I know it is quickly becoming redundant to say that it was another crazy week… but I think that the madness of the mission has become the norm for me, so it is just a matter of adapting to the craziness. I love the mission, and really the Lord taught me so much this week. I am way to much of a control freak and I really learned that I don’t need to stress out to much because the Lord really takes care of me and always shows us miracles.

Really there were so many tender mercies this week. All week long we had meetings in Santa Ana with the other leaders and with the Zone. Along with the madness of leadership, we also had to finish moving all of the stuff out of the house in Progresso. We officially only have one house now, and I am so grateful for that tender mercy… I wasn’t too keen about living in two houses at the same time. We missed buses, had tons of bags of trash, but always got to where we needed to be in time, and our house is not too messy. The responsibility of Training Leader has not driven me completely crazy, so that is another plus. But this week we will start to do interchanges with the sisters to help them in their own areas. I am excited, but I have no idea what to expect.

I think the greatest miracle this week was our baptism on Saturday. I have not had a convert baptism in months, and the Lord finally poured out his blessings. I don’t think that I have ever fought harder for a baptism. This young woman, Tania, is a miracle. Though she is from the old area of Sister Rodriguez, and I did not really do anything, it was such an honor and a blessing to feel of her sweet spirit. Tania has been listening to the sisters for a long time, but was always making excuses to not be baptized, mostly out of fear. But, she finally accepted the date, passed her baptismal interview, and we finally came to the final day before her baptism. She called us in the morning with new doubts, we could not find keys to the church, or witnesses, or white clothes, and we had an hour window to have the baptism. There was so much madness going on, but I felt a great peace in my heart and I knew that everything would be okay.

And, the Lord took care of everything. She made it to the church in time, we had witnesses, and water in the font, and she looked beautiful in her white dress and the spirit we felt was so strong. Not many people could come so I had to conduct the baptism… I had no idea what I was doing, but I was so happy I could not take the goofy smile off my face. After the baptism, Tania told me, “When I entered the water I felt a great emptiness in my soul but as I left the water I was filled with the spirit. I feel happy.” Such a miracle. Though I had not taught her that much, I felt the spirit so strong and so much love for her. I love the Lord, and I am so grateful for his tender mercies.

The miracles did not stop there. On Sunday, we had so many investigators come to church. Well, considering that our area has two wards and we were running all over Juayua to make sure people were in church, it was a miracle. We had been fasting to be able to find someone that is prepared and ready to accept the gospel. We walked into the chapel and there, sitting reverently and waiting to listen, was an ancient investigator that I taught once with Hermana Little. I had honestly almost forgotten about her, she never could come to church, and we had lost contact for about a month. But she had vacations and felt the desire to go. She called a member and asked her if she could go to church with her. We talked to her a little after the meetings and she said that she loved church, and that she wanted to be baptized. Hermana Rodriguez and I were literally dancing with joy!

I know that if we are patient the Lord will bless us. All we have got to do is keep the faith and work our hardest and keep doing what we know is right. I love you all so much. Be happy! Be patient. Be epic!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Hermana Hipol