Hermana Shurtz: A Sister in Zion: One Month In the Field, Where Did the Time Go?

Hola!

Well I´ve been in the field one whole month and I can´t believe how fast time is flying by. If all my transfers go as fast as this one did I will be home before I know it (I try not to think about that). Its crazy to me all the lessons I´ve learned in just the past 30 days. How my soul has been challenged, how my body has been through the ringer, my patience pushed to the edge. What a beautiful test God has allowed me to go through. It´s so much better then the ACT. I wanted to share four things I´ve learned en just this short time.

1. I Have the Best Boss!

God has allowed me to work in a part of his vinyard. Really I know that He could do this work without me, infact He probably could do it 100x better by himself then with these inexperienced young kids running around the world trying to preach His gospel. But, he doesn't. He allows us to work with Him, because He wants us to enjoy what he enjoys. Saving people. Talking to them, having compassion for others. He wants to share that with us. My trainer told me this once when I got frustrated after we had been fired for the third time in a row "We are out on the streets because God, wants us to be in the streets." How true that is. Everything I am doing (or trying to do) is the way He knows will bring me, and others the most happiness.

2. The Importance of Keeping Appointments

I have been fired. Alot. People don't show up to appointments. Alot. They turn off their phone, ignore our calls. Never say sorry. And yet, we schedule another with them. Because we know how important this message is and how much it will bless them, even if we know they will fire us, again. We´ve made an appointment with Christ once we were baptized, we would go to church, we would say our prayers, we would read our scriptures. We promise to show up, however sometimes things seem more appealing. So we don´t show up. We turn off our phones. We ignore His texts. But really because He loves us so much he keeps setting new appointments, and sometimes we follow through, others we skip. But everytime He is there waiting, hoping we will show up because He knows how important this message is for all of us.

3. Failure is Not an Option

Planting seeds is necessary. If you don´t plant seeds how do you expect a full on tree to grow? So when people shew me away or give me their favorite finger in passing, I´m not failing. I only fail if I don´t plant the seed. One time I had a question come to my heart "Do you have the faith that if you don't baptize them, someone else will?" Do I have the faith that every minute preaching this gospel is for not? Sometimes its easy to say "oh they´ll never join the church." Why is that? Is this not His true church, that can heal, help, any person with any situation? If we believe that then we can never discard those black sheep. Lehi, even knowing his sons would likely never change, NEVER gave up on Lamen and Lemuel. Because he believed. Failure is not an option. I will be on that street planting seeds, knowing that even if today isn't their time in the future it could be. So be kind, reach out to everyone because we never know when God has softened the hearts of the people or not.

4. Everyone is a Child of God

One of the blessings in Spain that I never expected to witness was to see so many people from all around the world. A few years back there was a huge surge of immigration to Spain do to its economic rise, and so I have met people from all over the world. My barrio (ward) is so diverse. I have people from England, Germany, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, etc. I´ve eaten food from all over the world. I´ve heard different accents of Spanish. I´ve heard people use different words for the same thing. Yet you know what all these people have in common? Everyone´s eyes light up when they learn about the Savior and His love for us. Everyone smiles when they hear me mispronounce a word in Spanish. Everyone has someone that they love. We are very much all the same. It´s been so beautiful to see that. This mixture of people from everywhere, and yet in reality we are all the same. All children of a loving God. How amazing is that to know?

These are just a few of the amazing things I´ve learned in just this month of being en the field. I can´t believe how blessed I am to witness all these miracles. I know that God lives. I know this is His work. I love my Savior. I love you all, and I pray that you participate in His work however way you can, because I promise the blessings are uncountable. Thank you for your support, I love you all and miss you all SO much. I brag about you all, and love sharing stories from home. I´ll see you soon.

Con Amor,

Hermana Shurtz