You Can't Lift Anyone Higher Than You Can Lift Yourself.

What a week!

ONLY in losing YOURSELF, may you find YOURSELF; ONLY by enriching others, may YOU be enriched; ONLY by giving, may YOU recieve; ONLY in surrending, may YOU BECOME free.

We have had some great Restoration lessons this week. Bileisy is a new investigador we have. She is amazing and was so prepared...thanks to her aunt and uncle, who is the branch president and to the AMAZING missionaries who planted the seed a couple years ago.

Bileisy was able to recieve immediate confirmation that the message we brought her was true. I was brought back to when I was taught by Elder Leithead and Elder Harrison. I will never forget them. They brought me the greatest gift anyone on this earth could ever bring. I was 15 years old and I had no idea that what these young men were sharing with me would change my life forever. Now here I am, sitting next to my companion in this lesson as we listen to Bileisy say, "Thank you for inspiring me to go to church. One day I will be a missionary saying I am here because of Hermana Fernandez and Hermana Nodal." The spirit filled the room as we felt it testify to us the truthfulness of the Restoration of the Lord's Gospel and of this marvelous work as it is testifying to me at this very moment.

I am so grateful that the testimony I gained 6 years ago of this Restored Gospel as I watched the Restoration Video has grown immensely and has planted more profoundly. The Spirit continually has testified and brought to remembrance this GRAND event in my life.

We are to purify ourselves to feel the power of the Holy Ghost because only in losing ourselves will we find ourselves. We had a Council Meeting this past week with all the leaders of the mission and Elder Claudio Zivic. It truly was humbling to be in the presence of one of the Lord's Seventy. He truly has been called of God. He inspired us to go the extra mile and that requires purification and what a blessing it has been to feel the blessings of exact obedience and pure love towards those that surround us. Stop and meditate upon the blessings you have recieved, then give more back to the Lord in gratitude.

The Lord blesses in His own way. Bani has been dried out for quite a while now and we have had rain for 3 days in a row now! What a blessing. Yet we haven't been caught in the rain yet because right when we get to an appointment it begins to pour. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Siempre nos tiene presente! This taught me to count my many blessings! I invite you to do the same, no matter how small you may think they are.

Thank you all for your love and support!

Con Amor,

Hermana Fernandez