So, this week was just one huge roller coaster. To be honest, it started out pretty bad but as the week went one it got a lot better.
First off, Friday was a standard work day. We tried to find some kids that, according to our records, haven’t been baptized yet. However, we found one out of, like, 13. But, the one we did find has a lot of promise and we will try and set a baptismal date this coming week. The rest of the day was pretty slow in terms of work but in the evening we set a tentative baptismal date with a little nino we found from the aforementioned record. That was pretty nice and we are excited for that!
Then Saturday rolled around…Wow, it was a TOUGH day. I started off feeling really bad…like, really dizzy and sick to my stomach. We had taken a little bit of our morning to try think of ways to improve the work in our area. For those who are familiar with missions, it was basically a 3 hour long companionship inventory. We resolved a lot of things and came up with some pretty sweet ideas to hopefully jump start the area and pick up the pace. But, the day didn’t agree. That afternoon, we went and tried to do some stop bys on some former investigators that have been in our area book for a while. Out of all the one’s we had, we actually talked to one, and quickly discovered that they weren’t ready to have us back. This took about most of the afternoon. At 5 that evening we had an appointment with an investigator that we had recently dropped. To put it simply, it was a disaster. When we showed up to his house his “esposa” (they aren’t really married but they’ve been living together for 23 years or something like that) answered the door, invited us in and, as we walked through the door, found our investigator coming in with another women. Completely unaware of the situation that had been brewing, a bit of a verbal battle broke out between Abi (his esposa) and himself. Come to find out, the whole reason why Nato was not married and did not want to be baptized at the time is because he has been cheating for about 20 years on Abi with like…tons of different women. Now the interesting part was that he knew what he was doing was wrong and he felt extremely guilty about it but he just didn’t know how to stop. By the end of the 45 minute explanation they gave about the situation, both Nato and Abi were crying and were basically asking us to help. I can honestly say I have seldom felt the amount of disgust and distrust as I did in that room that appointment. Elder Bingham spent the next half hour acting as marriage counselors and, by the end, gave a bold proclamation of repentance to Nato. We explained the repentance process, how to change, and told him straight out that, because he has children with Abi, he has an obligation for their care and well-being. When everything was finally taken care of, we set up a return appointment then left. It was by far one of the weirdest experiences of my life. On the brighter side, we found the source of his doubts on becoming a member of the church. Now, all we need to do is rebuild them and hopefully things will finally fall into place. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful and we eventually went in to do our numbers.
Sunday was the turning point for the week but it started out pretty rough. During our weekly correlation meeting with Hno. Barrios, we came to find out that he had seen Hector, one of our recent converts, buying beer on Thanksgiving day…pretty devastating for us seeing that we have been trying our best to help prepare him receive the priesthood. After the meeting we went back to the Shack and I seriously went to my desk and started reading conference talks. I can’t remember what talk it was but it referred me to a scripture in Mosiah that really hit me hard. Basically it said that there are those who are ready to accept the gospel and there are those who are ready to accept it, but will deny it. As a result, they will be judged the same as those who accepted the gospel or now. As I pondered this idea, I had this thought come to my mind. I began to realize that, as missionaries, our purpose is to act like Christ and knock on the door and bring the message to those who are ready. We are to teach the doctrine as we have been taught, and help bring others to the fold of Christ. However, we are not able to remove the agency of others. They still have the opportunity to accept or reject what they been taught. So, judging by the way the take the message, they will receive their deserved reward. As for the missionaries, as long as they teach the message to the best of their ability, we can take comfort that we have done all that we can. From that point on, I had a very different perspective of the trials we were facing. Not too long after this, we went to the church to find that Miguel and his entire family was at the church along with 2 other of our investigators. Elder Bingham and I were just ecstatic. We had been praying for them so much to come that, to see them there, almost brought tears to my eyes. From that point on, the week has been incredible. The rest of Sunday was fairly busy which made for a fantastic night’s sleep.
Monday went very well. We went split tracting with a couple of the presbiteros in the ward and found 4 more potential investigators. Afterward, we did some tractback checks (none of them went through). At 6:00, we ran over to Melissa’s with the AP’s to have her baptismal interview. While she was having her interview, Elder Clarke (note to Ciarra Larsen, I believe Elder Clarke is VERY familiar with your family. He is a Spanish elder but he served in your ward in about May/June) and I went knocking on doors. Nothing really happened but, the best part is, Melissa passed the interview and now we are having her baptism today! We are just really excited for her. After the interview, we ran over to Miguel and His family for our lesson. It went well but we realized that we still have a lot of work with them. Miguel has some doubts about the Book of Mormon and they really didn’t have anything fantastic to say about church but, we are hoping and praying that things will go better this week. We gave a very powerful and promising commitment to him to read and follow the example of Joseph Smith and the council in Moroni and pray to know if the Book and our message is true. In the meantime, we have been praying very hard that he will receive that witness and that he will recognize it. I guess we will find out the result next week.
Yesterday was interview day with President Beck. Mine lasted a little bit longer than last time and I set some pretty good goals with him. However, the interesting part actually happened in Elder Bingham’s interview. President asked him if he felt I was ready to step train. He didn’t say when or give any idea to who but, Elder Bingham told him yes. So, there is a chance that I may be training next transfer. But, we will find out in a couple of weeks! I really don’t know how I feel about it. It’s an honor to train but…I just don’t quite feel ready yet. But, if Heavenly Father sees the need, I will meet the call.
Whew, there’s the low down for this last week. In other news, this part is important, we were informed yesterday that our P-day has now been CHANGED TO MONDAY! So, from now on, the days you all will receive letters will change. We will have our first Monday P-day next week so, step lightly! Also, we will be going to the Mesa Temple next week (Tuesday to be exact) to do a session at the temple! I am way excited and cannot wait to go. It’s been almost 3 months from the last time I went. Also, we will be looking at the Christmas lights they have set up so I will be sure to send some pictures out next post. But, I think that is a bit all for this week. Thank you all for the prayers you are giving for my sake. They were definitely felt this past week. Know that all of you are loved, missed, and are in my prayers. One last thing, to my dear friends at BYU, GOOD LUCK ON FINALS! I will be praying for each of you! Alright, until next week my friends, iHasta Luego!
“It’s the most Wonderful Time…”: This was Elder Bingham and I’s first present of the Christmas season. Margarita (our newest convert on the West side) bought us some mugs, hot cocoa, and cookies to keep us warm in the cold Arizona mornings. Pretty sweet huh!
“’Tis the season…”: For high electricity bills! HAHA! I’m telling you, the Mexicans go ALL OUT when it comes to Christmas lights. Here is one of the best we have seen so far. It might be a little blurry but you get the idea.
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