SOMETIMES ALL YOU CAN DO IS TRUST

Well, this week has been one of the hardest weeks of my life; I can truly say that. This week my dearest friend and my first baby in the mission Hermana Gabriella Sousa had to return home to Brazil due to mental illness. This week her mind became too strong for her to handle and began to have hallucinations and things were just too much for her too take. We spent most of the week in Montevideo visiting Physchiatrists and Doctors and finally came to the decision that this was an illness that she will need to return home for and have professional help daily. I spent every night this week awake all night taking care of her as she screamed and cried and then just trying to keep her okay during the day and we received word Saturday that she would be going home today in the morning and will be flying home with a doctor to help her return in safety.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to work with her and to have the three weeks we had together. I believe I learned more from her than any other companion. She came from a hard past truly harder than any other story I have heard. I learned from her to be strong. I learned we are capable of all things to an extent but that sometimes the Lord will send us in a direction we never planned to receive the help we need to overcome trials. She will have the opportunity to go home and receive the medications and the help she needs and I know that the Lord will be with her every step of the way. 

If there is anything I learned from this experience there are two things and the first is that sometimes all you can do is trust. I do not know why the Lord is letting her experience pains like this and I do not know why she has to suffer the way she is but I do know that He loves us and He knows what we need. I know that He will protect her and He will help her to become who He plans for her too be and that really in these situations all we can do is trust. I also learned that thanks to having the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life it has become reflex. When she screamed and cried at night the first thing I thought to do was sing her hymns or try to read her scriptures. The gospel is my base and that is exactly how we can get through hard things - by relying on the gospel to save us.

I thought all week how I could help her and I realized there was not much I could do. I wanted to have to take it on for her but I realized that someone better already has and that her Savior Jesus Christ already did that and that He is the only one to get her through this.

Please keep her in your prayers. I know that we can do all through our Savior and I know that through Him I can overcome these things as well as my sweetest friend Hermana Sousa. Thank you for all your love and support.

Love,

Hermana Labrum

20 Years Old and Still Pretending I Am 19

Well I am officially an old woman and I hate it haha, but wow let me tell you my birthday was AMAZING here in the mission. The members, my investigators, and converts, plus the girls in my house really spoiled me. I literally had a party every different hour of the day with someone. I have never eaten so much in my life. I am truly blessed.

This week me and my comp got the opportunity to be the only 2 other missionaries that are not in leadership to go to a special conference in Montevideo. We had a conference by Elder Stevenson of the 12 apostles and it was SO INSPIRED. He is a really special man. We learned a lot and got remotivated to work the hardest we could. So our bus (we missed it) but that meant we got to go to another area for the night. Well I talked them into letting me stay in Pando (my first area) AND WOW I WAS SO HAPPY. I got to go see all of my favorite members and I was the companion of Hermana Shaw for two hours haha (my CCM comp) and it was awesome.

Maria got super sick this week so we had to move her baptism date but she has plans for the 11 of February if she gets feeling better so please send prayers her way for her health. Milagros has a new date for the 11 of February also so we are hoping to get all the charlas finished and she will be ready!

My birthday really was special and one I will never forget here in the mission. I really learned a lot this week that I can choose to be happy or not. I choose if I am going to make the most of the time I have or if I am going to be sad. I missed home but I pushed it aside and tried to just love what I was doing even more and it worked!!!! I was truly happy. Thank you for all the birthday wishes and love it really means a lot. I hope you all have an amazing week!!! Love you to the moon and back.

Love,

Hermana Labrum

Letter from Hailee's Previous Companion

I only want to say "thank you". I tried to take care of our baby girl in our transfer together. I miss her so bad, but she is a mama now! Then, I'm glad for this! :)

I don't wanted to leave Trinidad, I don't wanted to have a leader position and I wanted Hermana Labrum 1 transfer more, but God requires me here, in Progreso, a little humble branch full of the warmest people who I ever met. I'm a sister training leader and my area have at least 15 villages and around 10 miles of lenght. It's so different and a little bit hard, because Trinidad is super safe, and here we have a lot of "red zones", but I'm so grateful for the opportunity to learn from my beloved uruguayans and my new comp.

I love you, I love your daughter and she was my most funny and amazing companion.

Thank you for your kindness! Hugs!

Hermana Campos

(Sorry for my awful grammar)

Love ya mom! :) Hermana Labrum teached me a lot! Being her companion was a pleassure! I probably will going to Arizona (I have family there) in october or november! Thank you for everything! I hope to do great things here, because Progreso needs love, I have a lot of love for my little branch, and I'm able to do something good with the Holy Ghost and following the example of our Savior.

I love you all, always! :)

Hugs!

Hermana Campos

SURPRISE: MY KID DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH OR SPANISH

Well as you all already know I am training!!! However my situation is not your normal training situation haha. I am training Hermana Sousa from BRAZIL HAHA. So that means that she speaks Portuguese and yep I do not. We definitely have a language barrier but we are working our way through it little by little. Usually Brazilians train Brazilians but my situation is a little different, but she is amazing. She is the cutest little thing and really has a desire to learn and grow. I am super excited to get to know her better. I have watched my Spanish just sky rocket this last week because I have no other option, haha, so it has been a great experience.

