Josie's Journey's: "simplify your approach to discipleship"- President Uchtdorft

Hey guys! So this incredible week was both fast and fun!! Thanks for all the love and support, and thanks for all of the birthday wishes!! We had 3 baptisms on Saturday—wahoo!!! Awesome…we confirmed them yesterday -which was great!!

I got a cake from my zone on my birthday and they have a tradition that the birthday person takes the first bite... only someone who likes shoving cake in peoples faces invented it... but it was fun!! Our baptisms were crazy, but I know that this church is true, and sharing it with others is the best blessing ever!! We are sooo blessed to have this gospel in our lives!!

So with the dentists from Lexington Heights Dental Group (my mission president’s wife Sister Caffaro’s office where she used to work) aka Grins for Guatemala came down to Jalapa, Guatemala and the Capital and donated many hours and provided dental care for hundreds of children and a few adults. They gave them kits with toothbrushes and toothpaste. We helped with members at the church building and then on another day went up to the mountains to a school to help some more children, but sadly couldn’t get all of them. I asked one dentist if he had ever extracted so many teeth before and he said yes in all his years of working combined. He was in his late 50s. Their teeth were awful –about 15 to 20 kids just got a cleaning, but the rest had several black baby teeth that had to be pulled out so their permanent teeth had a chance to come in. They don’t have good water to drink and they know this is where the diseases come from, but drinking soda is rotting their teeth out and they don’t ever afford to see a dentist and don’t clean them or take care of them, buying toothpaste is expensive and food is more important… so sad! We are SO BLESSED! We have so much!

One cute little 7 year old had 8 teeth removed and she didn’t cry like most of them were… the children were so adorable, they sang a welcome song and hugged everyone after being put through such pain. A 7 year old handicapped girl came in and she was really a challenge to work on, she didn’t have enough teeth to use the device to keep her mouth open, so we were all getting bitten and blood on us and I was holding her down and then trying to help keep the gauze in her mouth for a while after to stop the bleeding.

We ate lunch and all the children were outside with no food so I felt so bad for them and their life! There is so much they need and we just didn’t have enough time, so many adults were turned away because the dentists were exhausted from working so long, and we had to get off the mountain because if we stayed there to help more it was getting dark and we knew criminals would come with guns and take all of their equipment.

Only 6 missionaries in our mission were blessed to help! I feel grateful to have been one of the missionaries to translate and help in whatever they needed us to do! We were sharing our experiences and testimonies with the dental group, and I’ve been thinking it’s really the saddest thing, but people without our values and beliefs (the gospel of Jesus Christ) often don’t make it here... some are shot and killed because of drugs and gangs, others are pregnant at age 13, and most of them are never successful and work until they die cause there always seems to be at least one member of their family that blows money on smoking or drinking or some other dead end path!! So so sad!!

How blessed we are to have the truths of the gospel!! Don’t ever take it for granted!! Matthew 11:30 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light. —I can really see the truth to this all around me. It’s soooo easy!! Don’t make it too hard!!! Living the gospel isn’t hard, it’s easy, and it is such a blessing in this ever darkening world! Live it and love it!!

I love you all and hope you have such a great week!!!!

Hermana Morris