#letter37

Hello! Surprise, we have PDay today (Saturday) instead of Monday because Dr. Burton is coming here on Monday. I have to say, it was a little weird to have PDay on a Saturday. There is nobody outside and half the restaurants and stores are closed because it's the weekend. We were able to find a place to write though after walking around a little which was a miracle! Phew!

First Aid Training

This week we had the opportunity to teach the missionaries here in Quito about different basic situations that could happen and how to treat them. The first was with our zone and then another with the zones of Calderon and Ofeila. I thought that I would be nervous to teach in Spanish in front of 50+ missionaries, but I wasn't at all. It was actually super fun. I loved every minute of it! It made me want to teach at an university when I get home. haha.

I wanted to do an activity for the missionaries so that they could actually practice different situations and learn hands on. So, I came up with a game or activity that would be fun and also help them practice the steps that they would need to do if it happened to them. First, we split the missionaries into different groups and then had one missionary in the group come up to the front. We had a missionary read the situation and then the missionaries that were representing their groups had to pick out 2 medications that would help the missionary in the situation then return to their group and act out the situation. There were only a limited amount of medications so they had to think fast of what they would before another group picked it. They had 2 minutes to act it out and help the missionary in the situation. I went around to each group to see what they were doing and to help them then afterwards we explained to the whole group what they needed to do for the situations. Some of the topics we reviewed were cuts with severe bleeding, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fainting, burns, loss of consciousness, choking, allergic reaction, sprained ankle, and something in their eye. It went really well! All of the missionaries participated and had a good time (at least it looked like they had a good time).

Dr. Burton's Visit

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday our mission doctor, Dr. Burton, will be coming to review our hospital. I made a schedule with doctors in different specialties, administration, and tours of the different areas of the hospital for Monday andTuesday. We will be going with him for all of the appointments and tours. All of the doctors have been really helpful and willing to meet with him and show him the areas that otherwise we would not be able to enter without a patient which I am so grateful for.

The purpose of his visit is because our current rating of our hospital is only good and we believe it could be excellent rating. It really is such a nice hospital and the majority of the doctors studied in the States. We are hoping that with the change it will provide more of an opportunity for senior missionaries to be able to serve in our mission. The Williamsons will be going home next month (SO SAD). We love them and they do so much for the mission. We currently do not have a replacement for them and a big reason is because of our rating for the hospital. If we can change the rating of our hospital we go from 20% missionary applicants being able to come to our mission to 85% or above.

I am really excited to get to know Dr. Burton and his wife. The nurse for the other mission and I will be going to lunch with him and his wife Wednesday. We will also have the opportunity to have a training with him Wednesday.

No Time

We have not had any time in our sector this week. We have missed seeing and teaching our investigators. We are hoping though that our investigators will be able to come to stake conference this week.

Repentance                                                                                                   

Our training with President this month was about teaching repentance. That sometimes we teach a lot about faith in Jesus Christ and baptism, but fail to explain the importance of repentance. Not only repentance, but the specific steps that need to be taken when we repent.

Elder Richard talks about these steps in his talk "Finding Forgivenes" which I have copied for you all to see.

Sorrow for sin. Study and ponder to determine how serious the Lord defines your transgression to be. That will bring healing sorrow and remorse. It will also bring a sincere desire for change and a willingness to submit to every requirement for forgiveness. Alma taught, “Justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.”9

Abandonment of sin. This is an unyielding, permanent resolve to not repeat the transgression. By keeping this commitment, the bitter aftertaste of that sin need not be experienced again. Remember: “But unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return.”Joseph Smith declared: “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily repentance is not … pleasing in the sight of God.”

Confession of sin. You always need to confess your sins to the Lord. If they are serious transgressions, such as immorality, they need to be confessed to a bishop or stake president. Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done. Remember, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

Restitution for sin. You must restore as far as possible all that which is stolen, damaged, or defiled. Willing restitution is concrete evidence to the Lord that you are committed to do all you can to repent.

Obedience to all the commandments. Full obedience brings the complete power of the gospel into your life with strength to focus on the abandonment of specific sins. It includes things you might not initially consider part of repentance, such as attending meetings, paying tithing, giving service, and forgiving others. The Lord said: “He that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven.”

Recognition of the Savior. Of all the necessary steps to repentance, I testify that the most critically important is for you to have a conviction that forgiveness comes because of the Redeemer. It is essential to know that only on His terms can you be forgiven. Witness Alma’s declaration: “I was … in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But … I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.”You will be helped as you exercise faith in Jesus Christ.That means you trust Him and you trust His teachings. Satan would have you believe that serious transgression cannot be entirely overcome. The Savior gave His life so that the effects of all transgression can be put behind us, save the shedding of innocent blood and the denial of the Holy Ghost.

