"The first twelve weeks"

HI! GUESS WHAT? I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

guess what else? i got bit by a dog this week. so that was emotional. i cried a lot that day. it hurt.

also, i got sick this week. i still don´t feel very good. but it was crazy because i never get sick in the mission. but it was the typical nose, ears, throat stuff. i felt like i was talking in a cave all week. 

despite my lack of energy, it was a good week. i learned lots of stuff. ah i just love the mission. we´ve been studying out of a book called "the first 12 weeks". and this week we talked a lot about the fact that we teach people, not lessons. as missionaries, we have to ask inspired questions, listen, then disern the needs of the investigators and then teach. then i can be guided by the spirit to help my investigators. i haven´t been too good at asking questions lately...so i set goals to be better in that. i know that God knows his children better than i do, so it´s important for me to "go to heaven" and figure out what God wants me to say. the lesson is never ever about us...it´s about the investigators. and when we teach people instead of lessons, it´s not "here do this" its "how can we help you to want to do this. heaven respects agency, so when we ask questions and then listen what they say, it draws out of the person rather then drag them.

also, we´ve been working harder in doing street contacts. when elder ballard came to the mission he told us if we want to teach more people we have to talk to more people. last week in district meeting we talked about doing contacts, and doing them good. we saw a lot of miracles this week with our contacts...and we talked to almost 80 people in the streets. it was pretty great.

anyways, i still loving being a missionary! i can´t believe today is the first day of the last week of the transfer. IT WENT BY WAY TOO FAST! hermana jenkins and i are praying we´ll get one more transfer together! 

i know the chruch is true! i love the gospel with all my heart.

con amor, hermana steele

Loving the New Testament (Matt. 13)

hola familia!

general conference was so great right?! did you love it!? do you have favorite talks? what did you learn? we watched it in spanish this time so that was cool...i felt the same spirit as i do when i listen in english. i had 6 questions that i wanted answered and guess what? i got answers to them all! cool right?! it´s so obvious that this is the true church. i feel so blessed to be a member of it. i know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. i know he has been called of God to lead and guide us back to our Father in Heaven. I love him and all the other apostles. 

i loved how almost all the speakers talked about who we are (children of God) and who we can become if we follow Chirst and His perfect example & if we use our agency wisely. the gospel is so simple and all we have to do is live it and keep the commandments to be truly happy.

so i´ve been reading the new testament a lot lately! I LOVE IT. who knew right? i love love love reading about the life and miracles of Jesus Christ. this last week i studied the different parables of Chirst in Matt. 13. i think my one of myfavorites was the parable of the sower. it applies to us now that conference is over and what we will do with what we learned. in the parable, Christ talks about 4 different kinds of soil. the wayside path where no seed can take root, the thin layer of soil covering bed-rock where a seed may sprout but can never mature, the weed field where a seed may try to grow but will be killed by the thorns and thistles. and then there´s the seed that falls in good, deep, rich soil...free from weeds and prepared for the sowing. so it takes root and grows. so we all have the same seed to plant...we all heard the same words at conference. where will we plant our seeds? will we let it fall upon a hardened heart? or will we let it take root for a "season" but then let it die? or will we let the tempations of satan tangle us up in the weeds? or will we plant our seed in the clean rich soil...will we APPLY and LIVE what we´ve learned and felt? it is my hope that we plant the seeds in the right soil. and remember why we do the things we do and to remember that it´s important to follow the prophet because he knows the way. 

ok funny story. saturday we went to lunch at a members house (like always) and the lady gave us SO MUCH food (like always). so she left the table to get our dessert and we fed our food to the dog. it was SO funny. so just so you know, it really does happen.

well family i love you LOTS. i hope you have a great week! thanks for all your prayers and support. i love being a missionary!

love, hermana steele