This week was a good one!! I think the Lord has finally decided
that we have put up with enough and is starting to pour out the
blessings that have been waiting for us for these past 6 months! I'll
start out with a cool little story:
Two weeks ago I was driving
with Elder Adams (I'm pretty sure I've posted a picture with him... he
was one of the assistants) and we were going to pick up a cell phone
from an area that was just closed down. As we were driving along, I
noticed that one of the road signs had graffiti on it that said 916. And
I was like woah that's pretty cool (because its my area code in
Roseville). So I had Elder Adams sketch the graffiti and we continued
on. After that, I didn't really think about it that much, until last
Monday. Elder Fuller and I were walking around contacting because all
of our appointments fell through, and we decided to contact this house
that we thought two girls that we talked to the week before lived. As we
go up to the house we start talking to three kids and a 23 year old
named Arnold. We introduce ourselves as Mormons and they start asking
why we are called Mormons. So I pull out my Book of Mormon and start
explaining it. As I'm explaining it, Arnold takes the book out of my hand
and opens to a random page and starts reading 2 Nephi 31: 20-21.
20 Wherefore,
ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect
brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye
shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the
end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
21 And
now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none
other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the
kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the
only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.
After
reading that verse he looks up and says, "This book is from God!!" and I
just look at him with my jaw dropped. How did he pick that verse out of
allll the other verses? It was exactly what he needed to hear in that
moment!
So anyways we started talking a little bit more
and he said he wanted to hear more about this "Mormon Book" and took out
his phone to save our number. When he turned on his phone, guess what
his background was? The graffiti of 916 painted on a wall! I said, wait
what is that...? and he said, "oh, that's me!" Apparently he just really
likes the number 916 and started painting it everywhere he goes. He
doesn't really know why. I explained that it's the area code where I am
from and he thought it was the craziest thing ever! I don't know why his
graffiti caught my attention so much two weeks earlier... but there was
some reason to it.
After
that we found the girls that we were looking for and they just happened
to be with 8 friends who all wanted to hear about the Mormons. We ended
up finding 11 news in just 30 minutes that night. haha
There
were two other amazing things that happened this week, but for the sake
of time, my fingers, and your patience I'll keep them short.
A
couple of weeks ago we met a girl named Susie, who is amazing. She is
23 and is super nice. She is really curious about the gospel and wants
to learn a lot more. She lives with her mom, stepdad, and two sisters.
We hadn't been able to teach any other of the family members because they
were always busy, but this week we were able to teach her mom and older
sister Candy. Let me just say... these people are so prepared for the
gospel! They are very active in an evangelic church, but there are lots
of things that they don't agree with there. We taught the restoration and
watched the Joseph Smith movie with them and they accepted the whole
thing! Candy said that she feels a lot like Joseph Smith in the movie,
and that the restoration just makes sense. She also said that she felt
something special when we were teaching. Something that she liked, but
couldn't explain. I took advantage of the opportunity and challenged them
to be baptized and they accepted to be baptized in a month! I really
hope that they can make it! It would be during my last week here and it
would be soo cool!
Also, Eduardo
finally is starting to come around. We went over a couple of days ago
and started teaching about the principle of repentance. After a little bit of
talking we got out of him that he was scared to make some big changes in
his life and he didn't want to change too quickly. With the help of
Alma, we were able to explain the importance of changing. We taught a
cool lesson involving fire... I'll show you later haha, and he really
felt a strong desire to change. After teaching the lesson he asked, "and
when could I be ready to be baptized?" I just handed him the calandar
on my phone and said, "this is the month of June. You pick the day." He
decided on making a baptism goal for 3 weeks from now. I really hope
that he can do it! He really wants to be baptized and is taking it
really seriously! At the end of the prayer at the end of the lesson, he
didn't lift up his head. I thought he must have been silently praying, but
as he lifted up his head a couple of seconds later, tears were in his
eyes. He understood in that moment that what he had committed to was one
of the most important decisions of his life. It was such a cool
experience.
Missions are so cool! They can be so hard,
but can be so rewarding. There is nothing better than being fully
immersed in the work of the Lord. Dedication, obedience, hard work, and
perseverance bring miracles.
I hope you all have a great week!
