This week was awesome! We didn't have very much success but it was pretty fun nonetheless. We were only able to teach 8 lessons and didn't find any new people to teach. But! Our success came in different ways! We think we were finally able to get one of our investigators (L__, from Mexico) to come this coming Sunday to church! She has the day off work so it would be awesome to see her come! We are also having a special musical event this Sunday and a few of our investigators said that they are going to come to that as well!
This past Sunday one of our recent converts, L__ (Remember him? He was the one who didn't like the word baptism.), wore a suit to church! An actual suit! And he's 15! But that's not even the best part! Recently he has been saying he doesn't really want to receive the priesthood. But that has changed. He came up to me this Sunday and told me that he wants the priesthood so thst way he can serve a mission when he is 18 or 19!! I was blown away when he told me! Amazing experience.
Also, during the week last week, I decided to make a few of my famous grilled cheese sandwiches for my companion and I. It turned out pretty well! Especially since my mom had sent me some amazing tomato soup previously!
Blessings are a thing of the past, present, AND future as a missionary. When someone needs a blessing, whether it be of comfort or for the sick, they always go to the missionaries. I have given over 15 blessings to both members and sister missionaries alike while I have been in this area. The most recent one I gave was this past Sunday (so yeah, yesterday). It is an amazing experience to be the one to give the blessing, especially when you can see the change almost immediately sometimes.
Sister Oteo, Sister Jimenez, Elder Gonzalez and I all gave talks yesterday in sacrament meeting. I was the last one to talk so the most pressure was on me to make up for the time, plus our Mission President AND his wife were in the back row listening as well. No pressure right? I think I did pretty well though. I will also send the story that I used. The topic our Bishop wanted us to cover is asking members for referrals basically. So I used and experience that I had down in Mexico about a former investigator who was a member referral, who eventually got baptized. The story will be in Spanish, so if you don't know Spanish ask someone to translate it or use Google Translate. ;)
3 Nephi 18:24 - Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.
-Élder Wilkes
Story: Mi compañero y yo tuvimos un mal día. Yo fui un nuevo misionero, como lo más gringo posible. Era mi primera semana en el campo. Y ninguno de nuestros investigadores estuvieron en casa, tampoco los miembros. Nadie quería escuchar un mensaje. Y no tuvimos lecciones por el resto del día. So regresemos a nuestra casa para mirar a la mapa del área. Y vimos a una antigua investigadora, que no conocíamos todavía. Se llama Fernanda, y ella tenía como, 70 años, o algo así. Entonces fuimos a la casa de ella. Y ella estuvo allí! Pero, ella no quería escuchar a nuestro mensaje. Pues. Nos fuimos. Y no fuimos bien felices, hasta como diez minutos más tarde.
La hermana nos llamó y dijo,"Bueno, si vendrán a mi casa mañana a las ocho en la mañana y corten mi césped, escucharé a su mensaje." "Okay hermana, lo haremos. Nos vemos mañana." Y después la llamada mi compañero y yo fuimos como, "Oh yeah! Eso Élder!" Y chocamos los cinco allí en medio de la calle y nos abrazamos como un bear hug. Pues, una hermana en el otro lado de la calle nos vio y tuvo una expresión como, "Qué está pasando en este mundo, y porque estas personas son bien locos?" Pero, no nos importó, porque tendremos una lección mañana no? Fue a ser mi primera lección.
Entonces antes de fui a dormir, yo estaba pensando cómo larga la hierba era. Era como 40 yardas por 30 yardas y como este alto, más o menos. Recuerdo que yo estaba hablando a mi compañero diciendo, "Oh, va a ser bien fácil. He cortado mi césped a mi casa muchas veces, esta vez no va a tomar más de una hora." Oh man, yo no sabía que estaba pensando! Pensé que ella tiene una cortadora de césped no? Ustedes de Sur América saben que voy a decir. Pues, fuimos a su casa por el servicio, y casi me llevaba mi ropa de proselitismo. Y estoy muy agradecido que no hice eso, porque ella vino fuera de la casa con dos machetes. Cuando ella regresó a su casa, miré a mi compañero, y lo dije,"Ay Élder, yo voy a morir hoy."
