This week of my life in the mission has been pretty good. We
had a bunch of lessons and found a few good people and now have a bunch of
stuff to do this coming week.
Wednesday.
In the morning, we didn’t have anything planned, so I
thought we would go to an area that I haven’t really worked too much in and do
some contacting to find a few people. And we did find a few people. So we
talked to them and got to know them a little bit and then we told them a little
about who we are and what we do as missionaries. Then we set up some citas. One
of the contacts was really good. She was a girl with about 13 years that we
stopped to talk to on the street. Her name is Ariana. So we talked to her and
set up a cita with her and her family for the following night. I’ll write more
about that later. Then we went looking for a reference, but couldn’t find him,
so that’s all that happened in the morning. During lunch in the pench, I listen
to a really cool conversion story of a Catholic priest that was super crazy and
I actually learned a lot from. Amazing stories and experiences. During the
Siesta, we had our first District Meeting of the transfer, and first one for me
as District Leader. It went pretty well. We read together in 3 Nephi 27 and we
all got something pretty good from it. Then, as part of the meeting, we
reviewed the Mission Goals that Presidente wants us to be completing every day,
which are to have two lessons with a member, 2 other lessons, and 10 contacts a
day. We talked about that, and then changed one thing, to make it so that we do
15 contacts a day instead of 10. That way we can start to find more people and
have more opportunities to find people who are prepared. After the siesta, we
went to teach Jonathan and that was all pretty okay. We reviewed lesson one and
the word of wisdom and he told us that sometimes he still drinks with friends.
So we told him that blessings come from keeping the commandments completely. It
was a pretty good lesson, but still kind of hard. But, in the end, we gave him
a priesthood blessing that he would be able to remember the commandment in all
times and to also have the strength to avoid and deny any opportunities to not
keep the commandment. It was a good experience. Then, when we left, we went to
another lesson with Fabian, a kid who has been talking to the missionaries on
and off for about a year now. Elder Loveridge and I have gone by a few times,
but this time we were actually let in and sat down and talked with him and had
a real lesson. We got to know him a little better and he is a super cool kid.
Super into anime and video games, so I can relate to him a little bit. But he
and Elder Grandon get along really well. Then we started to talk to him about
some questions he has for us, questions about religion and basic life questions.
He had a few questions that could be answered really well with the Plan of
Salvation, so we taught him about that. He really liked it! He’s obviously
already heard it before from all of the other missionaries that have talked to
him, but he was really into the lesson and had a lot of comments. Then, in the
end, when we were talking about the Celestial Kingdom and all of that, we
talked about the things that we have to do during our lives to earn and deserve
our spot in the highest kingdom of glory. So, we talked about baptism and ended
up extending the baptismal invitation to him. And he accepted!! Which was
awesome. So that was pretty sweet. After that, we went to the FML Amarilla and
introduced Elder Grandon to them and set up some service for later in the week.
Then, we went to the FML Varino too and introduced Elder Grandon to them too
and gave a blessing to one of the boys too. It was a really good day
overall.
Thursday
In the morning, we went to pull out our money for the
transfer and then after had a choque de fuerza in the area of the other Elders.
