Do you Remember Him?

It has been at least 6 months since last time I posted something here. I can't believe how fast time has gone by since I returned home from serving as a full-time missionary. It's incredible!
Earlier today I decided to read through some of my journals and notes and I found something I believe is worthwhile sharing.  It's about one person who, believe it or not, loves you more than anything you have ever felt or understood. His name is Jesus Christ. Take a moment and let us remember Him together as we read this message about forgiveness and forgiving.

"O man, forgive thy mortal foe,
nor ever strike him blow for blow,
for all the souls on earth that live,
to be forgiven must forgive.
Forgive him seventy times and seven,
for all the blessed souls in heaven
are both forgivers and FORGIVEN. "

Alfred Lord Temyson

I believe a mark of true greatness is the forgiving heart. Let us go back in time and take the example of Stephen. A man "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost", according to the Bible. His greatness exceeded that which is ordinary, so much that people "saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel." (See Acts 6:15) After one of his sermons he became victim of men who persecuted him. (Read about this!-verse 58-60) "And he knelled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."

It is impossible to speak about greatness and forgiveness without referring to the reason of all of us being on earth today. The supreme example of forgiveness and infinite love: Our Savior Jesus Christ. All his life he had been victim of indignities. From the day He was born he quietly suffered around evil men. Pushed around and buffeted. Not an angry word escaped his lips. He was slapped in the face and literally everywhere else. Yet He never lost His posture. Following His own advise and turning the other cheek He withstood the ugliest humiliations. He seemed not to condemn those whom despite fully used Him. He suffered in the hands of His own people. "I came unto my own", he said, "and my own received me not." He was required to carry His own cross and suffered excruciating pain. Finally, during His final moments He said these immortal words: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (See Luke 23:43)

Forgiving one another and turning to Christ for forgiveness is truly admirable. It is the sublime expression of Christ-like love and faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, remember that just as we can turn to Christ as an example, we can also turn to Him for forgiveness.

Forgiveness is available to all and it is one of the most glorious principles God ever gave to men. I know that His power to heal us is real and it is indeed, a miracle.
Don't wait to transform your life through the miraculously power of forgiveness.

Remember that all the blessed souls in heaven are both forgivers and forgiven.

Happy Easter! :)

Yael Esper

To listen to a special witness of Christ click here->

http://lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/jesus-christ-lives-today?lang=eng

It's time to wash our windows...

I've judged and I've been wrong. I've looked and I've not seen like God sees. I've closed my heart and I've withheld love. When was the last time that we've washed our "eye windows"?

Our prophet, Thomas S. Monson is teaching us what could be one of the most valuable lessons to be learned in this life time. Read the story of this young couple carefully and ponder about how often we do this in our own lives!

A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.

“That laundry’s not clean!” Lisa exclaimed. “Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!”

John looked on but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.

A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, “Look, John—she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.”

John replied, “Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!”
Are we looking through a window which needs cleaning? Are we making judgments when we don’t have all the facts? What do we see when we look at others? What judgments do we make about them?

Don't forget the greatest commandment of all is to love one another as Christ loves you.

This is my prayer, right now.

Last night, I had the special opportunity to go to the chapel in Palmyra and watch the General Relief Society Broadcast dedicated for the woman in the world. Some people may think that my blog is getting way to girly but I guess that's where I have the most experience in. ;) I promise more posts directed towards our male gender audience in the future! I felt the love of God in my heart as I listened to the counsel of the wonderful speakers. I need it.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang last night and it really touched my heart. (If you have never heard of it, click here!) I also felt the sweet spirit of God in my heart as all these woman gathered their voices and sang "More Holiness Give me". I specially love the lyrics and I want to share them with you. This is what I'm praying for at the moment.

More holiness give me, more striving within.
More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin.
More faith in my Savior, more sense of His care.
More joy in His service, more purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord.
More zeal for His glory, more hope in His Word.
More tears for His sorrows, more pain at His grief.
More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.

More purity give me, more strength to o'ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains, more longings for home.
More fit for the kingdom, more useful I'd be,
More blessed and holy, more, Savior, like Thee.



Don't miss the video and listen to all these cute Mormon girls singing the same song.
Favorite song! :)

Me toca escribir en Español ya que lo que quiero compartir hoy es un poco más personal. La semana pasada escribí algo relacionado a los desafíos que nos hacen humildes y parece que Dios me estaba preparando para entender un poco mejor los desafíos que estoy enfrentando ahora. Alguna vez se sintieron tan desanimados que no quisieron salir de la cama en la mañana? Donde buscan ayuda cuando se sienten tristes o deprimidos? Anoche adormecí con lagrimas en la almohada pero, al pensar en como podía alegrarme, el recuerdo de aquellos que amo vino a mi mente. En aquel momento de obscuridad solo el recuerdo de mi hermana me hizo sonreír. Ella es un Ángel en mi vida y sin duda mi mejor amiga. La extraño demasiado y, apesar de estar separadas en este momento, sé que los lazos que nos unen son eternos. Ella me entiende, me apoya y me ayuda como ninguna otra persona con la excepción de mi hermano mayor Jesucristo. Tengo suerte porque la tengo a ella y a mi salvador para rescatarme de mis tristezas. Para aquellos que se sienten solos y piensan que no tienen a nadie en este mundo, recuerden que Cristo sufrió por cada uno de nosotros. Debido a Su sufrimiento, Él sabe exactamente como nos sentimos cuando estamos solos, tristes y deprimidos. Nunca duden que El les dara socorro durante los momentos más obscuros de sus vidas. Anoche, sentí que apesar de mis problemas, todo estaría bien gracias a Él. Él me ama y los ama a cada uno de ustedes. Por favor, nunca se olviden de recurrir a Cristo siempre.