Pues, lo terminemos ocho horas más tarde. Me sentí como yo había roto mi espalda, dos veces. Pero, ella nos dio almuerzo y cena por ese día so, está bien.
Cuando terminemos el servicio, entremos en la casa de ella, y empecemos a enseñar lección uno, pero, ella comenzó a llorar por alguna razón. Cuando la preguntemos si ella estaba bien, ella se levantó y entró en un otro cuarto. Esperamos por un momento, y cuando volvió, tenía una foto. La imagen mostró los dos hijos de ella, sobre el Monte Everest. Nos dijo,"Cuando ustedes estaban cortando mi césped, eso me recordó a mis dos hijos porque cuando eran su edad, fueron los que cortaron mi hierba. Ahora ambos son muertos. Uno fue disparado y matado. El otro tenía cáncer y murió."
Entonces estábamos como, "Oh man. Estamos enseñando la equivocada lección!" So la enseñemos la segunda lección, El Plan de Salvación. Y yo tenía las tres preguntas, "De donde vinimos?, cual es nuestro propósito aquí en la tierra?, y a donde vamos después de esta vida?" Ella nos interrumpió otra vez, y tuvo un libro. Sobre la primera página, ella tenía estas preguntas; Mis preguntas eternales. 1) ¿De donde vengo? 2) ¿Cual es MI propósito en esta vida? La tercera es diferente. 3) ¿Qué es lo que necesito a lograr en esta vida? 4) ¿Y donde voy después de la muerte? Cuando terminemos la lección, sabíamos verdaderamente que ella sentó el Espíritu Santo porque ella nos dijo, "Yo creo en todos de sus palabras, y quiero ser bautizada."
Google Translate: My partner and I had a bad day. I was a new missionary, as most gringo possible. It was my first week in the field. And none of our investigators were at home, not members. Nobody wanted to hear a message. And we had no lessons for the rest of the day. So back to our house to look at the map of the area. And we saw an old researcher, who did not know yet. It is called Fernanda, and she was like, 70 years or something. Then we went to her house. And she was there! But she would not listen to our message. Well. We left. And we were not happy either, until ten minutes later.
Sister called us and said, "Well, if you come to my house tomorrow at eight in the morning and cut my lawn, I will listen to your message." "Okay sister, we will. See you tomorrow." And then I call my partner and I were like, "Oh yeah! That Elder!" And we hit the five there in the middle of the street and we hugged like a bear hug. Well, a sister on the other side of the street saw us and had an expression like, "What is happening in this world, and because these people are either mad?" But we did not mind because tomorrow we will have a lesson? It was to be my first lesson.
Then before I went to sleep, I was thinking how long the grass was. It was like 40 yards by 30 yards and as this high, more or less. I remember I was talking to my partner saying, "Oh, it will be very easy. I cut my lawn at my house many times, this time it will not take more than an hour." Oh man, I did not know I was thinking! I thought she has not a lawn mower? South America you know I'll say. So we went home for the service, and almost took my clothes proselytizing. And I'm grateful I did not do that, because she came out of the house with two machetes. When she returned home, I looked at my partner, and I said, "Oh Elder, I will die today."
So we finish eight hours later. I felt like I had broken my back, twice. But she gave us lunch and dinner for that day so it's fine.
When we finish the service, we go into her house, and begin to teach lesson one, but she began to mourn for some reason. When ask if she was okay, she got up and went into another room. We waited for a moment, and when he returned, had a picture. The picture showed her two sons on Mount Everest. We said, "When you were cutting my lawn, that reminded me of my two children because when they were their age, were the ones who cut my grass. Now both are dead. One was shot and killed. The other had cancer and died."
Then we were like, "Oh man. We're teaching the wrong lesson!" So the second lesson we teach, The Plan of Salvation. And I had three questions, "where we came from ?, what our purpose here on earth ?, and where we go after this life?" She interrupted us again, and had a book. On the first page, she had these questions; My eternal Persons questions. 1) Where did I come from? 2) What is my purpose in life? The third is different. 3) What do I need to accomplish in this life? 4) And where I go after death? When we finish the lesson, truly we knew she felt the Holy Spirit because she told us, "I believe in all of his words, and I want to be baptized."
Comments
Post a Comment