So, the funniest thing happened on Saturday. But before that...the back story.
We have been working with this guy named Jorge for the past 2 months.
Jorge is 35 and a recovering alcoholic. He came to Tempe from ca
because in ca he was surrounded by friends that drank as much as he
did and he couldn't fix it there. So he came here to stay with his
mom. But only thing is that he left his girlfriend behind. From what
it sounds like, she wasn't the nicest person, like she used him a lot,
like " if you don't buy me this, you don't love me." Anyways she has
been the thing that has been holding him back, but 2 weeks ago, I
guess she called him and told him that she has a new boyfriend and
that he's the man and that Jorge sucks. Man did that set him off! His
mom called us the next day and told us not to come over. But she said
he started drinking and saying "I'm gonna go and kill them, and then
I'm gonna punch them!" We thought that was pretty funny. Jorge is like
5'2" and probably couldn't hurt a fly. But it gets better, next she
told us that the lady friend is 65! Ewww! Nastiness!
The funny stuff. So on Saturday we stopped by to see Jorge, he had
seemed to cool down enough for us to feel safe going over. So when we
went by, he wasn't there but his mom was. She told us that she is
teaching Jorge a lesson about drinking. She makes all the food at
their house, so whenever he drinks, the next meal she makes him is
laced with a powdered laxative! He has had diarrhea for a week! She
was telling us that on Wednesday, they were walking to subway and he
started freaking out and just ran the rest of the way to subway
yelling "it's leaking!" He pooped his pants...twice. Hermana Rodriguez
is my hero.
On Sunday I got to speak in church which was the scariest 15 minutes of my life, and I'm pretty sure I butchered the Spanish Language, i think they understood the message.
The Boat
Good morning brothers and sisters. For those of you who don't know me,
I'm Sister Raynor. I am from Modesto, CA and today actually marks my
eighth month in the mission. Well, before I begin, I would just like
to give thanks to Google Translate for making this Spanish translation
possible!
The subject of my talk today comes from one of my favorite stories
from the New Testament. It is the part in Matthew chapter 14 where the
Apostles are in a boat and they see Christ walking on the water.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come
unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he
walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning
to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him.
I love this story because at times I feel like Peter. As a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I like peter desire
to come unto Christ. I can say I have not been asked to walk on
water, yet I have done many things to come to Christ. Things that
compelled me, like peter, to leave my nice dry boat to follow him.
For me, this stepping out of the boat just happened quite recently.
So, be excited because it's story time! When I got my mission
call-almost a year ago- it said something like "Sister Raynor, you
are called to labor in the Arizona Tempe mission. You are to teach the
Gospel in the English Language." For me this wasn't stepping out of
the boat, I remember thinking, " I'm a ward missionary, this whole
mission thing is gonna be easy." It turns out in the teaching aspect,
I was right. Those first five months were easy. But then it's the
night of transfer calls, and I got a call from our mission president,
and our conversation went something like this: "Sister Raynor, at this
time, the Lord needs you to be a Spanish Missionary, will you accept
this new assignment?... President Toone, I don't really speak
Spanish... Sister Raynor, does the Lord call the qualified or does he
qualify the called?...President Toone, I accept." After five months of
just lounging in the boat, it was time to step out.
Since then I had been able to get by. The two companions I have had
since being reassigned were both fluent so I could get by with the
little Spanish I knew. But then something awful happened...we went on
exchanges! An exchange is something that missionaries use to do one on
one training with other missionaries. When we went on our exchange, I
was to remain in our area with another sister who did not speak any
Spanish. As we went to our first lesson, I was asked a question, and I
can clearly remember struggling to find the words to answer it. I was
at the point of giving up, when i like peter cried out in my mind
"Lord, Save me" and immediately the words came to me.
I had stepped out of the boat and as I began to sink, but when I asked
for help, immediately it was given. The path to discipleship can be
scary at times and we may be asked to do hard things, but I know that
if we are following Christ, He will help us along the way. I leave
these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
El Barco
Buenos Dias hermanos y hermanas. Para aquellos de ustedes que no me
conocen, soy Hermana Raynor. Soy de Modesto, California, y hoy cumplo
ocho meses en la misión. Pues, antes de comenzar, me gustaría dar las
gracias al Google Translate por hacer esta traducción posible al
español.
El tema de mi discurso de hoy proviene de una de mis historias
favoritas del Nuevo Testamento. Es en Mateo capítulo catorce, donde
los Apóstoles están en un barco y que ven caminando a Cristo en el
agua.
28 Entonces le respondió Pedro y dijo: Señor, si eres tú, manda que yo
vaya a ti sobre las aguas.
29 Y él dijo: Ven. Y descendió Pedro de la barca y anduvo sobre las
aguas para ir a Jesús.
30 Mas al ver el viento fuerte, tuvo miedo y, comenzando a hundirse,
dio voces, diciendo: ¡Señor, sálvame!
31 Y al momento Jesús, extendiendo la mano, le sujetó
Me encanta esta historia porque a veces me siento como Pedro. Como
miembro de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días,
yo como Pedro deseo de venir a Cristo. Yo no puedo decir que se me ha
pedido que caminar sobre el agua, todavía, pero he hecho muchas cosas
para venir a Cristo. Cosas que me obligaron, como Pedro, dejar mi
bonito y cómodo barco seco y que lo siguiera.
Para mí, este paso de salir de la Barca acaba de suceder hace poco
tiempo. llegué a mi misión llamada casi un año atrás- mi llamamiento
misional así decía "hermana Raynor, estáis llamados a trabajar en la
misión de Arizona en Tempe. Vas a enseñar el Evangelio en el idioma
Inglés." Para mí esto no es caminar sobre las aguas, recuerdo haber
pensado, "soy una misionera de barrio, todo la misión va a ser fácil
en cuanto a la enseñanza, no me equivoqué esos primeros cinco meses
fueron fáciles. Pero entonces en la noche de las llamadas de cambios,
y me llamo nuestro presidente de misión, y nuestra conversación fue
algo asi "Hermana Raynor, en este momento, el Señor necesita que seas
una misionera español, va a aceptar esta nueva asignación ? ...
Presidente Toone, yo realmente no hablo español ... Hermana Raynor,
el Señor llama a los calificados o él califica el llamamiento?
...Presidente Toone, yo acepto." Después de cinco meses de simplemente
descansar en el barco, ya era hora de salir.
Desde entonces yo había sido capaz de salir adelante. Las dos
compañeras que he tenido desde que fui reasignada hablan fluidamente,
así que podría usar el poco español que yo sabía. Pero entonces
sucedió algo terrible ... Tuvimos intercambios! Los intercambios son
para recibir entrenamiento. Cuando fuimos a nuestro intercambio, debía
permanecer en el area con otra hermana, que no hablaba nada de
español. Cuando fuimos a nuestra primera lección, un investigadora
hizo una pregunta. y puedo recordar claramente como luchaba para
encontrar las palabras para responderle. Yo estaba a punto de darme
por vencida, entonces como Pedro grité en mi mente: "Señor, sálvame" y
de inmediato las palabras vinieron a mí.
Yo había salido de la embarcación y me hundí , pero cuando le pedí
ayuda, El de inmediato me ayudo. se qué el camino al discipulado puede
dar miedo a veces y se que se nos va a pedir hacer cosas difíciles,
pero sé que si estamos siguiendo a Cristo, Él nos ayudará en el
camino. Dejo estas cosas con ustedes en el nombre de Jesucristo, Amén.
