"Perhaps the congregation can sing with you..."

Hello Everyone!

This was one of the greatest weeks of my whole mission, because of one of the most AMAZING spiritual experiences I was able to have here!!

Also, sorry, this computer is a bit...special, so the format is really foreign, and I can´t send pictures, but YES:) I am so grateful to have found an internet store. When there is a holiday in Bolivia, EVERYONE takes a break, and hardly anyone works, haha:) 

Funny: We decided to sing with the elders in our ward to introduce ourselves as missionaries. This was a super great intention, but we ran into the difficulty that perhaps not everyone could sing very well...20 minutes before sacrament meeting, we were practicing upstairs and the bishop heard us...his first approach to fix the problem was to kindly say "not everyone sings right up close to the microphone. Perhaps you could stand to the side" ...:) Upon hearing us for 5 minutes more, he kindly made another suggestion "perhaps the congregation can sing with you!"HAHAHA:D:D We ended up singing the first part as missionaries, and the congregation kindly joined us;D

Cultural: As stated above, nobody works on holidays, haha:)

Spiritual: Hermana Lopez and I are working a lot with the other Hermanas to feel happy and confident with their areas (especially with contacting), but also in our own area. We have really tried to recognize who are the progressing investigators and how teach with more power. In doing so, we were able to see a GRAND miracle last night: 

We were about to knock on a door to visit an old investigator when we stopped and felt the urge to pray first. We knocked and the old investigator´s sister answered the door. She had previously heard from missionaries for 5 years, but was always very closed off when they came. This night was different. She expressed to us some of the concerns in her life, which lead us to ask if we could share a scripture with her. She ended up inviting us in and we had the MOST POWERFUL LESSON of my whole mission! The spirit was incredibly strong, and we were sure to accredit and recognize the spirit too! During the lesson we were all in and out of crying and by the end of the lesson, we asked her to pray. She was extremely hesitant, but after the prayer, we opened our eyes to find that she had tears in her eyes. She expressed that she had NEVER FELT THAT WAY BEFORE because she had NEVER PRAYED THAT WAY BEFORE! 

After the lesson, Hna Lopez and I reflected on the experience and expressed that with every prompting, invitation, or question, we felt very scared to do it (the investigator was very intimidating), but we did it anyway and with confidence and love. We both recently read a talk together which quotes "If you want to punch Satan in the mouth, open your mouth and preach!" We did just that, and because we followed the spirit, we had one of the most powerful experiences of the mission. 

At the close of the lesson, we practically pranced out the door, and were shouting and laughing with joy. As soon as we descended the large hill that lead to her house, we immediately knelt in the dirt and made sure to thank God for the amazing experience! 

I love you all! Have a great week:D

Hermana Garff