for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven

Dear Family and Friends,

It was a super good week! We worked hard, saw miracles and served the Lord! 

This week, we had worked really hard and were supposed to have a lot of people attending church. We were so excited for them! 

Well, Sunday rolled around. Some people were sick, others had work, and some just didn't show up or answer their phones. This is a pretty common disappointment for missionaries. 

As I sat in Sunday school in Spanish I felt disappointed. I thought "what did I do wrong?" " What could I do differently to change the outcome?" Then we read this verse Doctrine and Covenants 62:3, which is a promise to missionaries: 

Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.

My thoughts changed and my heart softened. I have made a lot of mistakes this week. There are things that I could have done differently, and this week I will be better. But every time I shared my testimony, it was written down. 

(Jolette, Me, Yeni)

And even if everyone didn't come to church, I got to share my testimony with this cute family ^^^

(Hermana C and me)

I got to laugh with our recent convert when he pulled out these hats for us and suggested that we cut off the top to wear our helmets over. 

(me, Hermano Ramon, Hermano Jose) 

We got to help Hermano Jose get closer to baptism. 

Hermano Jose is awesome. He has been investigating for a few months now, and just told us he wants to be baptized! But he is still working on his testimony of The Book of Mormon and knowing if Joseph Smith was a prophet. Please pray that he'll be able to receive and recognize his answer!

Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that our own personal questions and doubts are important. Even missionaries have doubts. It's okay if we don't understand everything. I tell people all the time that I don't have an answer to some things. But I do know some things to be true.

I know that the Savior lives. I know that He had a church and it was lost. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know He received Priesthood authority from John the Baptist and Peter, James and John, and because of that, families can be together forever, and we can have peace in this life and eternal life.

The rest, well, I'm okay if I still have questions. 

God loves us, He will answer us. I invite all of you to ask our Heavenly Father questions and search in the scriptures and have faith that He'll give us the answers we need, when we need them. 

-Hermana Ries