Hey Everyone!

So, once again, another week has come and gone. It seems like a day ago when I was here writing last weeks blog. I’m pleased to say that I have a little more time that last week so I’ll try and update a little more on what’s been going on.

This week was a very interesting one. For the most part it was really good but I definitely had one of the lowest points of my mission so far. Starting off with last Thursday. Elder Bingham and I got a phone call from Obispo Rivera (our Spanish ward) in which he had asked one of us to speak. Me, being the Junior Companion and the one with the phone, talked to him, got the topic and hung up thinking that I’ll let Elder Bingham know that HE was going to be the one speaking. Little to my knowledge, the moment I said “Obispo wants one of us to speak on Sunday” I get Elder Bingham’s “Sounds to me like you are going to do a great job” smile. I’ll admit, I was a little upset mainly because I already felt weighed down with about 8 million other things I wanted to get done and also I didn’t feel that my language abilities would permit me to do such a “hard” task (the funny thing is, I’m one of those people that likes to speak and really don’t get nervous but, this would be the first time I would have to give a talk in spanish). So, I called Obispo back, let him know that I was going to be the one speaking, then got to work on preparing the beast. I took 2 days of Personal study then about an hour Sunday morning to put the finishing touches to get it done. Sunday when I was called to the stand to speak, I seriously got hard-core SCARED! However, when I got up to the podium, I did my little introduction then started speaking. I think I used a third of what I had planned to say and looked at my paper maybe 3 or 4 times during the whole thing. It was such a powerful testimony to me that I am on the Lord’s errand and that, if I simply exercise my faith in him, he is going to sustain me when I need it the most. The talk went well and I sat down just feeling really relieved that it was over. The best part of it was Hector, one of our Recent Converts, looked at me, stuck his hand out and said “Muy bien mi amigo. Muy Bien.” That was something really special. 

It’s interesting how the gospel works. Really, the principles that we teach as missionaries are quite simple. In fact, most EVERY aspect of the gospel is really simple. The trick is to not be like the children of Isreal and lose our faith because a solution is so simple. Really, if we need guidance all we need to do is pray then search the scriptures for the answer. If we are trying to help someone, we can pray and fast for them. If we are in need of help, all it takes is exercising our faith in Heavenly Father, being obedient to the covenants that we’ve made, and he will bless us with what we need. It may not come in the time frame we think it needs to come but it will come when Heavenly Father sees fit for him to give it to us.

I hit a really low point this past Saturday. We had gone over to one of the Spanish members homes for dinner (to which we were on time) and had dinner. Afterward, we were talking and she had brought up that we were really early to dinner. We told her that we were there on time. We then got into a little bit of a “discussion” about Hispanic time (to which I was well aware that in the Hispanic culture, there really are no set appointments) and I made the comment that we are missionaries and that we are supposed to be punctual. Anyway, as we were leaving she came right up to me and said “You need to stop being so prideful. You are a missionary and you are supposed to be humble.” She turned to Elder Bingham and said (in Spanish as if I wouldn’t understand) and said “You need to pray to have a lot of patience with him.” After which, she turned to me and said “Just remember that you are here to learn from him, to learn from the people, and that, right now, you don’t know anything.” Elder Bingham jumped in and mentioned that I was speaking in church on Sunday to which she responded by patting me on the back and telling me again that “I didn’t know anything.” This was extremely hard for me to face, especially at the moment that I was facing it. I have tried not to make too much of a mention of this in my blogs because I’ve wanted to keep them filled with all the positive experiences I’ve had but I had really been struggling with myself for the past couple of weeks leading up to this point. And, at that moment, the camel’s back broke and I just broke down. I had felt like I was failing. I was losing the trust of the members, I just…I was really low. That night we got back to the shack and I went outside and just sat and thought for about 45 minutes. I can’t really explain what happened but, when I got up I felt so much better. I was at peace about the whole situation and I had honestly forgiven her for the things that she had said. Since then, I have had a much more positive outlook on the things that I do know and know that, with time, I will be able to speak fluently, understand what people are saying to me, and will be able to teach in a way that Heavenly Father needs me to. So, there’s the experience of the week for you.

In other news, we have a baptism scheduled for Next Saturday, for which Elder Bingham and I are really excited for. We are continually being blessed down here and are doing our best to keep up with the work that we have. That and Halloween is this week so, whatever your plans maybe, please be safe and smart!

Well, my time is up for the week. Thank you again for all the prayers and support. They are felt Know that you all are loved, missed, and are always in my prayers. So, until next week, ADIOS! :D