So I just wrote a whole long e-mail and exited before I saved it so this one will be a Reader’s Digest version
Rosa and Mariana got the Holy Ghost on Sunday. I had the privilege to confirm Rosa a member of the church. It is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Later that night we went to Sunnyside and watched Morgan get baptized. I also found out that on Sunday Nancy Mendoza got baptized. We worked with them a lot while I as there.
Elder Cavaness went home today. That means I have a new companion, Elder Urbina. He is from Gilbert, Arizona and has been out about five months. He was working in Yakima already so he is now my companion and his former companion will be training a new Elder that is arriving from the MTC today. We will still be working in the Spanish branch.
Sorry it’s so short!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
It is warming up (01/19/2010)
It has been warming up a little bit lately. It has been in the mid 40's with a lot of rain. It has actually been quite nice. I do wish it would snow a little bit more again. Two snow storms are not enough in my opinion.
The baptism for Rosa and Mariana went just as planned. Elder Quintana, the Elder that was here before me, baptized them. Everything went well. It is interesting to note that this is only the third baptism that I have been to on my mission of my own investigators. That is probably due to the fact that I have been moving around so much.
Duvi is doing well. She came to church on Sunday but left early because she was sick. But on Friday we went over there and we were teaching her the plan of salvation. She said she really liked it and thought it was very interesting but she couldn't believe that until she believes that the Book of Mormon is true, and we are all “you’re right”! Then she said “well actually the other day when you asked me to pray about Joseph Smith, I did that night, then I had a dream that night and she said I don't know what was happening in my dream but I just felt calm and peace and Joseph Smith’s name kept going through my head.” So I said “do you believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet?” and she said “yes”, then I asked if she believed the Book of Mormon is true and she said “yes”. So that’s a good start. Hopefully we can get in a few times this week and commit her to baptism.
Ricardo didn't come to church and we haven't been able to meet with him since our last appointment. We had another Family home evening with Ivan last night. He is doing well. He didn't come to church on Sunday because he had to work I believe. Heraldo came to church, and we are meeting with him tonight. He is doing better even though, the back window of his car is still broken.
Well that’s about all that has been going on. Elder Cavaness is at the temple today with President Belnap. Elder Cavaness goes home next Tuesday. I don't know what will happen to me but I will probably stay here.
Other than that things are good. I have noticed that my eczema has not bothered me at all this winter. My legs are dry and sometimes they itch, but nothing bad. I wonder if I have grown out of it. I hope so.
Well I better get going. Lately I have been reading Our Search for Happiness by Elder Ballard. That is a really good book. I recommend it to all. It is very insightful and just an all around good book. Have a great week.
The baptism for Rosa and Mariana went just as planned. Elder Quintana, the Elder that was here before me, baptized them. Everything went well. It is interesting to note that this is only the third baptism that I have been to on my mission of my own investigators. That is probably due to the fact that I have been moving around so much.
Duvi is doing well. She came to church on Sunday but left early because she was sick. But on Friday we went over there and we were teaching her the plan of salvation. She said she really liked it and thought it was very interesting but she couldn't believe that until she believes that the Book of Mormon is true, and we are all “you’re right”! Then she said “well actually the other day when you asked me to pray about Joseph Smith, I did that night, then I had a dream that night and she said I don't know what was happening in my dream but I just felt calm and peace and Joseph Smith’s name kept going through my head.” So I said “do you believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet?” and she said “yes”, then I asked if she believed the Book of Mormon is true and she said “yes”. So that’s a good start. Hopefully we can get in a few times this week and commit her to baptism.
Ricardo didn't come to church and we haven't been able to meet with him since our last appointment. We had another Family home evening with Ivan last night. He is doing well. He didn't come to church on Sunday because he had to work I believe. Heraldo came to church, and we are meeting with him tonight. He is doing better even though, the back window of his car is still broken.
Well that’s about all that has been going on. Elder Cavaness is at the temple today with President Belnap. Elder Cavaness goes home next Tuesday. I don't know what will happen to me but I will probably stay here.
Other than that things are good. I have noticed that my eczema has not bothered me at all this winter. My legs are dry and sometimes they itch, but nothing bad. I wonder if I have grown out of it. I hope so.
Well I better get going. Lately I have been reading Our Search for Happiness by Elder Ballard. That is a really good book. I recommend it to all. It is very insightful and just an all around good book. Have a great week.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
We are super busy (01/12/2010)
We are SUPER busy. We have been finding solid people to teach left and right. Here’s the run down and hopefully I don't leave anyone out.
Rosa-Is doing great. She will have her interview tomorrow and be baptized Sunday at 5. She is really doing well, outside of her crazy kids. Her 14-year-old daughter is dating and 15-year kid is in a gang. A couple of weeks ago he was shot in the arm four times. He is not a very smart kid. It is amazing though, how calm she has been and how she has kept her focus on things, even with the adversary trying his hardest to pull her down.
Heraldo- He is doing well, he missed our appointment on Tuesday and didn't come to church on Sunday, because his tire was a flat and someone bashed in his windshield. The adversary again trying to pull someone down....
