Monday, January 25, 2016

It's such a privilege to be able to help people grow spiritually for two years.

January 25, 2016

Hey everyone!! We've been staying busy here in Encino. So much has happened in just one week.

We met with Eddy Felix again this week and taught him The Gospel of Jesus Christ. We focused on faith in Christ, repentance, and how they both lead to Baptism. He has been struggling with feeling worthy to be baptized but we helped him realize that through repentance and faith in Christ's atonement he can feel ready to make that sacred covenant with his Heavenly Father. Elder Horito and I had both been praying for a date to set as a goal for him to be baptized, and during the lesson I was prompted to ask him to be baptized on February 14th. He said that us choosing the 14th was a sign that he needed to do this because the 14th of February is his Grandfathers birthday who he was very close with. He also said that this Church isn't just a part time thing...it's a way of life that he knows will bring him more happiness than anything else and that when he's baptized he wants to be a strong member for the rest of his life. That was pretty cool to hear him say. He's going to keep reading and praying to prepare himself for the 14th. It's such a privilege to be able to help people grow spiritually for two years.

We also taught Brian again! I love that guy! He calls us his "angels", sent to help him find the path he has been looking for his whole life. He's known since day one that this is what he needs to do. We also taught him the Gospel Of Jesus Christ and talked a lot about baptism. He said that he was baptized in prison but that it wasn't a "real baptism", there was no change in him. And he feels guilty for that. He wants this baptism to be "real". So we set a baptismal date with him for the 28th of February. He is so determined to follow Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, so determined that he has started making lifestyle changes without us even having to ask him to. The trials he has to overcome to be baptized won't be easy but we will be with him every step of the way to give him that spirit he needs to keep going. I know the Lord put him in our path for a reason and Elder Horito and I are going to do all we can to be his "angels". We will continue to show him how much his Savior and Father in Heaven love him every chance we get. We gave him a Priesthood blessing this Sunday to help him have strength to overcome his trials and withdrawals. He has a strong testimony of the power of the priesthood now and can feel God by his side. Keep him in your prayers.

We ran into a former investigator that almost got baptized last year which was a miracle! Her name is Anne Levad and she's from Haiti. She told us she wanted to take the lessons again and that she only stopped taking the lessons last year because she had to go take care of her sister in Florida. It's awesome how we've been blessed with a steady flow of investigators. When one person drops us the Lord puts another person in our path!

We picked up a new investigator named Ian this week as well. He was a referral from the sister missionaries and he's solid! He told us that he's been studying religion for a long time but none of them seem to fit for him spiritually. We brought him a Book of Mormon and he was so excited. It kinda shocked me because I wasn't that excited the first time I read the Book of Mormon...I should have been but I wasn't. It's so exciting for investigators because they know how much this book has to offer them and they can't wait to find out what's inside.

Message of the week: I heard a cool story in a mission conference we had this week that I want to share with you guys.

- A rich man took his son on a road trip to a village. He wanted his son to see how poor some people can be so they spent time on the farm of a poor family.  After the trip the boys dad asked him "Did you see how poor they are? What did you learn?" The boy replied " We have a pool, they have a river. We have walls to protect us, they have friends. We have lights at night, they have the stars. We have pets to love, they have each other. We have encyclopedias, they have the Bible."

It isn't the money that makes us rich, It's the simplicity of having God in our lives that has the true value. Everything we ever receive is a blessing.

Well I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!