Dear Family and Friends,

I hope that you all are doing great! 

This week was an incredible one for me. We saw so many miracles, and I learned so very much.

On Tuesday, we decided to stop by the apartment where a lady named Josefa who comes to our English classes lives. She was home and opened the door and invited us right in. Then we taught her about how the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth and how it can bless her and her family and invited her to be baptized as Jesus was. She said yes, and asked us if she could keep the pamphlet that we had given her during the lesson so she could keep reading and learning...that was neat because usually we have to ask people to read. On Thursday, she wasn't at English class, but then we called her to see if she was coming and she had just gotten home and said she hadn't been sure if she should come because she was going to be late. We told her it was no problem and she could still come! So she did, and she got to meet a lot of the sisters who were there making tamales for a girls camp fundraiser. And we were able to teach her again about The Book of Mormon and how she can read it and pray about it to know for herself that it is true. We also set a goal with her for her to be baptized on the 27th of April. After the lesson, we studied English with her and after that we went back to the kitchen and she told the sisters they could borrow her big pot if they needed (which they did). So we drove with one of the sisters to drop her off and pick up the pot. She is just so kind and generous. It's such a blessing to be a part of her life. We are teaching her again tonight and are going to read from the Book of Mormon with her and help her understand how it applies to her life so that she will want to keep reading the whole book!

On Wednesday afternoon, we stopped by to see another woman, Lydia, who we have been trying to start teaching for a long time. She just never had time before but she was always really nice and said she wanted us to come back she just couldn't listen to us right then. So Wednesday we had a great conversation with her and taught a little about how much the complete gospel of Jesus Christ can bless her life. She just found out that she has Celiac disease and has a lot of health problems she's been recovering from. She has a desire to be closer to God and do what is right and to learn for herself the truth.

This Saturday, we had an amazing opportunity to hear from an apostle. Elder Quentin L. Cook visited our mission. He talked to us a lot about how we should work with and support the members of the church in our area, how regardless of what we think our personalities are, we should be warm and friendly and reach out to everyone. Our zone had the special opportunity and blessing of being able to sing a special musical number during the meeting. We sang the hymn "Lord, I Would Follow Thee." I love that hymn so much, especially because I also studied it before we sang and thought about the words and lot. I am especially touched by the lines in it that say, "Who am I to judge another when I walk imperfectly? In the quiet heart is hidden sorrows that the eye can't see." I like it even better in Spanish because it says basically, "I will not judge anyone because my understanding is imperfect. In the heart are hidden sorrows that can't be seen." Either way, the message is really powerful, especially for me because I've definitely had experiences where I've learned more later about what someone is going through and wished I'd had more compassion earlier.

My companion and I are doing well. Sister Ellsworth is helping me learn so much. She has a gift to be able to be very supportive and has helped me so much this last week to see how I can really improve with how I interact with people. Things I had never thought about before but that really mean a lot to people. It's amazing! 

I can see myself changing. I am so grateful for the opportunity and blessing to be serving here as a servant of God. I love Jesus Christ and His Gospel. I know He lives. I'm so grateful for his love.

I love each of you and hope all is well! Have a happy Easter as we remember the great sacrifice of our Savior and power and peace and hope that his Atonement and Resurrection bring into our lives.

Love,

Hermana Brighton