Miracles Siempre :)

Hey, everyone! This week was really great. 

Not just because Luis got baptized...that´s just part of it :)

Our week started off with interviews with President, which are always great. I always feel like he really cares about me personally and wants me to progress. I´ve got so much to learn and I´m always learning from him :)

We´ve had a hard time getting a hold of our investigators, but we keep looking for them. We want them to hear our message :)

We went on divisions this Friday, and, finally, Luis decides that he´s going to be baptized :) Saturday was his birthday, and his friends had planned a giant trip to Granada for the whole weekend. He knew that baptism and church were more important, but he didn´t want to disappoint his friends. But he came to the realization that this was a trial the Lord had given him to test his faith. And he passed :) At about 9:45pm we called him (as he asked us to) and told us that YES! He would get baptized that day.

I decided to keep it a secret from Hermana Knowlton, just to surprise her :) Until the next morning when she got back and we had "An important appointment with Luis". She was so nervous, but then so relieved when he told her that he´d be baptized.

And so he was :) He was so nervous at first but afterward, he was smiling and taking pictures of everything. And of course we sang to him because it´s his birthday :) He´s giving up so much to be a member, he´s even having problems with his job. But he´s passing the tests with flying colors and I know he´ll keep growing spiritually.

We also watched the Women´s session of general conference. It was so beautiful. I loved every single bit of it and can´t wait for this weekend :)

And then there was a crazy storm and the power went out. And we walked home for 20 minutes in literally pitch black darkness. The only light we had were the lightning bolts every now and then, haha.

And yesterday we had two fabulous lessons. One on the temple with Adriana and her boyfriend and their family, which was great for her to learn more about the temple, to give her an idea of where she should get married, and also for the family, to remind them of their ultimate goal, to be sealed in the temple.

The other lesson was with a new investigator family. They weren´t so positive until we taught lesson 1, the Restoration. They understood everything perfectly. They had so many questions, and when we testified about Joseph Smith and the first vision, something changed in the mom´s eyes. I know the kids are all curious, but the mom was truly touched, and they all committed to reading the Book of Mormon. I´m so excited to see how they progress in the gospel :D

Alright, time to hop off now. I love you all and hope you have a great week! Don´t forget to prepare spiritually for General Conference, and then have some paper and a pen handy! You´ll get so much out of it that way :)

Love, Hermana Oliphant

Fotos:

1. Our baptism set up :) The pila just barely got painted and they added stairs. "I knew they did it just for me!" - Luis

2. Taking selfies on a setting that gives us flawless skin...I like it

3. Before the baptism...he was kind of nervous

4-6. After when he was feeling better :)

Earthquakes, Miracles, and the Gospel :)

Hey, everyone :)

So this week has been so amazing. We´ve been finding so many escogidos (chosens) here in Nagarote. That´s the main thing I´ve learned here is that the Lord puts the chosen people in our path when we´re obedient, opening our mouth, and in the right place at the right time. 

One of our progressing investigators, Luis, is really truly changing through the gospel. It´s incredible to see him come to church on his own, and he´s expressed to us that he´s in his own little repentance process, trying to align himself with the teachings of the gospel. Not in so many words, but it´s so obvious, and we hope that he can make the decision to be baptized :)

And we had a great lesson with a guy named Franklin. Meeting him is a long story. But I´ll be fast ;) We took a triciclo to get home one night, and we contacted the guy on the triciclo. He was really interested, so we put a return appointment and showed up to his house the next day. We ended up contacting his next door neighbors. She was sitting outside talking on the phone, and there was another guy who didn´t look too interested, so I didn´t think about contacting them. But then something urged me to talk to them so I talked to the guy who wasn´t on the phone :) Then once the woman got off the phone, she went to put it back inside and came out to ask us questions. She was actually so interested, and had so many questions about the Book of Mormon and wanted to read it. So we´ve been visiting her and her family this week. (Her name is Hayling)

So Franklin is Hayling´s brother. She wasn´t home last night so we ended up talking to Franklin about the restoration. The Spirit was so strong in the lesson, and when we talked about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the church and the priesthood, his indifferent demeanor changed when he asked this simple question: "Wait, so are you saying that there´s a prophet on the earth right now?" What a beautiful question! We were so happy to answer it, and to keep answering his questions. When we invited him to be baptized, he asked about how long it would take to prepare himself. When we told him it was up to him, and challenged him to prepare for a date in a month from yesterday, he accepted :)

And we´ve been seeing so many miracles from teaching Lesson 1 powerfully, with the Spirit, and then inviting people to be baptized afterward. 

