FINDING THE TRUTH

March 15

Well, things are starting to get a little chilly finally down here. Which is good. I was really getting sick of the humid heat. I like summer, but it’s always a welcome change when fall hits. This is funny, because for you guys, summer is still coming. It’s funny living on the other side of the world. We had daylight savings this weekend too, only we moved the hour back. (Spring forward fall back) only it’s the opposite here! Well, sort of. Just at different times of the year. Anyways, this week went pretty well. I’ll admit, even though I love this area, it’s getting a little hard to knock on doors and do contacts. However, yesterday we just went for it and found some great people to go and teach these coming weeks. We’ll see what happens, but it’s amazing what happens when we just go out and do what the Lord wants us to do.

We were having an interesting chat this morning in companionship study about Ether 12. We were reading where it talks about how faith leads to hope and obedience, the Lord blesses us with miracles. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found that to be true. Although sometimes it gets a little hard to be perfectly obedient (something we are always working on), if we do our very best and are continually trying to improve ourselves, the Lord is able to come and bless our lives. Just a neat thought.

We have some investigators that have lost interest due to some trials in their lives and issues with families, but we have others that are willing to make the changes and have already been converted to the gospel. It’s so interesting. People are not converted when they are baptized, but long before. It’s amazing. For example, we are teaching a family, well a couple named Javier and Kelly. They have two little girls. They started listening to us and they became hooked to the answers they were finding. Each time it’s not so much teaching as it is them figuring out what thy need to change to be baptized. They have some goals that may take some time to accomplish, but it is so amazing to see their willingness to make the changes necessary. They have found something they truly desire. The truth. It’s been amazing! I love how the gospel just changes lives.We are also teaching an old investigator named Ruben. He had been taught by the missionaries a long time ago, and always respected the church, but still wasn’t willing to call it Christ’s Church. The first few times we went over, he got very passionate. He absolutely loves Paul the apostle and he sometimes gets a little too emotional. However, we went over one day with Luis and one of the other members. Luis shared the story of his conversion. It touched his heart and little by little he has begun to open his heart more and more and he’s starting to read the Book of Mormon more and more. He also needs to make a few changes in his life, but we have invited him to be baptized. He is very excited about the prospect and really wants to. We’ll hope and pray that all works out. He would make a great seminary teacher. He really knows and understands the Bible. All of these amazing wonderful people had something in common. They were all looking for the truth. It’s like it says in Doctrine and Covenants. There are many people ready to receive the gospel, but they just don’t know where to find the truth. That’s why it is so important that as missionaries (and as Saints) we have the spirit with us so we can share the gospel with our friends and neighbors. We have some work to do in terms of finding more people, but I don’t think we have to look too hard to find those who really need the gospel. I love this work! It’s so fun going out, even though it gets discouraging at times, to serve others and love the people.