7.7.2014

Dear Family,

Well, this week was full of a little bit of everything. Well more of the half where people cancel and keep inviting us back but then keep hiding when we come. Honesty is such an important value:) haha 

On Thursday morning we decided to call a less active that I haven't even seen in a few months, and she actually picked up the phone(that never happens) and invited us to come over in 30 minute. Well, we show up and one of her friends was there. So we thought, sweet an opportunity to share the gospel and possibly get a new investigator! Well, she was super catholic, and we had just planned to share Alma 32 with the less active and commit her to come to church(which she did woohoo!). By the end of the conversation the friend told us we should pray about our religion and find out how the church was started because there are so many churches now a days that are started by people who don't know what they're doing. I just had to laugh inside and listen patiently:)

I have never become so aware of the adversary as I have in this area lately. Jose was suppose to get the priesthood yesterday, but his boss called him into work and didn't even give him an option which is a little frustrating because he got saturdays and sundays off before he was baptized. Oh well, there's always this week. Yesterday was a little hard because literally everyone cancelled, so we set something up so we could see Jose. I know we are suppose to be the one's teaching him and supporting him, but I feel like it's the other way around. He finished the Book of Mormon Saturday so he read it in a month and a half! It was so funny because he told us how many books are in the book of mormon, how many chapters there are, and was telling us the story of the brother of jared because Obispo had mentioned it the other week in sacrament meeting. He is going to bless the church so much! Sometimes with certain commandments members like to justify them like the Sabbath Day and that God knows our hearts, but Jose knows he is clearly not keeping that commandment, and it brings so much peace to my heart because he knows it's bad to justify any disobedience. That sad thing is he is moving in September, but I know he'll be taken care of wherever he ends up. I wish you could all meet him, and just experience the absolute joy when I sit and listen to him talk about the experiences he has with the Book of Mormon and the the church.

The alvarenga family are doing good, and making good progress for getting their birth certificates. The mom should know by the 16th when in will come in, so we are praying for everything to work out. 

This week was really hard for finding new investigators and in having progress with our current investigators. I'm learning a lot about the Atonement and really using it to not be so overwhelmed and discouraged by my weaknesses and all the little things I like to pick at. I don't know if you have read the talk by Elder Gong in the June ensign called Becoming Perfect in Christ, but it is super good! Grace is the divine help that gives us power in every aspect of our lives, but only as far as we let ourselves rely on the Lord. So basically our happiness and progress boils down to the fact of our Faith in the Lord and our ability to just give everything to him. (Moroni 10:32). It's a work in progress, but probably one of the more valuable things I am learning on my mission.

For the 4th of July we had to be back in our apartments by 6 so we just did our weekly planning. I think I got a better firework show than anything in Spokane! Pretty much everyone does fireworks, so from any window in our apartment we could see some fireworks. Last year our windows only showed an alley so it was a pretty fun. We got some carne asada and pasole which is pretty typical of any holiday or celebration. 

This week we had one of the most spirit filled ZTM that I have ever been at. The mission is completely changing and it is creating so much more powerful missionaries! I am completely in awe sometimes of the work that we actually do. Elder Ballard invited us to study the principles found in the lessons we teach and then ask ourselves why each principle is important to ourselves. We did that with baptism and then practiced inviting our companion to be baptized and it was so powerful! It brought tears to my eyes as I really thought about what baptism means to me! Challenge! Take a minute or two this week and think, really think about what baptism means to you.