things keep going up

Sept. 15, 2014

 

Well every week seems so big. As I write these letters and think back to the last Monday I can't believe how much we do in just one week! It is really kind of weird. The noche de hogar (family home evening) last week was a success. We took Adriana to a member family who is super cool! The familia Verdura and it was very spiritual, we watched "the restoration" ( and it's funny that even though I have seen that movie a whole bunch of times it still makes me feel the Spirit and makes me grateful that God has newly called prophets to the earth! Then during the week we taught the husband (well they aren't married) of Adriana who has also been in evangelist churches for a long time, and knows the Bible very well and had a very good/spiritual charla (discussion) with him also about the restoration. We then left him with Alma 40 because he had questions about the afterlife and when we talked with Adriana later in the week she said that he loved it, that it opened up new understanding to them and that is was the word of God. How is that for prepared! Hopefully things keep going this way. Her daughter Gloria is pretty bad into the world but I think we are helping her to depend upon and know Christ better. Then on Sunday Federico came to church! We couldn't visit him because he was super busy in the week but he showed up anyway! We talked in the classes about the temple, baptisms for the dead and the resurrection and I was thinking "oh great he isn't going to understand anything because we haven't taught him and he is going to think it is super weird" but then we asked him what he thought afterward and he told us that he has never had a formal religious education but has preconcepts for what he feels and what he personally believes and what he had been taught was lining up with the classes and so everything was perfect for him up to then! Wow it isn't everyday that you find people like that! We hope to keep working and keep finding even more and more people. One key in this work is to always be looking. Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that we already have a good base of investigators and that we will just work with them and get them ready, but the reality is that there are always more people looking for the truth! Our president told us that if we get to where we just can't do the work because there are so many people to teach then he will take two missionaries out of another area and put them into ours! Ha ha there is always more to do and that is the challenging and exhilarating part of this work! I don't know if I told you about the familia Lopez but they are a part member familia and we are working with the littlest kid so he can get baptized, and the parents are trying to get a divorce and marriage done so that the husband can get baptized.  Well they are also coming along well, seeing the blessings of the gospel in their lives, having more peace, and advancing in their scripture study. It is so exciting to see the gospel change other's lives as it changes my own. Reading today in Alma 45 (I think it was) I read about the end of Alma's life. They said of him that he was a good man that was faithful in the church. He really was someone who was consecrated in the work. It says that one of the missions he left on with his sons, he got home, interviewed them and then without resting went back out to preach! What an example! Well in a home evening tonight we are going to do the activity at the end of chapter 6 in preach my gospel to see which attribute we can work on to get better, if you want it could be an idea for you all tonight. Well I love you all very much and thank you for you support always!

Love,

Elder Andrew