October 17, 2011 - Family Email

Hello family again!!

So the time is going by rather fast, it always feels like I am brushing my teeth and sleeping but I am always tired and feel like I need more sleep.  Does that make sense?  The missionary part of the day goes by super fast I don´t even remember doing half the stuff I do because it goes by so fast and takes up the whole day!  So yeah the suit fell apart and I was sad; I held off telling you for awhile because I knew you would be pissed!!  So I haven´t gotten the package yet because last Wednesday was another holiday. 

But this week we worked super hard again and we got 25 lessons.  This week was very regular again but, yesterday we had kind of a cool experience.  It was one of those moments were I felt like the weight of peoples salvation was on top of my shoulders.  So we just contacting another Bolivian (because there is millions out here) and we had passed by her house many of times but she is always working or just says she´s busy when she really isn´t doing much, but we stopped by her house.  We knocked on the door and I asked how are you? All that stuff and I could tell she was crying.  I asked; "Is there anything we can do to help you?"  She said no, and I asked when could we come over another time.  She said next week.  I said okay and I told her we are going to give her our number in case she needs help with something because she is like 40 years old and crying.  As I was writing down our number she said come in.  We do so and sat down and she is just crying and starts explaining to us that her sons girl friend left him and took their child and that her son said he was going to kill himself.  This mother hadn´t seen him since Saturday night and so close to 24 hours.  We kept on telling her that we are here to help and everything.  Elder Banbury had no idea what to do, I was already taking lead of the conversation.  She kept talking and crying and I pulled out my Book of Mormon and just started searching and searching for something.  I asked her if she was a believer in Christ and God and if she believed in prayer.  I asked her if she had prayed for comfort and for help today and she said yes.  So I am still searching and I found the scripture!!  1 Nephi 17:13 or 13:17 it says I will be your light in the desert if you look unto me and keep my commandments and I will lead you to the promised land you will know that I was the one that lead you.  So I read this to her and than of course I likened it unto her as Nephi teaches us to do so.  I told her that you need to look unto Christ right now.  You don´t know where your son is, you are in a desert, you are lost and in darkness.  Christ is your light, he loves you and look up to him.  He will guide you.  She was crying and I was so sincere, I had never been like that with someone before.  I have never been able to share something so powerfully before.  I know that the Lord put us in her path to help her.  We weren´t planning on stopping by her house at all yesterday because she always says she´s busy.  We opened the door to a weeping woman and helped her out.  When I left the house I felt like a disciple of Christ, even though we didn´t take away the problem and I felt so helpless.  I didn´t know what to do to her, I couldn´t hug her or anything to comfort her.  All I had was the words of Christ and a testimony.  I tried right?  She said we could come back and she wants us to talk to her son without her there to help him.  So we are going to stop by one afternoon to talk to him, if he is still alive, we have no idea.  But that was a really cool experience for me, I was praying so much in that house saying please help me find something to help your daughter!  I only addressed her concerns and tried to help her, not try to get a lesson in and teach her and try to get her baptized.  I was trying to think of what Christ would do in this situation. 

Breakfast with President Clegg

Well mother no, no one got baptized.  The next person to be baptized would be Angeles or Petri.  Petri is still doing awesome and is getting baptized on the 30th.  Angeles is getting interviewed on Thursday.  She can´t understand the questions but she loves church and feels it. She won't pray still in front of us.  She is a nice lady and we will see what our district leader says Thursday about her interview. We have still called Jorge a lot and he won't answer, so I guess he is done for.  Elder Banbury is super sad about him; It's the closest person he has had to baptism here in Puerto and he failed us.  But we have Angeles and Petri and Juan if he quits smoking.  He has improved a lot but he is soooo addicted.  Right now he is only smoking 3 to 5 a day.  Yesterday he only left once during sacrament, he may not of even smoked during the 5 minutes he was gone.  Henry and Paloma are super flaky and are hard to teach.  They are so nice and would be good Mormons, one day. Betty had a really, really bad week.  Her boss died, well her job, she took care of an older lady and she died.  We talked to her on the phone for 20 minutes last night and we are going to talk to her tomorrow.  This last Tuesday we taught Pres Clegg and Hermana Clegg about the Book of Mormon and how to receive an answer.  We did really good.  Hermana Clegg loved it!  Well that´s about all that happened this week!  I love you all and mother feel better! Thanks again for the package even though I dont´t have it yet!

Cooking Breakfast for President Clegg

Love,

Cody