It was a pretty good time. We talked to a bunch of people and got a few
contacts, but didn’t have any lessons. But that’s okay, We found a lot of
potential and the other Elders should keep pretty busy with the contacts that
we got. In the afternoon, we had the lesson with the girl named Ariana and her
family. When we showed up, Ariana wasn’t home from school yet, so we just
talked to her parents and younger brother until we were able to teach the whole
family all together. They are so cool!! The dad is super chill and likes
listening. Mostly because his wife doesn’t enough talking for the two of them
combined. The mom is super nice and friendly, and used to be a Jehovah’s
Witness. So she is super into religion and beliefs and things like that. But it
was really cool, because we are the first Mormon missionaries to talk to them
before. And just the other day, they say a few missionaries in the street, if
it was us or others, and said to each other that they thought it was weird that
they had never talked to the Mormons before. And now, only a few days later, we
are talking to them! Super cool. But the lesson went really well. They all
understood a lot and didn’t really have too many questions, which is pretty
good. They were really attentive and paid attention well. So, in the end of the
lesson when we were talking about priesthood authority to baptize and the Book
of Mormon, they accepted our invitation to baptism! We set the date for the
20th of October and then set up another lesson for Monday after Pday ended. It
was amazing!! Such a good lesson. After that, we went to visit a menos activo
lady that hasn’t been going to church for a few years now and is actually
attending a different church. It all happened because of a big conflict between
her and her ex-husband. It was pretty sad to hear, but in the end, we only
invited her to Read the Book of Mormon and then bore our testimonies of the
Church of Jesus Christ and how we know that it is the real,, true church on the
earth today. After that, we visited the older Marani couple to introduce my
companion to them and to share with them the news of our Menos activo hermana
who we had just met. The Marani’s are so old and sweet and funny. I love them.
Friday
Friday wasn’t too eventful of a day. We didn’t have any real
citas, but it was a good day non the less. In the morning, we went to see our
friend Nazareno and we were able to talk to him for a while. We asked him how
his reading and praying has been, but he hasn’t been doing any of that. He also
doesn’t remember anything from the Word of Wisdom, so that was a little tough.
So we re-explained to him the word of wisdom and re-invited him to pray and
read the Book of Mormon, but we are thinking that for now we aren’t going to be
passing by him as often, which is pretty lame and hard to do. Then we contacted
for a little bit and didn’t have too much success, but had a good lunch with
the FML Leonelo. They are super cool. I’ll get a picture or something soon. In
the afternoon, we went and did some service for HNO Amarillo around his house.
We helped him take apart and fix up a broken fan and also cleaned out the
gutters of his house. We ended up spending most of the afternoon there and we weren’t
able to make it to English Class, but we had already gotten a call from Dante
telling us that he wasn’t going to be able to come to class. After service, we
went back to the pench and changed, then went back out and contacted for a
little bit longer.
Saturday
Saturday was yet again a pretty good day. In the morning, we
went to some of the citas that we had set up, but all of them fell through
super quickly, so we weren’t able to do that. Super lame, but we took the
opportunity to go and get haircuts. It was pretty cool. I’ve gotten to the
point that when I’m talking to people and they ask where I’m from, I ask them
where they think I’m from and they don’t think I’m from the USA. Pretty cool
and funny. My Spanish is pretty dang good now. During the siesta, I had some
really good studies in Mosiah about Abinadi and how he just completely destroys
people and their wicked practices. Ha. Eat that wicked people! In the
afternoon, we went to our normal cita with Jonathan and taught him more about
the 10 Commandments. It was a pretty alright lesson. We cleared up some
questions that he had about saints and prayer and things like that. After that
lesson, we went to teach Fabian again and again had a pretty good lesson with
him. This time, we taught him and discussed the Restoration. It went super smoothly
and he understood a lot. He’s already heard this lesson a bunch of times, but
it’s always good to review and cover any questions or doubts he might have. He
took all the information really well. In the end, I asked him why, out of all
the time that he has been talking to the missionaries, does he want to be
baptized so badly now. Or, why hasn’t he been baptized before. He told us that
he has always wanted to be baptized, but the problem is that his mom hasn’t let
him do so. But, now he thinks that she will be more open to it and willing to
allow him to be baptized. It was a good lesson and we ended on a super good
prayer by Fabian. After that, we went contacting again. At this point in the
day, I was super freaking tired. The entire day had been super hot and humid
and I was just ready to go home and sleep. But, I took the opportunity to
really try to listen for the Spirit and find at least one person that would be
willing to listen to us. So, we contacted a house that I was feeling good
about, and it turned out to be awesome. Her name is Ariadna and she is super
great! She and her boyfriend are living alone and expecting a baby in a few
months. Her boyfriend wasn’t home, but she was super nice and pretty interested
in what we had to say and share. We set up a cita for the coming week and I
think that its going to be an amazing lesson when we come to it. As we were
walking home, an old drunk guy yelled at us and said HEY! You guys want a
drink? And I said A drink of what? He said Beer! and I replied I don’t drink
beer, but let’s go! So we walked with him to a kiosco nearby and he bought us
an apple juice. Then he sat down and told us to "Preach to him" So we
talked to him very briefly about what we do as missionaries and then got him
address and name. The man was fantastically drunk. He also invited us to eat
asado with him, so we now we are planning to visit him on Tuesday and maybe
have asado with him, if he can even remember a darned thing that
happened.