Ivan- Ivan came to church a couple of weeks ago. He is the one that is married to the member. Well we went over to their house last night and had a family home evening with them. He is a really nice guy. We don't really know if he wants to join but according to his wife...he is interested.
Duvi- Wednesday we went tracting and the second door we knocked on was Duvi's, she opened the door and said I have lived here for 5 years and you guys have never knocked on my door, come in. So we come in and she explains to us that 2 years ago, she was excommunicated from the Jehovah's Witness church for dating outside of the church. She said that she wanted to get married and all of the single guys were way too young, (she is 41) so she went to look for a husband in other places. Well now she is excommunicated and no one that is a Jehovah’s Witness can talk to her, not even her family that are members. Very strange to me. So we have begun teaching her. She has a lot of great questions, which makes it a lot easier to teach her. The other day she asked me "how do I become a member of your faith?" Well we met her Wednesday, went back Friday, and she came to church on Sunday and we met with her again yesterday, and started teaching her 27-year-old daughter who is also very interested. She is a very nice lady, who is very eager to learn.
Ricardo- Last Tuesday we went to this one house looking for a less active member. Well he didn't live there but Ricardo did. He was talking to us and said it is funny that you guys came tonight, because today at work I asked my friends, why are we in this life. I am tired of this routine, I feel empty inside. He said I have three questions, where did we come from, why are we here, and where are we going after this life. Our jaws just about dropped. So we went back on Sunday and answered those questions. He said I believe what you guys are teaching me, you really do have the answers to those questions. He is also a great guy, likes to talk, but a nice guy. Our next step is to start teaching his wife and their five kids. Hopefully we can fill all of their emptiness that they feel inside.
Well that’s the run down of the people we are teaching. We also have many more that we have talked to, and others that have been taught for a while. What do I contribute it to? Not having time to think about other things, ever since we have gotten here, we have run around like chickens with our heads cut off. We have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger. We have been busier that a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest. In other words...we are busy. It is nice. I loved Toppenish and my other areas, but Yakima is quickly jumping to the top because of how many people there are to teach.
Well that’s about all I have this week. Please pray for the people I have listed. They need your prayers. The Lord has put these people in the path of His gospel, if they do their part, they will be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. Have a great week.
Rosa-Is doing great. She will have her interview tomorrow and be baptized Sunday at 5. She is really doing well, outside of her crazy kids. Her 14-year-old daughter is dating and 15-year kid is in a gang. A couple of weeks ago he was shot in the arm four times. He is not a very smart kid. It is amazing though, how calm she has been and how she has kept her focus on things, even with the adversary trying his hardest to pull her down.
Heraldo- He is doing well, he missed our appointment on Tuesday and didn't come to church on Sunday, because his tire was a flat and someone bashed in his windshield. The adversary again trying to pull someone down....
Ivan- Ivan came to church a couple of weeks ago. He is the one that is married to the member. Well we went over to their house last night and had a family home evening with them. He is a really nice guy. We don't really know if he wants to join but according to his wife...he is interested.
Duvi- Wednesday we went tracting and the second door we knocked on was Duvi's, she opened the door and said I have lived here for 5 years and you guys have never knocked on my door, come in. So we come in and she explains to us that 2 years ago, she was excommunicated from the Jehovah's Witness church for dating outside of the church. She said that she wanted to get married and all of the single guys were way too young, (she is 41) so she went to look for a husband in other places. Well now she is excommunicated and no one that is a Jehovah’s Witness can talk to her, not even her family that are members. Very strange to me. So we have begun teaching her. She has a lot of great questions, which makes it a lot easier to teach her. The other day she asked me "how do I become a member of your faith?" Well we met her Wednesday, went back Friday, and she came to church on Sunday and we met with her again yesterday, and started teaching her 27-year-old daughter who is also very interested. She is a very nice lady, who is very eager to learn.
Ricardo- Last Tuesday we went to this one house looking for a less active member. Well he didn't live there but Ricardo did. He was talking to us and said it is funny that you guys came tonight, because today at work I asked my friends, why are we in this life. I am tired of this routine, I feel empty inside. He said I have three questions, where did we come from, why are we here, and where are we going after this life. Our jaws just about dropped. So we went back on Sunday and answered those questions. He said I believe what you guys are teaching me, you really do have the answers to those questions. He is also a great guy, likes to talk, but a nice guy. Our next step is to start teaching his wife and their five kids. Hopefully we can fill all of their emptiness that they feel inside.
Well that’s the run down of the people we are teaching. We also have many more that we have talked to, and others that have been taught for a while. What do I contribute it to? Not having time to think about other things, ever since we have gotten here, we have run around like chickens with our heads cut off. We have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger. We have been busier that a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest. In other words...we are busy. It is nice. I loved Toppenish and my other areas, but Yakima is quickly jumping to the top because of how many people there are to teach.