Este mensaje es del fondo de mi alma, Hermana Esper.

HAVE YOU EVER FELT SMALL or just not suit for the job? How often do you complain about what you call your "flaws"?

I was reading a magazine last week, while I waited for my missionary companion/best friend Sister Brent (<-- click) at the Chiropractor, about all these different girls from all over the place that lived their lives embarrassed of little things they thought were wrong with them. For instance, there was one girl who grew up ashamed of her beautiful freckles all over her face and body. One day she realized that those freckles were not a flaw but part of her beauty. What she thought was her "weakness" turned out to be her signature.    
Nevertheless, what I want to share with you today goes beyond the reach of our mortal eyes. Put on your spiritual glasses and let God make you strong in every way. Sometimes we wonder why we have to worry about all these imperfections of ours or why we even have them to begin with. On the other hand some people are convinced that they aren't found with any. (Let's not worry about them right now!)
It's actually pretty simple. All over the scriptures we learn that God created us with faults and that earth is a testing period. We have all these weaknesses so that we can be humble. (Read about this!) Why on earth would a loving Heavenly Father want us to be humble? Because when we are humble then we recognize that we need help. More often than not, people in humble circumstances turn to God for guidance and direction. Let me illustrate this more, picture a loving father who desires his children to seek him out for help because he has been there and has the experience they need. Likewise, Our Maker is waiting with wide open arms to help us and makes us strong in any situation we may be facing in our life.

I thought this picture would illustrate the point in a somewhat humorous way. By the way, if you don't think it's funny you may blame it on the Latin sense of humor. My baby sister, Ailin Webster, is in this picture with me and if you can't recognize us just look for the two smallest girls. I bet now you found us! I absolutely loved gymnastics and so did my little sister, but we were just tiny growing up. (Still are!) Nevertheless, our "weakness" was made strong as we trusted in God by not giving up and still performed beautiful gymnastics.

God will perform miracles in your life if you let Him.

Daughter of a King

This is turning out to be a "Spanglish" blog. Now you are getting a little taste of what goes inside my head sometimes. It's craziness!! Anyway, lately I have been thinking about our purpose on earth and who we truly are. When was the last time you took the time to ponder about that and what you can become? Where you're at, where you've been and where you're going? Don't get stuck in the past because it really isn't about who you were but what you can become. I have to confess that I think about that sometimes with fear that I have to always be the same person that messed up once. That's false! It's never to late to change and realize our potential in life. Fear can be immediately quenched by a spiritual confirmation that the atonement of Jesus Christ always looks forward. Never looks back. A reassurance that who we were does not define who we can be. That's not part of the plan. We truly are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. My post today is dedicated to us girls, daughters, sisters, women, mothers at the reach of this screen. Did you know that we are princesses?! We are daughters of a king. I'm a princess and as such I know that it doesn't matter how the world defines me and let alone the mistakes I make everyday. Why is this important to me?! Because if we remember to see ourselves as our Maker sees us then everything changes. Remember that today is the first day of the rest of your lives. !! Don't settle for anything less than what you deserve as the daughter of a King. He loves you.

Angels are near us

Today's post is directed to all those who feel that life is just too hard and they can't make it on their own. If you are having those thoughts, stop now and remember that life is not meant for that purpose and that you are not alone.There are angels near us. I have felt their influence in my life. I speak of Heavenly help sent by God in times of need. I will never forget the experience I had during probably one of the darkest times of my life. Ok here comes the longest story made short so it's not too boring. I had been living in Brazil for a couple years and my mom had suggested me to go on a trip anywhere in the world during school break. In my mind I was thinking Australia, England, or even somewhere in South Africa but little I knew of the place that she really wanted me to go: Utah. At the time, just the thought of going to Utah was scary because of all the things I had heard about it and for the reason of being known as the "Happy Valley" and "Mormon town". (Go figure, right?! I'm a Mormon myself!) I guess when you're thinking South Africa, Utah doesn't sound too exciting. Let's be honest! Well, my mom had different plans in mind and little by little she tricked me into going there for a month. I can't remember a time where I felt the most alone in my entire life than the time I spent away from everything I knew in the U.S. Nevertheless, I was soon to discover the hand of God in my life for the first time.

Living in a foreign country is not easy. Not only the place is different, but also the people look, act, and speak differently and it truly is a whole new world. My first attempt to learn the language was a failure and when the teacher handed me the results of an English test I had taken, I could see the words written in her forehead: "Writing essay's in English is not your vocation!" In a delicate manner she basically told me that if I ever wanted to speak English or let alone learn how to write an essay I had to read A LOT.

This time, my determination grew stronger and after getting home that day I had decided to read the biggest book I could find in the house. I was living with a Mormon family and to my surprise I found something I had never seen before: a family size copy of the Book of Mormon. I guess I should have expected something like that considering that in the United States everything is made extra large and it is not only limited to big gallons of milk, extra large sodas or clothing for big people but it also includes the word of God in big print.
I felt the influence of angels in my life as I read the Book of Mormon thinking it would help me be more proficient in English. My heart changed and I could feel those stories were real. This is to be continued because I only have 9 minutes left and we're at the public library. (Go figure the life of a missionary!) but the point of me sharing this experience is that as I ponder over and over again on what happened I can clearly see the angels God placed in my path. My mom was the first one. In addition to her, the family I was living with became like a second family and Jennifer Peterson continues to be an angel in my life.
During times of need, God will place angels in our way to show us His love. I believe in them because I have seen them. Don't ever overlook the fact that you are not alone and angels will guide your journey through life. They are nearer than you think.

PS: That's my beautiful mom in the picture above.