Expectations

Hola todos!

 

I have been studying a lot about hope lately.  In spanish the word for 'to hope' is esperar, which also means 'to wait' and 'to expect'.  I think that hope and expect are synonymns.  God expects us to hope for success, or to expect success.  Then he expects us to work as hard as we can for success.  Then he will bless us with miracles. 

 

This has been the pattern for the last week.  We have been expecting God to bless us with miracles, specifically with new investigators who are going to go to church, and get baptized and confirmed, and then live worthy of their covenants for the rest of their lives.  As we have been expecting this, we have been diligently praying and asking for the Lord's help, and we have been diligently working, doing all we can to find these people. 

 

And our expectations, or our hopes, are starting to be realized.  God is blessing us with miracles, and I expect him to continue to do so.  It has been an amazing week, and we have found so many new investigators. 

 

You really do get what you expect, or hope for!

 

On Tuesday, we had officially dropped all of our old investigators.  We started completely brand new, and expected miracles from the Lord.  And on Wednesday, we received one of our miracles.  We were driving to a lesson with a member (to Hector and Flor :D, they are investigators again!)  Hermana Powell got a phone call, so she answered it, and it was this really nice Hispanic man who lives near Decatur.  He had gone to the English ward in Decatur, and loved it!  But, he couldn't understand it, and really wanted to come to a church in Spanish. 

 

His name is Fransisco, and he and his family came to church on Sunday.  They drove for more than an hour to get to church, and stayed for all three hours (plus a mini-lesson after church), without ever even meeting us, or having received a lesson from us!  We are so excited for Fransisco and his wife, Teresa, and their son, Alex, and his wife, Marta!  We are going to have a lesson with them on Tuesday (our ward mission leader and his daughter is going to drive us out there).  It is going to take our entire Tuesday evening, but they are worth it! 

 

We have been finding a bunch of other investigators as well, and we are so excited for many of them.  

 

Funny story this week:  We knocked a door, and a hispanic man came out, so Hermana Powell started talking to him in Spanish.  He responded in German.  Hermana Powell didn't know what was going on, so she continued in Spanish.  Needless to say, it was quite amusing!  (We found one of the few hispanics who get offended when we speak to them in Spanish.)

 

Les quiero,

Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

 

P.S. Moroni 7

 

 

Going bowling on P Day for Sister Powell's birthday!

 

 Nancy and I.

 

This what happens when someone from California hits 50 degree weather! :D

 

Here is another recipe for Pasole.  This one is from Hermana Cuevas.

• Blend for a very long time, at least 20 minutes.
• chile guajelocajo (These are very big and are not spicy),
• cumin,
• water,
• 1 tbsp salt,
• 2 (unfried, from the store) corn tortillas. 
•  Boil
• spine of pig
• 1/2 an onion (don't chop it up, just put it in)
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp chicken boullion
• Pour the salsa into the meat mix through a strainer.  (Throw away the strained part, or save it to make chorizo)
• Rinse 2 large cans of hominy and add to the pot.
• Add 2 whole bay leaves.
• Cook for a while, then serve.  (remove the bay leaves and onion)
• Top with shredded lettuce, and chopped radishes.

Ensalada de Tuna.    This recipe is from Hermana Cuevas

pasta
corn
green beans
peas
tuna
mayo
vinager
Mix together and serve cold on tostados.