Well that’s about all I have this week. Please pray for the people I have listed. They need your prayers. The Lord has put these people in the path of His gospel, if they do their part, they will be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. Have a great week.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Another 6 inches later (01/05/2010)
Well another six inches of snow fell on the ground over the week. But then to top it off, it was in the high 30's and rainy yesterday so it made for a very wet and cold day. There is still quite a bit of snow on the ground, but not as much as there was.
Things are going really well here. We had another four people to church. It was Rosa and her two kids, and Heraldo. Rosa is still doing really well. She is still set to be baptized on the 17th. She is an awesome lady.
Heraldo is doing really well too. We went by Tuesday night and told him to put all of his doubts behind, and pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if the Book of Mormon is true. He seemed to understand why we were wanting him to do that. It was a really good lesson, though at the end he walked out and said, oh yeah I don't know if the new church schedule is going to work (we went from 12:30 to 9) because my other church starts at 10. So that was kind of a curveball. So we expected him to just come for sacrament and then leave and go to his other church. So he comes to church and then stays all three hours. So after I asked him how come you didn't go to your other church. He said that he would rather be here. So I think he is getting it. We don't know how the praying has been going because our next appointment is tonight. Afterwards though he asked if we could go with him out to his car. So we did and we though he was going to drop us. He reaches in and his Book of Mormon and all of those books were sitting on his passenger seat so we thought he was reaching in to give those back, but then he reached into his glove compartment and pulled out two ties and gave us each one. It was really nice. They are nice ties too. It was cool
The story of the week has to belong to little Emily Cruz:
Last Tuesday after e-mailing I got a call from President Hanson of the Mattawa branch presidency. Mattawa is over by Connell but is in the Spokane mission. He said that he has two investigators that are at the NICU in Yakima because their baby was premature and that was the closest NICU I guess. So they had asked for a priesthood blessing and he had called us to see if we could make it over there. So that night we go over there but the parents aren't there, so we weren't allowed back there. Well the next day I was on exchanges with Elder Urbina and we had set up a time to meet them there. So we get over there and they had just gotten there, she was feeding the baby so we had to wait outside. Well the dad comes out and says she is ready but says only 2 people are allowed back there at a time. So since a parent had to be there, only one of us could go. So I went. For the record, I have only given about three blessings in Spanish in my life so I didn't know what I was going to do. So I head back there and I see this baby and it was the littlest thing I had ever seen in my life. I was talking to the mom for a little bit and come to find out, the baby was 7 weeks premature. It weighed 2.2 pounds at birth. It was tiny. So I anointed her and blessed her. I could only fit my index and middle finger of both hands on her head, and that was stretching it. It was so little. The spirit was really there though and I can tell you that she is going to be all right. She will live a happy healthy life. It was awesome.
Have a great week and remember to pray like it is all up to the lord.
Things are going really well here. We had another four people to church. It was Rosa and her two kids, and Heraldo. Rosa is still doing really well. She is still set to be baptized on the 17th. She is an awesome lady.
Heraldo is doing really well too. We went by Tuesday night and told him to put all of his doubts behind, and pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if the Book of Mormon is true. He seemed to understand why we were wanting him to do that. It was a really good lesson, though at the end he walked out and said, oh yeah I don't know if the new church schedule is going to work (we went from 12:30 to 9) because my other church starts at 10. So that was kind of a curveball. So we expected him to just come for sacrament and then leave and go to his other church. So he comes to church and then stays all three hours. So after I asked him how come you didn't go to your other church. He said that he would rather be here. So I think he is getting it. We don't know how the praying has been going because our next appointment is tonight. Afterwards though he asked if we could go with him out to his car. So we did and we though he was going to drop us. He reaches in and his Book of Mormon and all of those books were sitting on his passenger seat so we thought he was reaching in to give those back, but then he reached into his glove compartment and pulled out two ties and gave us each one. It was really nice. They are nice ties too. It was cool
The story of the week has to belong to little Emily Cruz:
Last Tuesday after e-mailing I got a call from President Hanson of the Mattawa branch presidency. Mattawa is over by Connell but is in the Spokane mission. He said that he has two investigators that are at the NICU in Yakima because their baby was premature and that was the closest NICU I guess. So they had asked for a priesthood blessing and he had called us to see if we could make it over there. So that night we go over there but the parents aren't there, so we weren't allowed back there. Well the next day I was on exchanges with Elder Urbina and we had set up a time to meet them there. So we get over there and they had just gotten there, she was feeding the baby so we had to wait outside. Well the dad comes out and says she is ready but says only 2 people are allowed back there at a time. So since a parent had to be there, only one of us could go. So I went. For the record, I have only given about three blessings in Spanish in my life so I didn't know what I was going to do. So I head back there and I see this baby and it was the littlest thing I had ever seen in my life. I was talking to the mom for a little bit and come to find out, the baby was 7 weeks premature. It weighed 2.2 pounds at birth. It was tiny. So I anointed her and blessed her. I could only fit my index and middle finger of both hands on her head, and that was stretching it. It was so little. The spirit was really there though and I can tell you that she is going to be all right. She will live a happy healthy life. It was awesome.
Have a great week and remember to pray like it is all up to the lord.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
