Received June 14, 2010
Buenos Dias Todos!
FIRST OF ALL! HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love you dad and I hope that you have a great Father's Day this Sunday! Enjoy the steak and the US Open.
I hope that this week has been an amazing week for all of you! It sounds like it has been a little sad with the weather but I hope that things will start to brighten up this next week!
I want to thank you all for all that you do for me! Especially mom and dad. I got all of your letters and your packages this week and it was so amazing! Thank you so much for all that you two do for me! I love you more than you know. And I am so grateful, and will be eternally grateful, that I have been blessed to be a part of your family! Grandma and grandpa, thank you for the picture and the talk! You guys are the best and I love you!
Dad thank you so much for telling me about the visit that you had with Brother Howe. That was so neat to be able to share in that experience with you. Brother Howe is such a great man! I love you Brother Howe and I am praying for you! Keep those spirits up! I will prepare as well as you for that Jackson Hole hike in a year!
So yeah, thanks to all of you for your love and your stories. It is always so great and such a blessing to hear from all of you guys. I'm not really sure why I have been blessed with family and friends such as you who love and support me endlessly, but I am so thankful for it, THANK YOU!
Anywho, this week was a busy week for us, and it was also kind of a sad week. I know that you are all probably thinking that we had a baptism this weekend but we didn't. It was a huge trial of faith for all of us, especially for Angel. But he is doing great and we are working towards another baptismal date in July.
We went over to his house and Monday night and Elder Moran and I were both shocked that there was now a bunch of new furniture in his house and then we saw a lady come out to greet us. Our hearts both sank because we both knew what it meant. After talking to him for a little bit we found out the story. A friend of a friend of Angel had told him the story about this lady who was out of a house and passing through a really rough time. She just needed a roof over her head for a few weeks until things worked out for her new place. And so Angel, being the great Christian man that he is, welcomed her into his house because he had an extra room that he wasn't using.
So yeah, for those of you who don't know about the requirements for baptism here in our mission, an investigator can't be baptized if there is someone of the opposite sex living within the house and they aren't family.
It was a shock to all of us and Angel was really discouraged because he had been looking forward to this day since the day that we had set the baptismal date with him. But he relied on that testimony that he has and he said that he doesn't know why God has that rule, but He does, and Angel said that he will work through this problem and keep the faith until he can reach the day of his baptism. It was a real trial for him but I am amazed at how much stronger he has come out of this experience. He is willing now more than ever to work hard to reach that goal. I learned a great lesson too. A lot of times we don't know why things like this happen. I know that we were all looking forward to Angel´s baptism but it seems to me that the plan for Angel was a little different than we expected. But once again, like a have seen before, the scripture in Ether 12:6 is so true. Our true testimonies come and are strengthened after we have had trials of our faith. I saw that example and that principle stronger more than ever this week in the life of our investigator and in my own life. But what a blessing it is to have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us and is an active part of our lives. He just helps us to become the best that we can be! I love it.
So yeah, that was a big bump in the road. But the good news is that the road continues and we didn't drive off the cliff. We just found another mountain that we need to climb so up we go!
Our other Angel is doing just great! Angel Pavon came to church for the second time yesterday and I could tell that he absolutely loved it. By the end he was making sure to shake all of the members' hands before he left. He is loving the Book of Mormon and continues to actually study the book. I am amazed at the joy that he is finding in the message and the peace that the scriptures are bringing to his life.
We gave him a Bible too and he has been studying both. He has had a rough life with all of the health problems that his wife has had but his faith is so incredible. All he wants to do is follow God and be on the right path. I know that he is seeing the blessings that are coming as he is doing what God asks him too. He told us this week that he has now set apart Sunday as God's day. He and his wife used to buy their food and do all their shopping on Sunday but they have moved those chores to Friday after his experience in church last week. We continue to work with him and his wife, but his wife just doesn't really have the same fire that he does. We haven't been able to teach his wife since the last time we talked to her. She hasn't been feeling too well but we know that one day she is going to come around! She has so much interest in our message. She just needs a little fire under her and then its showtime!
I had the great privilege this week of doing 3 baptismal interviews. I did one for a lady named Blanca. She was a baptism that the assistants to the President had. She talked about how the missionaries had passed by her house so many times before but how she always used to reject them and tell them that she was Catholic and to stop bothering her. She said that the day she talked to the missionaries this time they were at her neighbor´s house. She went to them and started talking to them! She said I didn't know why but for some reason their message really touched me this time. She said that the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed her life. She is going through a lot of hard family things and she told me that now "I smile when I am not doing anything. I smile because I am just filled with happiness and love. I know that God loves me and I know that I am doing what he wants me to do!"
It was an incredible experience for me and a real testimony builder to just see how really important this work and this message are. But also I see how we never know when someone will be ready to feel the testimony of the Holy Ghost. But we know that one day everyone will have that opportunity! It gave me a new found desire to get out and talk to all of those people that tell us they are Catholic and to stop bugging them! I am loving every minute of this experience and I want to thank you for all that you do. Elder Holland called this the work of angels and I am so blessed to be a part of it! But you are part of it too with all of your prayers and support. Thank you for all you do and for saying and doing the things that have helped me to stay out here and keep working hard! I hope that one day I can thank each and every one of you for all that you have done for me!
I hope that all of you fathers have an incredible Father's Day this weekend! Thank you dad for all that you do. You are my hero and I hope you know just how much I love you! You too Grandpa! Thanks for all you do!
I hope that you all have an amazing week! Thanks again for all that you do!
HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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