As we practiced teaching these steps, my companion and I learned the importance of teaching through asking inspired questions that would help our investigators think and reflect in their lives and also the importance of using the scriptures to teach each step. I know the prophet's words are more powerful than our own. I know that if we apply these steps into our daily lives, we will feel the power of the Atonement work in our lives. That we can find true happiness. I know that each step is critical for us to find true happiness and forgiveness.

I love this gospel! I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for His sacrifice for me. That because of what He did for us we can have more happiness than we can imagine in this life and for the eternties. That we have purpose to our lives because of the Atonement.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Love always,

I wanted the previous post to be my last letter to you, but I need to write out my feelings. And chances are you won't read these anyway, so why the hell not.

I thought I had forgiven you. Maybe I have, for the most part. But thinking about you still hurts. Seeing your name hurts. I want to erase you from my life, but I can't run away. I owe myself this much. 

I envy the way you can just decide not to care about something. How you could just change your mind about the way you felt about someone. Was I that bad? Did I fuck up so horribly to make you not even want to work things out? And for fuck's sake, the way you have me blaming myself yet again. I hate, however, that you had the nerve to tell me that I needed some self esteem. That may be true, but you made it worse for me. You broke me, more so. For someone who's supposed to 'love' and 'care' for me, I figured maybe you'd want to help me. No, that's not your job, but I would have done it for you. You've no idea how considerate I've been, how thoughtful I tried to be, how I hard I tried to make sure you knew you were loved. And if it was too much, all you had to do was tell me. But you didn't bother. And what's a girl gotta do to get a little appreciation around here? It's pretty shitty of me to expect things, I just thought I deserved a little better. I guess that's what ruined everything-I expected too much from you. I also gave too much, where as you didn't give enough.

I wish you never liked me. I wish you never told me anything you've ever told me-how you loved me and cared for me and wanted me, how you said you'd always be with me. I wish you didn't care enough to see me in the first place. I wouldn't be here wasting my time over something I thought to be true.

Dear Tori 

ive always been into music especially when i was younger, i have notebooks of songs i wrote and lately i dont know i haven't been in the mood to write let alone sing anymore. i never been into singing in front of big crowds at all. i kind of gave up my dream of becoming a famous artist. life hasn't been the kindest to me either. and well yeah i just gave up on my music career. im only 16 and i lost all faith in everything i had. it was because of people telling me i couldn't do it or i am not good enough. i believed them and now i have no way to get back to what i loved most. 

after finding you on youtube though and seeing how far youve come brought back the fire in my dream. i am more determined to get to that spot in life. everything about you just made me see that i could be there and knowing that someone made it means i will be able to as well. YOU ARE MY INSPIRATION !!!!!!! seriously im trying everything i can now to make sure that i can be noticed. JUST THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU AND PROVING THAT ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN 

sincerely 

kathryne or kat 

@kathrynnee_

How's your day? Hope it's fine. I saw you alone. Texting. To whom? Psh. -_- Did you saw me? Pabalik-balik kaya ako para makita mo. LOLJK. Feeling mo? Korean nanay mo?   Beybe beybe akgtatmghurgkmo. HAHAHAHAHAHA! You're so gwapo talaga!! Swear. Kahit moreno ka. Yung ilong mo, matangos. Yung lips mo, reddish. And I'd like to bite that lip. JOKE! Whahahahahahaha! First time kita matitigan ng di mo ko nakikita at tinitignan. Hehehehe. You're still handsome up there. Hahahaha. Tas nakatabi ka pa daw nung mga friends ko sa blue chairs. Nakayuko ka daw. Sleepy? Wawa naman ang baby. Tsss. Looool. :") Vacant mo siguro yun no? Ganun din yung time nung mag-isa ka nung monday eh. Kung pwede lang kita samahan, sasamahan talaga kita. WEH. Hahahaha. Seryoso. If I was your girlfriend, I never let you go. Nyahahaha. Well, I'm your girlfriend... on my daydreams. LOL. Nakita ko nga pala si "acting" GF mo. Kakaenroll lang ata? Nakatingin nga sakin eh. /:) Baka makita ko nanaman kayo magkasama. Or worse, sya pa makasama mo tuwing vacant mo. AYAW!!! Huhu. :( Kdot. 

No appearance of you today. :( I miss you, then.