Hey guys!
This week was a roller-coaster of a week. We had a lot of great experiences and we also had a few disappointments. Firstly, a few of the people we were teaching had some difficulties with their families and couldn’t continue, so that was a little tough for us. However, we had lots of success stories this week.
First, Eusebio and Isabel are a father and daughter who are living here in Chile for better employment and send money back to their family in Bolivia. We found them last Sunday, and we have taught them a few times and we were just amazed at their humility and faith. We went to church together, and it was a great experience. We asked Eusebio to present (introduce) himself in the gospel principles class and he stood up and gave everybody a hug, haha it was awesome! So they are planning on getting baptized on the 30th of June, my last day in La Serena. We taught them commandments that oftentimes are hard for people to accept and live, like tithing and the word of wisdom. They listened intently, and they both showed extraordinary faith by committing to live these commandments regardless of their economic circumstances. I know they will be blessed for their obedience.
Second, Vanessa and Felipe are a young couple that we have been teaching for about a month. We taught them about forgiveness and we left them with the Savior´s teachings about the subject to read. Vanessa read and prayed and as she did she began to feel desires to forgive her father, with whom she had not spoken for more than a year. She wrote him a letter, forgiving him for everything that had happened and sent it yesterday on father´s day. She told us that it was a changing point in her life. Also, we had taught them the law of chastity and they made the decision to get married. Because of that decision, we had promised her that she would find work in La Serena. Monday of last week, two days after they had made their decision, she found a job that was perfect for her. She had been looking for months without success, but was blessed for her obedience to the commandments of God.
Third, we have been teaching a really cool guy called Andres. He is a student here in la Serena and he actually stopped us in the street because he had heard about our church and wanted to learn more. He told us that we could never, ever convince him that our church was true. My companion and I looked at each other and kind of laughed because it was true, we never convince anybody that we represent the true church of Christ. We told him that we would not convince him, rather that God would do it. We know that anybody who reads the Book of Mormon and prays to know that it is true will receive an answer that it is true. He kind of laughed and said, okay I will put it to the test. We didn`t hear from him all week long and we were worried that we had lost him when he called us up and asked us to go over. He told us that he was smoking with his friend on Friday and began to feel bad for what he was doing. He began to think a lot about what we had talked about. He really felt the desire to change his life and get rid of all of his vices. So he kneeled down by his bedside and promised God that he would give up all of the bad things in his life if God would just let him feel that peaceful confirmation that he needed to do it. He choked up will telling us about this experience and told us that he felt a peace and stillness that "passeth all understanding" and was something that he had never felt before in his life. He told us that we was willing to follow Jesus Christ and he wanted to always feel that peace in his life.
I have seen and I know from personal experience that God answers our prayers and He wants us to follow Him. I am so sure that any person who asks with real intent, wanting to know, and with faith in Christ, can know that our message is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior, and He has restored His church through prophets in these our days. I know it!
Elder Hales
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| Mission Leadership Conference in Vina del Mar (courtesy of misionvinadelmar.blogspot.com) |
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