"The Lord is Merciful"

What more is there for me to say than I am loving this work! :)  This is truly the work of the Lord because He is helping me through every step and is guiding me in all that I do.  I see His hand leading us, pushing us, and guiding us.  This is His work and how great is this calling.

I first want to share from my personal study this morning.  It really inspired me.  I read in Helaman 3.  This is the time where there has been so much war and the Nephites have experienced many difficult situations.  Despite that, Helaman "kept the commandments of God;  he did do that which was right in the sight of God continually."  I'm sure that this also included a lot of prayer and faith that Helaman showed to the Lord.  I'm sure he prayed for the Lord to protect his people and to guide them.  In Helaman 3: 27-28 it says "Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name. Yea thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God."  

The Lord hears our prayers, he knows the desires of our hearts, and if our desires are sincere and are aligned with the will of the Lord, He will be there the whole path and will give us the things that we need.  We just need to show our faith, ask in sincerity, and continue to give Him thanks. 

I've seen this happen throughout my entire mission experience.  I have called upon His name so many times.  I have plead with Him to help me and to guide me.  I have cried and prayed for Him to give me comfort in my hardest times. He has been there.  He has lifted me up.  I know He loves me and I know that HE LIVES.  He will be our best friend if we let Him in.  His ears are open to hear and His hands are there to help us.  Because He lives, He can help us.  Let us walk everyday with the Savior on our side.

We have two families that we are teaching, the Estrebella family and the Jorge family and they are so potential.  Although we do not have a lot of time to work in our area, the members are so supporting and we know that the Lord is helping in their conversion.  They all came to church this past Sunday where we had stake conference.  The talks were amazing and helped our investigators as well to feel the spirit and to recognize the truthfulness.  Please continue to pray for them that their hearts will be softened and they will accept the gospel fully into their lives :)

We also had exchanges this week, and I was able to return back to my old area in Sumulong where I trained Sister Tio and we opened up the area! It was great to see the progression that has been made and I was also able to visit my recent convert Maica.  They knew that I was coming because they texted them, but as I turned the corner, they saw  me and started running! I could barely keep my balance when all 4 or them were hugging me and crying because I had come back! hahaha I love that family and hope one day you can all meet them :) 

We also had MLC this week so our week was so so busy, but I've learned a lot and I am ready to apply all the things that I have learned!  This upcoming week we have zone conference as well!  Next Tuesday is also our temple day and P-day so I will not be emailing till next Tuesday.  It means you will have to wait an extra day, you can do it! hahaha

I love you all so much and hope you also enjoy all the pictures!  The picture of the food is sinigang and it is delicious.  It might be my favorite filipino dish and Sister Bergonia and I cooked it :)

I will make some when I get back to the states for you to try :)  Love you all so much!

Love, Sister Latham