I love being a missionary, and I love the power and authority I have to defend the word and help the world understand the love of their Heavenly Father and the need to come unto Him and to be baptized by the proper authority. 

I love this work, and I love Nicaragua. I hope you all have an excellent week, and don´t forget to count your blessings, and to always remember who gave them to you :)

Con Amor, 

Hermana Oliphant

Fotos

1. So there was a 5.9 earthquake last Tuesday night in Nagarote. We ended up taking our beds outside and sleeping under the stars (behind a gate next to a members house...don´t worry) :) It´s my first big earthquake I´ve been in...don´t recommend it, haha. Thankfully the only things that fell were a ceiling tile and a curtain rod.

2&3. Our little cupcakes for my comp´s 9 month mark :)

4. Us taking selfies while our District Leader talks to us about our week. He didn´t even realize it ;)

I'm Still Alive

Hey, everyone!

Sorry, it`s been so long. I really have no excuse. I`ve just not gotten around to writing a mass email lately. But I`m still alive, I promise :) I hope you`re all doing well and that you`re all counting your daily blessings, cuz we`ve all got tons :)

This past month has been great with Hermana Nova, but changes came again...and Hermana Nova left Nagarote! Everyone`s wondering why none of my companions here can stand me, haha ;) Today I got my new companion, Hermana Knowlton. She`s from Utah, has about 9 months on the mission, and is super great. I`m so excited to work with her, and I`m so glad that I have an awesome area to show to her :) Me and Hermana Nova worked so hard to lift up the area and building relationships with the members. 

This past...month (so sorry) has been so great. Me and Hermana Nova have been working so hard finding new people to teach and taking the advice of our leaders and inviting everyone to be baptized! I wasn`t a believer in inviting people in a contact to be baptized, but actually doing it is what strengthened my faith. I thought that it would scare people away, that they`d reject us, and no one would want to listen to us. But when we started inviting EVERYONE, I began to see the blessings. The instruction made sense, and I`m so much happier and feel so much better as a missionary. It reminds me of what Christ says in John 7:

16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
 18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

I guess I can compare that to the real world, and keeping the commandments of God. We`re all kind of incredulous and prideful sometimes. We think that washing your close on Sunday isn`t that bad, or that saying your prayers lying down isn`t that big of a deal, that the song/movie/book just has a couple bad words and scenes, etc. We hear that doctors say that coffee and red wine is a little good for you, etc. We think we know better. We think that we have a better understanding of life and our needs and our problems than the Lord and that we can boss him around. But...this is God we`re talking about. He knows everything. If you ever feel a small feeling that you shouldn`t be doing something, you should stop doing it. Or if you feel a small impression to do something good, you should do it :) The Lord reveals his will to us in many ways, though prophets (modern day or through scripture) and through personal revelation (most often prompted through studying the words of the prophets or keeping other commandments). The key to making our way through life is learning to listen to and accept revelation from God. Once you`ve got that down, you`re set :)

I love this gospel, and I love the hope it gives to people. I know that not all people are ready to truly accept the gospel in this moment, but one day, what the apostle Paul said in Philippians 2 will come true:

 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Don`t ever lose hope, and don`t stop pushing even when the rock`s not moving. The Lord knows what he`s doing :)

I love you all so much!

Love, Hermana Oliphant

Pics!

1. My new companion, Hermana Knowlton. She`s very tiny. I was crouching ;)

2. Me at the awesome fountain in the central park. sitting there cooled me off from the sun :)

3. My comp in front of the park :) She`s so cute.