"My strength is made perfect in weakness"

The best street name in Alexandria

The best rain storms are southern rain storms

I hope summer is treating y'all well! It is always great to hear how y'all are doing. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

This week was packed full of some great experiences. Good news: we will have a baptism this next week! The Papania's are a wonderful family we have been teaching. Five of their six kids will be ready to be baptized this Saturday. We have seen God's hand over and over helping this family make the steps toward baptism. The mother and father still have some legal hurdles to jump before they can be baptized, but they are working toward it as well. We are so excited for this family! They are incredible. We know baptism will bless them immensely. 

We spent a few days in Alexandria attending Zone Conference and going on exchanges with the STL's. It was hard to leave Opelousas for a few days because there is so much work to be done, but we are learning to be patient. Zone Conference was beautiful and much needed. This mission is full of some stellar missionaries.

Sister Amezcua is one of the toughest people I have ever met. She is resilient and she doesn't let anything keep her down. I watch her prove that over and over and over. One of her mountains to climb this week has been her back pain. Her back has been in really bad shape for a while but this week it got much worse. We called the mission nurse on Friday and she told Sister Amezcua to lay low and stay on bed rest for 24 hours. That was hard. I hate seeing anyone in pain, but I especially hate watching people I love most hurting. Sister Amezcua continues to be the most loving, positive, and selfless person. She is doing everything in her power to recover (including "cupping", where a ward member basically put flames and cups on her back to remove toxins) and she keeps the work going. Mercy, I love this sister! She is someone I aspire to be more like someday. 

This week I have been studying a lot about weakness. Specifically, the difference between weakness and sin. I had always imagined that sin and weakness were just different levels of being unclean. I was so wrong! While sin leads us away from God, weakness can lead us toward Him. When we accept our weaknesses and turn to Him in humility and faith, our weaknesses teach us how to trust in God.   "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)

I see this scripture in a completely different light now. I used to think that this scripture was telling me that God would fix my weaknesses and that is how I would become perfected. But God doesn't always "make weak things become strong" unto us by eliminating our weakness. Usually He is not offering to immediately change what we are weak at. Instead, He offers to change us. God turns our struggle with human weakness into the virtues and strengths that make us more like Him. He helps us learn charity, compassion, meekness, patience, courage, long-suffering, wisdom, stamina, forgiveness, resilience, gratitude, etc. These are the very attributes we came to earth to learn. Mercy, isn't God's plan just perfect?

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:7,9). 

Life is beautiful, people are good, and the gospel is perfect. I love this crazy little piece of heaven called Opelousas. Hope y'all have a great week!

Sister Thomas 

Sweet Sister Amezcua obeying Nurse's orders