said to our investigators "we are excited to share a message with you...."and before she could finish one little kid yelled "that's a joke!" HAHAHAHAHA. it was so funny but not as funny when I translate it out to English....
--the joke here is when people ask where my companion [sister Leonardo] is from, they always say "did you come from the Titanic?" Hahahahaha because of her last name. I laugh every time.
--i had krispy kreme for the first time in 9 months this week. #minimiracle #shoutouttoeldertodd
--updated my skydrive [I think] https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=B62DF9EB1FD8E770!336&authkey=!AOgC7NzYhhdTu9A&ithint=folder%2c.jpg
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