So crazy miracle story for this week. Our house is two stories and it is really hot so we slept on our roof. Well the next morning when we went down, everything was super wet so I went first and the table broke and I fell two stories. I was super blessed. I learned the Lord is really looking out for his missionaries. I have been super sore but received a blessing and all is good. The Lord truly is looking out for his missionaries.

This week was HOT. It was in the 100s every day and wow!!! Also our water is not working haha - it is all black so that has been a SUPER fun experience.

MARIA IS GETTING BAPTIZED saturday!!!!!!!! She finally feels prepared and wants to do it as a birthday present for me haha. I am super exited. She is definitely a miracle and will be an amazing member. Also we started teaching our converts daughter this week and WOW, she is amazing. She is taking things super slow but is super amazing. It was really a week full of miracles.

Not much time this week but just wanted to share how grateful I am to be a missionry and how grateful I am for all that I am learning and growing in. I know that the Lord is truely protecting us. I know that my Savior lives and I know that the scriptures are true and truly have something special for each and everyone of us. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve this mission and to learn the things I am learning. Thank you for all the wonderful emails each of you send and for all your prayers and love. Thank you for all the support and have an amazing week. I love you

Hermana Labrum

New Page to the Mission Book: I'M A TRAINER!

Well I think my title says well enough the biggest thing that happened this week. I AM GOING TO BE A TRAINER. I cannot even explain how nervous I am to have a new missionary to take care of and teach and wow I am just really nervous. Tomorrow I head to Montevideo and I will have training all morning Wednesday and then I will recieve my oro (the new missionary), so updates will come on all that next week.

Today I had an eye appointment in Montevideo and guess what!!! I am gonna be a four eyes and have exercises I have to do everyday on my eyes because they are all messed up haha. Pics to come of my sick new glasses.

This week we found a miracle. We have a new investigator named Yanet. This week we had a day of heat I have never felt in my life and LITERALLY no one would let us in. We walked straight for two and a half hours and then I was really just done. We found an old lady sitting outside so I approached her and asked if we could just sit with her and she said yes haha. Well then she brings out her son who is MA and he brings out his girlfriend and said he does not wanna go to church but she can. Well she came all three hours Sunday and we have now taught lesson 1 and the Book of Mormon and she believes it!!!!!!!! She has a date for the 4th of February and we are planning on them getting married sometime soon now. I AM SO EXCITED FOR HER!!!

Maria has her date still for the 28th and is just learning little by little to be ready. She invited us to her house for dinner this week and IT WAS SOOOO GOOD. She cooked mashed potatoes for me and I was literally so so happy. Milagros (miracle)!!!!!!!!! REALLY A MILAGRO. She has a date for the 28th as well and wow, we watched The Restoration with her this week and she is so so amazing. She is really prepared by the Lord. She is reading and praying and just really wants to have a family forever. I am truly so so happy.

Our talent show went awesome!!!!!! We had a really good turn out and we are gaining the confidence of the ward. Also I gave a talk in church this week on the plan of salvation and it went super duper good.

So this week our ex stake president and us had dinner and made a goal that he will go to the temple again in 6 months and that is what we are working for. I am really excited for him.

Well I now start my 7th cambio of only 13. Time is flying. I will train most likely until I have 11 months in the mission which really is crazy. Have an amazing week and please pray for my new companion!!! Love and miss you all.

Hermana Labrum

8 Months in the Mission and Addicted to Coca-Cola

Well friends it has officially been 8 months here in the mission with only 10 to go and wow that hurts my heart. Time is flying faster than I thought was even possible. This was a week of a lot of new experiences, lots of miracles, and of course lots of heat.

This week broke my heart. We found our convert Richard drinking. I literally started crying in front of him and it was the saddest I think I have ever seen in my entire life. We talked to him and he does not quite get it that he cannot drink just a little and then repent so we will be working hard with that.

We are teaching an investigator named Milagros who really is a milagro (miracle) haha. Her husband is a member (menos activo) but is coming back and wants to bring her along. We taught the plan of salvation this week and at the end she said, this all just feels so right and this week we have two charlas with them to do over the restoration. I am super excited. Her goal is to have an eternal family and she will definitely have one.

Maria continues to progress and will be getting baptized most likely the 28th of January if her health will allow it.

We are currently working really hard with the ward and are planning a talent show for this Friday and are working really hard to get everyone involved. This will be one of the first ward activities in a while and we are super excited.

This week I was reading a conference talk called Repentance: A Joyful Rejoice by Elder Renlund and it is amazing!!!! It talks a lot about how repentance is a happy thing because it is a way to show we are trying to grow closer to our Savior. Through repentance we can be cleansed and we can have all our guilt and pain washed away. I know our Savior suffered all for us from a papercut to a broken heart and He is on our side always. He will not force the atonement on us but invites us to take part in this beautiful process.

I love you all and have an amazing week!!!

Love always,

Hermana Labrum