Week 73: the abundant life

 here are some words i would use to describe the last 17 months:


• redemptive.
• transformative.
• eye-opening.
• beautiful.


this upcoming week will be my final full week as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints.

let me walk you through a typical day:

• wake up, exercise, & breakfast
• 1 whole hour of getting to know my Savior in the scriptures 
• teach people about Jesus Christ 
• tell people God loves them
• teach and testify of Jesus Christ
• cry with someone having a hard day
• testify of Jesus Christ
• get bashed by someone
• testify of Jesus Christ & God's love 
• give a stranger a hug
• testify of Jesus Christ 


and at the end of the day, around 9:30pm, you are just so exhausted but SO HAPPY because you know you did everything you could that day to serve God's children. and then you get to do it all over again.

can you see why i am so devastated to have to leave????


alrighty enough of that i am definitely in denial. let's talk about the week. 

blanca. blanca has been coming to english classes & activities & sacrament meeting for months. she has always been a bit apprehensive about meeting with missionaries & consistently turned down meeting with us, until this week!!! english class got canceled and she was willing to meet with us instead!!! the spirit was so sweet as we talked about the sacrament & how sacred of an ordinance it is & obispo vasquez just so happened to be at the church & was able to teach & testify with us fue increible(: 

got to spend the day with hermana hayden during exchanges!! wow, oh how i love her. you wont meet a more tender soul who knows how to connect with people and direct them towards their Savior. 

we had mlc & zone conference this week too!! it was honestly such a bittersweet experience. hermana stoddard & i both got to give our departing testimonies so that was special💛 it is so surreal honestly. i cant even believe it. 

we had the most incredible lesson with isabel & marcos. they let us into their home for the first time and graciously offered us freshly cut fruit sprinkled with tajin. the spirit was so strong as we talked about eternal families. to see their countenances light up after finding out that they could have their family together forever even after death was priceless. the spirit
indicated to invite them to be baptized & that is the desire of their hearts. that was definitely the highlight of the week(:

everyone has been asking me how i feel lately. and honestly i just feel grateful. so grateful. so, so grateful. i cannot adequately express what this mission has meant to me. words fail to describe what ive learned and felt and seen. God is so good my friends. He really is your Father. He really does know and love you. yes, YOU! i promise you this!

i am still working on my study of thr Atonement of Jesus Christ. i read something this morning from elder neil a maxwell that really touched me. he described God as one who "abundantly pardons". in my head, forgiveness has always been something that God doesn't give liberally, and that it is reserved for just a select few who are absolutely perfect at repenting. this simply isnt true. i now know my God is a God who LOVES to forgive!! it brings Him so much joy!! i am so grateful for the more correct understanding i have been able to gain of His goodness and character. 


thank you for your support & love & friendship! please forgive me for not responding to messages i literally dont have enough space in my email drive anymore ahaaha

hasta pronto(:
hna zayas










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