"Cuando Tratas Tu Best..."

Shout-out to any Weaver drama kids who took Spanish senior year, this week the anthem of our life is "Cuando tratas tu best pero no succeed..." To those who maybe aren't familiar with this phrase, this is a Spanglish play off the song "Fix You" by Coldplay with the lyrics "When you try your best but you don't succeed..." It's more funny than anything, and it's kind of become the anthem of my mission when anything falls through or something dumb happens. Being in a Spanish area, we use it a lot. We try our best, and sometimes things are just no going to go as planned. However, that does not mean we do not succeed. Rochester Spanish South is seeing miracles!

There was one particular day with Sister Lucas and I where nobody was home, all our appointments fell through, and I sang to myself "Cuando tratas tu best..." Then lo behold there was success! Heavenly Father put us right where we needed to be to talk the people He needed us to talk to. On the bus we met a man named Jose who seemed a little rough around the edges. I asked if he had a belief in God. "Kinda," he said. "Would you say you have a belief in Jesus Christ?" I asked, trying to get a little more to the point. He gave a shrug and repeated, "Kinda." We talked a little more and soon discovered his wife and son were recent converts (he even showed us his son's baptism picture and we knew the Elders who taught them!) However, for Jose he said, "It's not really for me." Then the bus stopped and he got off. Soon Sister Lucas and I found ourselves in a very Hispanic populated part of town, with bachata blaring from the tall tops of people's windows (which we will return to!) The family we were trying to meet weren't home, so as we're waiting for the bus, we stumble into Jose again! Eventually we get talking again and he asks something along the lines of, "What makes you so sure there even is a God?" This time on the bus something changed about his face. His eyes were focused, he hung on to every word. When I invited him to meet with us all he said was, "yeah, I'd like that."

Another cuando tratas tu best day: Sister Searle and I were out and it started pouring. Being missionaries does not stop, rain or shine. So we trekked through the rain. One of the most fun days of my mission, and so many miracles. We met so many people, and lots who were commenting on our wet appearances. Doing the Lord's work attracts attention.

In terms of people we are seeing. Kazmere is a man Sister Lucas met on the bus who we've started to meet at this cute coffee shop. He brought his friend Dazjor to the first lesson and they both are just soaking everything in. Baby steps, but steps. They had their own cuando tratas tu best moment. They made plans to come to church this Sunday, however they took the wrong bus, and halfway into church they call us and say, "We're still coming! We're just gonna run!" I have never seen such enthusiasm.

We also had zone conference! Sister Lucas and I gave a training where we cut up a puzzle and hid a few pieces in the room. When people came in we would give them all a few minutes to find the pieces and put the puzzle back together. In the amount of time we gave them, it took all the effort of the entire group to get the work done. That's how it is with members in missionary work. This is a work we can't do alone, we need all of us to find those lost puzzle pieces. Missionaries will try their best, and will succeed, but we'll have a lot less of those "no succeed" moments when we work together to build Zion.

Lots of crazy experiences, lots of learning, and lots of fun!

Con todo amor,
Hermana Abreu

1. Sister Searle and I getting caught in the rain
2. What is your purpose? We might have a few answers to that question :)
3. Some graffiti I thought my Piedmont peeps might find funny
4. Today is my 11 month mark and a random lady at the transit center gave us coupons after we gave her a Bible, one of them being for a Croissant-which meal from Burger King. We did indeed celebrate.