Dear Family,

This week was awesome.. are you ready?

This week we had a lesson with Roysel and the President of the Young Men. It went so well!! He is like an active investigator, but he has told us that he doesnt want to be baptized and that he wont be baptized, well, the power of God is greater than man. We decided to talk with him about enduring to the end, but, that morning during our personal studies, we both felt wrong about it, so we started searching for something else. We ended up sharing with him questions from Alma 5. If yall want to examine yourselves personally, read and answer the questions in Alma 5. After asking him some of the questions, he turned to us and told us that he was ready to be baptized! We were so happy we tried to get him to agree to be baptized the next day. He told us to give him 3 weeks, so his baptism date is the 23rd of July. We are thrilled! Its a testimony builder to me for sure, we arent the ones doing anything, we dont really know what these people need, but God does, and when we are worthy, he is able to act through us. I have learned just how insignificant I am. That may sound a little harsh, but I know that without God I am nothing. 

We had a service project this week helping a family plant a garden in their backyard. It was definitely a project. We first took the machete and cut down all the weeds. That tool is so freaking awesome! It also gave me a huge blister which I havent had in a long time and it got so big it exploded inside my finger and everyone was laughing saying that it was definitely going to hurt for awhile, but God loves me so it only hurt for a little bit when I had to wash my clothes. Then, they gave me a pickaxe and told me to go dig some holes and plant some trees. They didnt have trees ready to be planted either, you had to go and dig them out of one spot and plant them in another. That was really fun too, and they took a video of me because they were amazed that I was actually able to do it... I think they assumed I was from a place where I had never worked outside in my life... Well, thanks to my parents I worked a little bit. It wasnt hard actually... after they had us dig up yucka... I dont know if yall know what that is, but it is the coolest plant ever. You dig up the roots (its a tree) and that is the part you eat, after you have dug up all the roots, you cut up the tree and the good branches you put back in the earth almost horizantal and the branch will start to grow roots and the cycle just keeps going.. it is the second coolest plant I have ever seen (the first is one that smells exactly like rain when it gets wet). Anyways, we did that for a couple hours... afterward I was covered in dirt, had a huge blister that exploded inside my finger, and was incredibly exhausted, but we had a lot of fun.

We went on divisiones that same day. So I went with another sister to help her in her area while her companion stayed and worked with mine in our area. It was tough because they dont have any investigators so we spent the whole day searching for past investigators and contacting... it was really fun, but exhausting, and we had little success.. this day I think I was the most exhausted I have been in my entire mission. I crashed and in the morning I was still super tired! I got up to do exercises, was too tired to stand so do yall know what I did? I layed on the floor to do crunches.. the first time I have layed on the floor here in Panama... I think that speaks for itself. Anyways, it was a bad idea because I fell asleep doing crunches and my companion had to wake me up... seriously my body just gave up. 

Speaking of my companion, today is her birthday. She turned 23! That is why I am so late writing. Our zone through a party for her, and then later a member through her a suprise party... it was great, but our P-Day flew out the window. The great thing was that I found JERKY!! I was so excited I bought a little tiny bag for 5$... woops, but yeah, I was super happy about it. 

Well, its that time again... Testimony Meeting. I hope each one of you took that special priveledge to bear your testimony to your fellow brothers and sisters. At times it may frighten us, and you get that nasty feeling in your stomache, but we cant be selfish. If we look around us in Sacrament meeting, how many of us need a little more hope, a little more faith, the touch of the spirit, or words of encouragement? Everyone. God gave 2 grand commandments. Love thy God with all the heart, might, mind, and strength; and love thy neighbor as thyself. If we love God, we shouldnt be afraid to share that love with him and everyone else. If we love our neighbor, we shouldnt be afraid to share words of faith or strength to lift them up. I would like to challenge each one of you, that if you didnt share your testimony this week, you will share it the next time. We cant be selfish. 

Matthew 5:16 -- Así alumbre vuestra luz delante de los hombres, para que vean vuestras buenas obras y glorifiquen a vuestro Padre que está en los cielos.

Bueno, quiero compartir un parte de mí testimonio con ustedes. Yo sé que esta es la iglesia verdadera, y que nuestro Salvador vive. Por medio de su expiación podemos ser salvos. Él es nuestro salvación. Sin Él, somos nada. Tenemos que recordarle siempre, que grande el amor que nos mostró, ahora, tenemos que demonstrar nuestro amor por él. 

Les amo bastante. Espero que tienen una buena semana y que puedo hablar con ustedes la próxima semana. Están en mis oraciones siempre.

Con amor, Hermana Eardley