Good News Guadalupe!

3 Cheers for Temples!! 

I am so excited right now!! We just receive word that we are able to go to all 3 sessions of the Trujillo Temple dedication AND the cultural event broadcast this Saturday and Sunday!! Hermana Tomanguillo and I have been squealing for the past hour about the news. Hooray for temples and living prophets and apostles!! :D

I always find myself at a loss for words to sum up each week in the mission. This week is the same and I can't describe how great it was. I can't even remember bad things happening, but I know that we as a companionship are striving to do better every day. There are so many miracles and souls we are finding that have been prepared by the Lord. We are currently preparing a woman named Patti, whos mother is a recent convert, for baptism. She has been extremely prepared by the Lord and teaching her is nothing buy joy. She craves the information and I love studying specifically for her. Hermana Tomanguillo and I have made great plans for the area too and we are now starting our plan to work sector by sector day to day. So many exciting things are happening every day!! (:

I thought I would share a one of those cool verses that we forget the reference for. I was reading in Jesus the Christ this morning and was following a footnote about the reign of Saul, David, and Solomon respectively. In reading through Kings, I came upon the verse that talks about Solomon's temple and the original revelation for the baptismal fonts. In the chapter heading it says:

Solomon builds himself a house—Hiram of Tyre makes the two pillars, the molten sea, the ten bases, the ten lavers, and all the vessels for the temple—The molten sea (baptismal font) rests on the backs of twelve oxen.

and in verse 25 it states:

25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

Cool cool cool. So if you all wanted to read a verse about temples from the Old Testament, I suggest reading about the details for Solomon's temple. 

Gotta jet! Love you all and wishing you a great week (:

Hermana Furness

P.S. Attached is a photo we took on the day of intercambios this week with the Sister Leaders, Hermana Blackburn and Hermana Arenguren (my old comp from Patapo! (: ) OH and our pensionista in the center, happy Olga

Ready, Set, Divide!!

Hey everyone!!

Woo! I am super happy! This last week was transfers and I got my new companion Hermana Tomanguillo from Lima!! She is the best and I love her!! We have seriously hit it off and every night we are seeing miracles from our work days. The both of us have strong desires to work hard and as of today, we have deep cleaned the apartment and area book to start off these coming weeks!

Since I am short on time, here is my highlighted scripture for today:

11 For this is the message that ye heard from thebeginning, that we should love one another.

 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew hisbrother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his ownworks were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

 13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

I like how direct verse 13 is. It is a testament to me that we shouldnt get too surprised here in the field when people reject us for our obedience or for our faith. Well, gotta go folks!

Love,

Hermana Furness

He's Waiting For US

Dear family and friends, 

What a great last week that I have had with my dear companion Hermana Mariano. Just yesterday, we said goodbye as she left for Chiclayo and I went to Chepen, where she will leave for her home in Lima and I will stay for a few days until I get my new companion. I just want to pay tribute to her for the amazing companion she was and inspiration her example was to me. The entire rama of Guadalupe will miss her dearly and I am so grateful I had such a prime example of Christ like love, patience, and compassion in my life.

Alright, since time is running short, I will get to gist of it. I read a fantastic verse this morning in my personal study from the second epistle of Paul, chapter 3. Verse 9 reads:

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

This verse just popped out to me! I immediately thought of the times when both I and many investigators sit inpatiently and naively for the Lord to fulfill his promises to us. Some of us do what the missionaries or the prophets tell us to do--we read and we think and we pray about the Book of Mormon, and there are crickets chirping around us. Some of us follow promises that if we endure our sickness our injury, it will heal. Still sick after a few months, years, etc. What this verse said to me is that the Lord isn't SLACKING on His end of the promises He has made to us. Rather, our decisions to refrain from humbling and repenting may be the very thing that is yielding our blessings. He does not let anyone perish without His permission, and he certainly won't take us before our time if we desire to repent. 

I hope this verse speaks to all of you as it has spoken to me! (:

Well, my hour just finished. I've got to go but I love you guys and wish you the best!

Love,

Hermana Furness

P.S. These are photos of me and my fabulous companion in our last week. Love you Hermana Mariano!! (:

Team Work

Dear friends and family, 

This week was filled with so many miracles, blessings, spiritual moments, and fun! My companion and I were swimming up to our eyes with work and this week flew because of it. Our number 1 focus was getting the fundraiser/activity underway for one of the less actives we are visiting. We helped her make and sell pudding and the rama here in Guadalupe was incredible in support. SO many members helped out and bought pudding and the young single adult girls accompanied us to sell and distribute the pudding. The less active, Claudia, was so grateful for all our help and she is coming to church faithfully because of the love she has felt. It was such a testimony this week of the miracles and conversions that can happen when both missionaries and members work together. 

