June 16, 2014
Dear family,
I think last week was the first
time in a while that I didn't finish all that I wanted to say! Some of the
stories already ended though...but there's one that's continuing on
beautifully!
This is a story about Laila. :)
Laila is a coworker of Jhessyca. Jhessyca's awesome! She came home from her
mission about 6 months ago, and...words can't describe her. But she's great. So
she chatted up Laila all about the gospel (Laila's a good 15+ years older than
her) and hauled her to church. That's where we came in!
Laila and her husband, Manuel, are
from Minas Gerais. They have a five year old daughter named Ketlin. Laila had a
difficult childhood....life....and now, as a result, has a hard time opening up
to people. She also has a hard time understanding things, but at the same time
is very profound. I can't really explain Laila, but she's really special. In
this time that we've gotten to know her, we've discovered that she's never
really learned anything about God. King Lamoni lesson, super simple.
("Do you believe in the Great Spirit? That is God.") When we started
teaching her she said she believed He had to exist, or how would everything be
here. But she didn't feel any attachment, didn't believe He loved her, and
didn't trust in Him. But how can you trust in someone you don't know? To trust
in the Lord we really do have to do our part to get to know him. So we started
there. We talked about how God is our loving Heavenly Father, and
that to help us return to live with Him, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. Well,
she had at least the foundation for God the Father, but when we started with
our Savior, we had to clear the ground, pour the foundation, and then start
building. I've never had an experience quite like this. But we taught her about
our Savior. We taught her why we need a Savior, how we can know for a surety of
His love and power, and the blessings of following Him. Laila started reading
the Book of Mormon every day, and something incredible happened. She started
believing!
These are baby steps that we're
taking with Laila, but each and every one is miraculous. It's a really humbling
experience.
This week she had a dream. I don't
know what it is with Brazilians and dreams, but it seems to be a theme
recently! In the dream, her family was being chased and attacked. When it
looked like hope was lost, she said the earth started to shake and she saw a
man come down from the sky.
"And you know that video we
watched on Sunday? Remember the man in the last picture? It was him!" (We
had watched a slideshow put to music of the photos from Reflections of Christ)
This man spoke to her, and told her
she needed to follow Him. He told her that the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints was His church, and the Book of Mormon was true. In the dream
she cried out, "I know it is! I know it!"....and then she woke
up.
INCREDIBLE, but she got a little
stuck on the first part that really was a nightmare. "If this was my
answer, why did it have that part in it?" Honestly, I believe it could
have been an answer. But I also believe that the Spirit brings peace, and the
God loves her. She'll get another answer if she needs it!
Vania...I hope you're all praying
for her! Her baptismal date was postponed a bit, but she came to church and
still loves it. In sacrament meeting, she got really emotional, and when I
talked to her afterwards, she told me that she really felt that Heavenly Father
was showing her that this was the place He wanted her to be. But she's so full
of doubts and worries! We want her to make the decision to be baptized being
fully determined to serve Him until the end. She's heading along in that
direction, but still indecisive. She has a hard time understanding why this has
to be the only true Church. But she's incredible, and we love her!
I have to go now. But I love you
all, so so much. Know that my thoughts and prayers are with you!
Sister Fuller
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