Wo zhi dao ye su ji du shi wo de jui zhu
(I know Jesus Christ is our Savior) -- Mandarin!
My mandarin is kicking butt!! Hahaha, I love this. All the asian people we take on yours tell me my pronunciation is great and that I should look into studying it.. baha! Not gunna happen. but its fun to bear testimony in Mandarin..
The weeks are simply going faster and faster. Transfers are NEXT WEEK! Whoa.. totally blows my mind. Crazy to me!! I've already been back from Louisiana for almost a whole 6 weeks!!! :( I miss it there so much!! But Temple Square is so incredibly full of miracles and wonders galore. I could never decide between the two.
Highlight of this week though -- we ended up taking this tour of 2 couples. Both were Jewish and from Jerusalem!! So awesome. We have certain protocols we have to abide by when people are from Jerusalem (respect for their government) and so we can't invite them to keep in contact with us, go to church over there, etc. It was a great time though regardless & I feel since being here on Temple Square I've felt such an increase of my knowledge in other faiths. I must say though, taking them to the big statue of Christ at first - was a little unnerving.. but I had an incredibly spiritual warmth overcome me as I bore my testimony about the Savior. The people were so kind and extremely respectful. They were so surprised about the Book of Mormon and were really interested in Lehi & his family's journey out of Jerusalem. I'm pretty sure I heard at one point that they believe in a prophet named Lehi but they are not sure what happened to him and his family. Soo, its basically one of my favorite things to share with people who are Jews (especially bc they ask so much about it!). I am so thankful that we were able to experience that. By the end one of the lady's came to me and said "Thank you for your enthusiasm. We are teachers (pointing to her and the other woman) but you have taught us so much" & Then she asked to take a picture with us. It was a really incredible experience & I'm so thankful for it!
We also were teaching this guy who I met in Louisiana during my first two weeks. He still hasn't met with local missionaries, but it turns out that he is just really not ready. We had our last phone call with him and it was SO hard. :( He says he will read the book of mormon with an open heart and mind, but it has already been closed. Nothing we say even mattered and during that last phone call i just remember my face turning so red because our conversation was going in circles and just as I learned in the MTC - I am NOT a lawyer & I'm not here to PROVE anything.. that's the Holy Spirits job. I'm just here to deliver the message. It was rough for me. But well, what was incredible was that then I really felt I needed to call Gene & Lindsey from back in Louisiana & talking to them flipped my mood 180 degrees! Gene just gave a talk in Stake Conference on Saturday night (Stake conference is when multiple congregations around the area get together for a meeting)!!!!! I called him Saturday afternoon & he was telling me how excited and nervous he was. He ended up reading me his talk & he was asked to speak on his conversion. Having heard him share his story of how his life was and the lack of hope and happiness he felt to then having everything feel great, was absolutely phenomenal! He even talked about me & sister wily in it for a little bit and there was absolutely nothing more touching. I am so grateful for him and his testimony. I know that I was sent to Louisiana to find them & i know the Lord knew I would be uplifted by calling him. I love those two!!!!
I just find it so fascinating talking to people from all different parts of the world. I met 7 of these men in their early 20s and late teens in the tabernacle.. all from IRAQ! It was so awesome talking to them and they even taught me some arabic! Their names were so much fun too. Asad, Mustafa, Gassim, Mosaab, 2 Mohammad's, & Ali. We just had a good discussion about things we have in common, some important differences, etc. They loved that I went to a Muslim Mosque though. It was really a fun experience. I would say that those are some of the biggest highlights of my week...
Taking it day by day - some days are more spiritual than others, but I am SO thankful for the time I have right now to be serving. Not any time to be mopey!
Love you all! Please write me!!! :D
Love,
Sister Corina Selene Cuevas
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