We are working towards the baptism of an investigator named Fatima for this week. I felt so overwhelmed in preparing her but sacrament meeting completely erased my worries and fear this Sunday. I have been studying in Hebrews and one of the verses that stuck out to me is from chapter 6, verses 17 and 18:

 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,confirmed it by an oath:

 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us

This verse, and the love I felt from Heavenly Father as the sacrament was being passed, filled me with the Spirit and inspiration. I knew that our endeavour in preparing Fatima was the looks of a mountain that is insurmountable. But I knew in this moment that God could not lie, and would promise me his aid if I work diligently to help Fatima. I fled to the refuge of hope and found my faith waiting to give me the courage that these things CAN happen. I feel so blessed to be a daughter of the King who promises us happiness and gives us hope. 

Love you all, and I gotta jet.

Hermana Furness

P.S. picture 1-district meeting photo after Elder Hawkins jumped over and grazed our heads

picture

 2-my happy 8 months celebratory decoration from my companion, Hna. Mariano (:

 3-celebrating a milestone for Hna. Mariano

Jesus The Christ

Sorry folks!

I am afraid I dont have time this week to write about the details of whats happened (besides attaching a photo of me and my table at the multi zone conference this week!!) but I found some great insights in my studies this week and thought I would switch it up to talk about my Jesus the Christ study this week. Talmage is amazing!!

As I was reading in chapter 5 this week, I was so impressed by a new perspective of "virtue" that I never thought about before. To quote some of my notes:

"...I never though of the 'offspring of woman' being the seed or thing that would conquer death/victory over sin. It is ONLY the offspring of woman; not the offspring of man. How is that possible or when did it happen? With Jesus Christ! The ONLY Son of woman and a Man who was not a man. He was and is immortal and God. He was not man. The ONLY instance of seed ever produced by woman ONLY (with the aid of the Spirit) was Mary and her son, Jesus Christ. NOW, I think about the fact that God chose a virgin to bear the Savior of the world--the most innocent and pure and clean being to walk the earth. If God commands us to procreate AFTER marriage, that means of procreation beforehand soil us spiritually, then His choice to "procreate" with a virgin is a sign of selectivity and choice with that which is better (best, perhaps?). A woman who CHOOSES virute qualifies to be the bearer of greater and more perfect things. Virtue=Godliness."

So yeah, that was it for my studies on virtue this week. I felt really impressed by it and feel like I have a new perspective on virtue and the choice to remain pure before marraige. There are just WAY too many instances and investigators we teach that have insurmountable problems now because of their choices to break the commandment of virtue in the past. Anyway, I am out of time so I will talk to you all next week and hope it passes well for everyone!! (:

Love,

Hermana Furness

Best Week Ever!

Happy Mother`s Day everyone!!

I hope all of you had a great day and were able to celebrate the mothers and mother figures in all of your lives. I was so thrilled to skype with mom and dad yesterday who are seriously the cutest people ever I think. I snagged one of my favorite photos of them yesterday that I just gotta share with you all (: 

This week was so packed with so many crazy things and some awesome moments with our investigators!! Last Pday we had a celebration for the Elders who left for their homes in Argentina, the next day was Zone Conference, this past Friday we had to throw together a skit for Mission Night (you all can see my wicked moustache and guitar getup for our little number ha) and yesterday we Skyped with all our parents! This week flew by and I am ready to get back into our regular work schedule and really dive into visits with the investigators. 

Also, this past Saturday the Elders had a baptism in our area and we got our investigator Fatima AND her mom Esperanza--who has been really reserved about the church--to come to the baptism! It was so amazing and Hermana Estrella in the ward gave a fantastic message. Fatima and Esperanza are really enjoying the activites and meetings we have, and we hope that they can start to dedicate their church attendance. Fatima has come 3 times but here mom and dad have yet to show up. We are working super diligently with them though and the young single adults have been awesome with Fatima!! (: 

This week I found some of my favorite verses from Paul. I love his opinion and testimony on the need for women to be modest:

 9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

 10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

I LOVE that. That women must ADORN themselves with good works and not concern themselves so much on the materialistic items. If we are to profess ourselves as god-like and puff ourselves up to the status of Him who is perfect--HE would never declare His name Glorious for the price of the things He owns, but the invaluable and SAVING worth of the mercy and good works He does. The glory of things temporal have an expiration date that fades way too soon in the eternities. If we want REAL glory, REAL beauty, and memories that LAST, we must take upon us the name of Christ and live as he did--charitably and lovingly and beautifully. 

Thanks everyone for enduring all the caps, italicized, and underlined Internet preaching I do each week, but all of you really do matter and its just not enough to sit back and say an email would never help. I sincerely pray that the Spirit enters your hearts when you read these scriptures and that my words may be of some help. There is so much power in gospel study and it`s a privile

ge for me to share a portion of what I study day to day (: 

Love you all and wish you the best of the best this week! (:

Love,

Hermana Furness

No Time

Sorry friends and fam, I seriously have no time!!

But enjoy the picture of me and my companion Mariano and the pizza we ate last pday and the golden snitch (fly) I killed the other night. Keep on keepin on everyone!!

Love,

Hermana Furness