And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.‏ March 23, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been a week of blessings. I am often shocked at how merciful and loving God is to us. According to justice, we merit nothing, but thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, God literally showers blessings upon us. 

And this week, it literally and spiritually rained. 

I love bike areas. 

We had the opportunity to do some service this week too! We helped clean out a house that hasn't been cleaned since Hurricane Ike. 

Notice the ceiling. It really was fun though. And the women we were helping were some of the cutest ladies ever. 

Lucy and Maria are sisters. They had the coolest stories to tell us and the home itself had a lot of history. It was a blessing to serve and get to associate with such kind people.

Also, Ramon got the Aaronic Priesthood! He asked us to sit in ordination to the office of a Priest. It was such a special experience and I feel so blessed to be part of his progression in the Gospel. 

This week as we were biking down the street someone driving saw us and yelled out the window "HOLA!!!!!" They then pulled over and we found out they used to be an investigator but just kind of lost contact with missionaries. Anyway, he told us that he first came into contact with the church in 1990 but he feels ready to change his life and wants to be baptized on May 1st. Whattttt? So cool. His name is Eric. And he is from El Salvador! 

I know that with life challenges, also come the blessings. President Utchdorf said:

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"Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. In reality, Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that,like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us.

His commandments are the loving instructions and the divine help for us to close the umbrella so we can receive the shower of heavenly blessings."

I am so grateful for the storms and the blessings that get rained upon us during them. 

I know that God really wants to bless us and if we allow him to, He will shower down blessings in a way that we can hardly receive them. I hope we all choose obedience and blessings this week.

-Hermana Ries