First, thank you so much to everyone who sent me a Happy Birthday message! It really made my day to hear from all of you. :)
I'm just grateful for the opportunity I have to serve a mission. It really is a privilege to serve the Lord for such a short time. Here in our little tourist city of La Paz we've been working with a recent convert, Feliza, who got baptized about a month ago. It's pretty amazing to see the changes that have taken place in her life and the blessings that come from living the gospel and being baptized.
Well this week I realized the very real suffering that is in the world...My companion and I were looking for a referral, which basically means going to the neighborhood where the family lives and asking around until you find the house. While we were asking around we talked to this guy who told us to go visit and pray with his wife because she's sick. So we thought "Okay cool, that's what we do - we're missionaries" and went to find this lady. When we got to where she lives, the ground was just pure mud and there were pigs and chickens and trash everywhere. And little kids covered in dirt. So we asked the kids where this lady lives and they directed us to this house, a little sheet metal house. We went inside and this lady is just lying on her bed crying/screaming/groaning and rolling around. So we knelt down next to her and took her hand and prayed with her, and she went quiet while we prayed with her. In moments like that is when you really learn how to pray with real intent and full purpose of heart. After we prayed with her she kept crying, and pulled a bucket near her bed and threw up a little. She asked her child for water and he went looking in the dirt covered water bottle to pour her a cup of water. She has some kind of something in her stomach, but the hospital just gave her pills and they dont help that much. We talked with her for a little bit and then left. How great the impression of real suffering in the world. After that experience, all the hard things that we've been going through lately felt so insignificant.
I know that Christ went forth, "suffering pains and affliction of every kind, that he might know how to succor his people." Even in the worst cases of real suffering in the world, Christ knows exactly how each of us feel. Whether you're suffering a lot or a little, Christ has experienced it all and knows how to help and lift you up. The help is found in the Book of Mormon.
Have a great week,
-Hermana Nielsen