Sunday
It was a pretty good Sunday too!! In the morning, we went to
look for Fabian and take him to church with us, but when we got there, his mom
told us that he hadn’t woken up yet. So that was a bit lame. We ended up going
to church all alone because Jonathan didn’t come either. So that was kind of
tough. During church, Gonzalo, one of Elder Loveridge’s converts, shared his
experience of going to the temple and holy cow, that was amazing. The Spirit
was so strong, especially as he shared how he felt as he was doing the baptism
for his father. It was the best part of church this week, without a doubt.
After church meetings, we had a short meeting with our Mission Leader and
talked to him about our investigadores and how we can work together to set up a
kind of activity for the ward that we can invite investigadores and members to.
I think it’s going to be great. We are going to have to plan better in near
future, but it was a good time. Afterwards, he and his wife invited us to their
home for lunch. It was great. They are super fun and their daughter is cute and
full of energy. After lunch, we went to Las Vegas and visited a few people and
set up a few citas. One is with a contact that we are actually super excited
for. She is super interested in what we have to say and seems to be open to our
messages too. She also has quite a few questions. We talked with her for a
little bit about how Jesus only established one church during his life and that
there must be only one true church today. So we are super happy about that and
can’t wait to go by her again this coming week. After her, we went by Dante at
his house for the first time and we were able to meet his wife and one of his
sons. They are a really nice family, but I can definitely feel that he really
needs the Gospel light in his life. He is such a great person, he just doesn’t
really have too much LIGHT in his life. So we talked to him about the
restoration and how God wants us to be happy and that is why he has given us
prophets and a way to feel closer to him and Jesus. He was super interested and
in the end, we left him with a Book of Mormon and I made sure to promise him
that he could know for himself that the book is true. I made sure to
point out that he does feel different when he is in our church building
and also when reading the pamphlet that we gave him and, now, he can feel it as
he reads the Book of Mormon. He is super excited to read the book! Yeah!! Then
we stopped by Fabian and talked to him about coming to seminary with us on
Tuesday. He said that he has already gone once and that he really liked it. SO
we are going to go with him and then afterwards, we hope to talk to him more
and maybe teach him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and give him a tour of the
church building. I’m so excited!!
So yeah. that’s been the week. Like the title says, it’s
starting to get hot here, which is super lame because technically we are only
in spring so if it gets hot now, it’s going to be so much hotter in summer.
But, it’s still going to be a great week! We have Zone Conference on Thursday
and that is going to be great. I can’t wait to see everyone in the Zone,
especially my good friend and old comp, Elder Loveridge.
Mom told me about all of the fundraisers and support for the
family at home and all over. It is
amazing and makes me feel so comforted and happy. I love it!! I legit almost
cry every time that I read about these types of things. I know I say it a lot,
but I just want to give a huge hug to everyone that helps!! Thank you for
everything that is being done on behalf of my family. Every single action is an action of love.
So yeah. Thank you all for the love and support that you
show for me and my family. Love you all!!
Chau
Elder Haley
My first District Meeting as District Leader
My typical breakfast: oatmeal with peaches and a protein shake
At a family party lunch on Sunday
Pday pizza with Geranimo
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