Well, this week has been bitter-sweet....like all the weeks in the mission are haha. On Saturday we had the baptism of the 10 and 12 year-olds. It was so special to see these little boys dressed in white...waiting in a completely spiritually-hyper way to enter into the waters of baptism. But the real miracle of the day was the father who is separated from the family and never goes to see his kids because he works all day everyday.....He came! The mom talked to him the day before and he said he wouldn't come but right as the boys were walking into the font he walked in! What a miracle, it meant so much to the boys and as they were being baptized I looked back at his face. I don’t know what but something touched him and I hope in a way this experience allows him to remember the covenant he once made.
We have another investigator, I think I told you about him. His name is Jose Maria ad he is 16 and is already going to a university studying electronic engineering. And his final goal is to move to the United States and work for NASA. Not only is he super intelligent in this area but he is also spiritual. He knows just about every detail in the Bible, however, he is completely humble. He is extremely receptive but has told his friends in the ward that he doesn't want to be pressured to be baptized. So right now our goal is to gain his trust. However, our last lesson was amazing. We centered our message on the BOM and the spirit was so unbelievably strong as we testified of its truthfulness right next to the bible. Wow, this week I think I have testified of this book more than any other subject in the gospel. And I realized something. Elder Holland said, "Pay attention to what you are telling your investigators because it may be that these things are the very things you need to work on." I think sometimes I forget about the convincing power the Book of Mormon contains, and this power changes hearts. I pray it will start to change the heart of Jose Maria slowly.
We have a family we are working with right now who are a little hard to crack. Let me give you a little taste of how they are. At our first visit, the 7 year old walks in and says, "There is one thing I want to tell you. I am catholic, and you can’t do anything about it" then walks out of the room haha. Wow! But that didn't surprise us because that is the disposition of the majority of the people here. With this family, the mom is a teacher in the Catholic school and is super hard to work with. However, the husband is completely receptive and has had these lessons before when he was a teenager. When we walked in he had his BOM ready to go. I’m not sure how long he has had it but obviously for a reason. During the lessons when his wife leaves the room he starts to ask many many questions with such desire in his eyes. HE WANTS this but doesn't want to go against his wife. We are going to work really hard with her. We have hope and like they said in conference, "We know they accepted this gospel in heaven, so we have to have faith that they will accept it here."
Two fun facts:
1. My companion snores like mom plus dad times 8! haha I get a little taste of home each night.
2. I ate my first food with teeth, eyes and finger nails intact. Wow, what an experience. It’s actually pretty good once you get passed the presentation.
This week has been hard and amazing at the same time! I have learned a lot about the atonement of Jesus Christ, especially of its enabling power to allow you to do things beyond your capabilities. Also, I have found that through our difficulties we cannot pray for our circumstances to change but to gain the strength through the atonement to overcome our circumstances! The atonement is the POWER. I love each of you so so much! I can feel your prayers each day and they help me move forward. Don’t forget to keep smiling!
Love, Jess
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| I ate my first food with teeth, eyes and finger nails intact. It’s actually pretty good once you get passed the presentation. |
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| This is CUI.....aka RAT....my pench has them as pets then cooks them haha. Eat up! |
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