Hey,
Check it out. Bitter enemies can be friends. As long as you tame them and then raise them together.
Concilio this week was interesting. Pte. and Hna. Hernández are from Minas, Lavalleja, Uruguay, and both were converted while young. Hna. Hernández´s family met the missionaries when she was 8, and the entire family was baptized. She served a mission in Argentina and is excited to be a missionary again. Pte. was baptized at age 15 when he was working in a car shop. I asked him what was the principle of the gospel that had really converted him and he replied that it had been the Book of Mormon--he did not understand all the things he read, but as he read, he could feel the Spirit testifying to him that it was true. He told the missionaries he wanted to be baptized immediately. He was called to be Branch Pres. in Minas at age 21, without a spouse or family. He has not served a mission until now. He´s soft spoken but firm, and seems completely open to any whisper of the Spirit. He has (sorry, I don´t remember the number) various children, one of which served in Oakland, California, about 10 years ago.
Other things about them--the grandson of the missionary that baptized Pte. Hernández is serving here in this mission. That is pretty dang cool.
They speak with one of the strangest accents I have ever heard--I want to speak with Harrison afterwards to see if he learned to speak that way as well. It´s a mix between the Argentinian accent and other completely unique pronunciations--lots of "j" sounds instead of "y." I can´t describe this well through writing. But I don´t want it to sound like they talk badly, it´s just a LOT different.
I remember what I first thought and felt when I met Pte. Velez--I felt that I could trust him. What I felt when I first heard Pte. Hernández was that I know and feel that is that he (and his wife) know and feel that this Gospel is true. The Spirit let me know that they have their testimony from the same source as every person that has a true testimony.
The mission will start changing soon, but only Pte. and the Lord knows what. But one thing is for sure--he´s stressingconversion a lot more now instead of just baptism. Pte. Velez stressed both, but Pte. Hernández is leaning a lot more towards total conversion.
Other news--the youth we baptized a few months ago still wants to go on a mission. We´re trying to teach his mom, who is very nice (and would like him to go on a mission as well) and has already been fellowshipped by the ward. Things are going well.
We have an investigator who is super into the Book of Mormon. When we arrive, he opens the door immediately, tells us everything about what he learned about when he read the chapter we left him, he already uses the cross references to find other scriptures, and often keeps reading even after finishing what we´ve left him. He is PSYCHED. Cool. The Book of Mormon is true. Just people´s reaction to it is a testimony of that.
Another cool thing from this week--we went to go see a less active sister who is having a lot of problems. Work, health, family, many things--we went to go teach her and at one point we felt prompted to speak. "You would not have these problems unless the Lord knew that you could support them. You have the ability to overcome all of this, and even if you still have problems, you will be stronger becuase of it." We shared Ether 12:6 and 27. I looked at her again and just said, "Dios confia en usted." (God trusts you) Her face softened and said, motioning towards her chest, "I just felt something." We finished teaching and then left.
We don´t know what we´re doing differently, but we´re having a lot things happening in our area. Which makes me remember a phrase that E. Bednar often tells missionaries, "Success is not earned, it is given. The Lord will decide whether or not you have success. It is just your job to work, and to be worthy of the blessings that God is willing to give you." And another, "Do not strive to receive blessings. Strive to be worthy enough to receive them."
Not exact quotes, but close enough. Love you all
Elder Humbert
******************
First Zone Leader Council. That´s an overly long name. And it´s not even that crazy, really. But the stuff we learn is pretty dang cool.
Haha the tall gringos dominate the center
No comments:
Post a Comment