Temple Dedication

Hello everyone! Hope finals are going well for everyone. Here's what I did this past week:

1. Temple Dedication! The temple dedication was yesterday! We watched from the stake center and got to see all 3 sessions. Pres. Uchtdorf dedicated it, with a translator. Elder Anderson was also there. It was beautiful to hear the words of General Authorities directly to these people. One quote they kept referring to (though I cant remember who originally said it) was that each temple that is dedicated lessens the power of Satan on the Earth. Awesome! 

2. Cultural Celebration! Saturday night was the Noche Cultural that was presented to Pres Uchtdorf and the world in celebration of the Temple. We got to watch via satellite (it showed on BYU TV international, I think you could probably find it on the BYU tv website if you re interested) It was really special. The youth from stakes all around presented different dances and presentations, wearing traditional clothes and everything. They've been practicing since Feb for the event. It was a great look into the culture here, it was beautiful, and Pres Uchtdorf and everyone kept referring to how awesome it was.

3. Funny story -- Remember how my companion fell down last week...well I fell this week! Agh! It was the same stool my companion fell off of, I don't know what the deal is with this stool.  And it was extra funny because 2 elders were there too! They'll never let me forget.

4. Lots of great things happened this week, but I just want to share one sweet little experience with a little lady named Maria. She is a reference and went to church last Sunday with a member friend. We visited her last Monday. Maria is around 50 years old. She cant read. Shes super shy. We taught her lecture 3--faith, repentance, baptism, and I know she didn't understand much of what we taught her, but in the end she said she would be baptized. The whole lesson, and even afterwords, I was so so impressed by how much Jesus Christ loves this lady. My comp said she felt it too. I don't know why it his us so hard with this sweet lady, but wow, the Lord loves her so much. She is really special. I really admire people like her. I know she didn't catch much of the lesson, and I know she didn't understand everything at church, but the woman recognized the feelings from the Holy Ghost telling her that it was good, that its what she needs, and those little feelings are enough for her. I, and many of us, need bigger answers, bigger promptings before we act. And so many of us have so many more tools available to us, like that we can read the scriptures and feel the Spirit that way. But still so many times we lack the simple faith that Maria has. I'm so grateful for Maria's example to me. I know the Savior loves her so much, that shes a special daughter of God. And I know He loves all of us so much. So much!! How wonderful that we have this time of the year to remember and celebrate Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful that he loves each of us so much. He knows each of us perfectly. He wants the best for us. He wants to bless us. I know that He is our Savior and Redeemer, that he lived his whole life perfectly for us. I love Him. I know that His gospel is here on the Earth today and that we can participate in it. I love the Gospel. I know that its true. I hope that everyone has a great week and can find some time to think about Christ and Christmas. I love you all and wish you well!

Love, Hermana Gilland