Mariana

Hello, everybody. I would just like to share with you an experience we had this week as i said it in my e-mail to my president.


"...We have an investigator named Mariana. She has a baptismal date for March 6. She just got here from Mexico. She swam across. She has more faith and more love than anyone I have ever met and every time I talk to her I feel like I am close to heaven. She's been living with this family and taking of care of their children for them. She's been to church three times now. We were never able to teach her at home because the padrona wouldn't let us, so we taught her on sundays only at church. Well, this sunday when she got to church she was a hysterical crying mess. She told us that the family she lives with had accused her of robbing them and were saying that she owed them 5,000 dollars. They said they were going to take her posessions and take her back to Mexico.

Our ward members are SO amazing. I don't think I've ever cried so many tears of gratitude in one day. One ward member after another came up and was offering her help. The members of the bishopric, sisters in the relief society, elders in the elders quorom. One brother gave her a blessing after sacrament and it was one of the most beautiful i've ever heard, i think just because the spirit was so strong. By the end of the three hours, Mariana had people offering to buy her clothes, and she had an older couple offering her to live at their home and work for them. She is now living with a family in our ward, will be able to be taught by the missionaries (we passed her off to the elders in that area since it is far away from us) and will have a more loving atmosphere. She'll be able to save up money and help the rest of her family come across. I'm so grateful for humble and loving members who are willing to sacrifice to help people in need. I've been thinking about something that one of the members told her when he was comforting her.. he said, "don't worry. nothing will happen to you. you are in the best place. you are in the church of jesus christ." earlier in that sacrament meeting, our stake president gave a talk about how we as members should be doing and saying what jesus christ would say and do. we really are in the church of jesus christ, and you can tell by the way that the sweet members took our investigator under their wing. I'm so grateful to be a missionary and a part of his church. I'm so grateful to witness christlike love and I know that it's only possible for people to love like that because they have felt the love that Christ has for them..."
One day if you ask me, I will share with you the story of how Mariana came here to the U.S... she is the most inspiring woman that I have ever met.

I hope that you all are happy and healthy.

Until next time.

Britt