I know that last week I told you that Patricio had given up smoking for good. Well, he didn't...But this last week we fasted with him and he has been very blessed and has now gone 3.5 days without a cigarette. We're so proud! He's working towards baptism for next weekend.
This week Luis was confirmed. We had a really good experience with that and the Spirit was so strong. Lately, there have been some really precious moments when I've just felt full of God's love and that was one of them. After the confimation, he was able to talk to the bishop a lot and get a lot of support from him. The ward is also so supportive of him and he already has this awesome group of friends. Every time we go by to visit him, he thanks us for all we've done in his life, though it's not us, and he always has some kind of food to give us. He's such a charitable man!
I don't know if I've talked about Wilfrido before, but he's a young guy we've been teaching lately who's had the lessons before and just really wants to overcome some weaknesses he has. This week we set a baptismal date with him for later this month and he's really excited. He already knows that so much of what we are teaching is true and we're just kind of reminding him about all of that. We're really excited for him.
This week we met Marlen. Marlen was probably the biggest blessing of the week. Early on in the week we talked to her while she was on her way to work. She was in a hurry, but asked if our church was a family church and when we said yes, she said to stop by friday. When we went by friday, we only had a little time, but we gave her a Book of Mormon, told her a little about it and taught her how to pray. She was so eager to learn and was really excited to read and pray. She gave the closing prayer at the end of the lesson and it was very beautiful. Yesterday we also had a lesson set up with her. When we stopped by, there was an older couple walking outside the house. When they saw us, they turned around and started talking with us. We found out that they were Marlen's mom and step-father. The father has had a lot of health problems lately and is really weak. We told them a little about what we did and our message and told them they were welcome to join us for the lesson. They thanked us and walked inside, but during our lesson with Marlen, her mom came in and asked us if we would come give them a little message after we had finished with Marlen. (I'll finish their part of the story in a bit.) Our lesson with Marlen was a miracle. She told us that she had read the part in the Book of Mormon we'd given her (3 Nephi 11) and wants to be baptized. She has seen so many miracles and signs from Heavenly Father the past few days since we met her and is ready to take the steps to follow God. She had so many incredible questions for us and she already knows that this is true. She wants to bring her whole family into this process with her too, so this next week, we're excited to teach them all! Afterwards we talked to her mom and step father for a bit. They are also hungry to learn about the gospel. What an incredible blessing this is that just plopped into our lives! A FAMILY! We ended the night with a huge prayer of gratitude to our Heavenly Father that led us to them.
Julieta is also another blessing that has fallen into our lives. A few weeks ago, we stopped by the apartment of an old investigator and found out that that person had moved, but met Julieta. She's a mom of 6 kids and is trying to be a good example for them and teach them what's right. We had a really good lesson with her as well and she was really touched when we talked about how the gospel could bless her family. We'll see what happens when we go back this next week...
This week we had a mission tour, where Elder Wilson, a member from the seventy, and his wife came and talked to us and gave us direction about being better missionaries. All of the Sisters and Hermanas were there and it was a really powerful meeting. I learned a ton about being a better missionary and Hermana Taylor and I felt like the whole thing was catered to our area and our investigators and situations. And it was so good to have all the sisters in one place at one time. They are so wonderful and I am learning a lot from them about being a better missionary.
This weekend we had a Halloween party for our ward. We had a really good turn out and a lot of people came. We had a lot of non-members there too and some crazy costumes. Hermana Taylor was the color blue and I was the color green. Patricio's sister came with her kids and had a wonderful time at the trunk-or-treat and playing all the games. We are really excited about that because every day she seems more and more interested in our message. Every time we have a lesson, she's in the background on the couch listening. She wasn't interested at first, but we think she's gaining more and more interest the more we come by. And she's also going through some trials right now, so this might be a perfect time for her. This was a big step for her to come to the church and meet some ward members. This week we plan to talk to her and see if she's a little more open to out message. Even Patricio's in on it. He wants her to learn as well and is helping us with a plan.
Well, what a week! I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for all He's blessing our area with and the things he's doing in other people's lives so that they can find the gospel. I love you all at home, but right now I just want to be a missionary forever! There's nothing that beats this joy!
The picture are of bowling on P-day.
We were colors for Halloween.
No comments:
Post a Comment