Hola Familia!
Elder Diaz and I had an absolutely amazing week! We had a baptismal service where a wonderful family was baptized. Remember one of the stories that I shared in the last email home about a man who lived in Arizona, knew the church there, and contacted us in the street. He and his family were baptized this last week. We knew them for a little over one week and they were baptized! That is what you call a family of gold! What a sweet experience it was to pass by their house every night before the baptism to teach them and to see how they just accepted everything. We are going to take them to the temple this next week to teach them how exactly they can become a eternal family. The members are so happy to have another family in the tiny ward here.
I am so excited for Conference this next weekend and I am looking forward to learning tons. I have read many. many talks this past few months and have enjoyed applying what they taught. We are so blessed to have a living prophet and apostles. Every time I teach someone that we have a living prophet and apostles it hits me harder and harder just how blessed we are. We get to hear the mouthpiece of God talk to us twice a year. I am going to pray that I will get the answers that I need from the divinely prepared talks that are going to be given. Last conference I did this and received mounds of answers even for questions I didn't really know I had!
I love all of you so much and look forward to telling you all about how our coming week goes. We have many great things planned and are working towards baptizing another complete family!!
Love,
Elder Janis
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Holy Ghost Speaks Softly and Quietly
Hola Familia,
We had a wonderful week and I am so happy to be starting another! We are having a surprising amount of success and I am just loving it! We had many new investigators and four complete families came to church with us this Sunday. As I sat in sacrament meeting I could not help but be overwhelmed with gratitude for the families the Lord has given us to teach and that they are accepting what we are teaching them and coming to church. We hope to baptize three of the families in this next coming week. I am going to do EVERYTHING I possibly can to make this happen.
It was so fun to read about the trip to Disney World and I had fun remembering when we went way back when. I couldn't help but laugh at my own memories of the Tower of Terror and how full of terror I remember feeling. I am so happy to hear that it was a great break and that you all had a great time. This makes me happy because I am having the time of my life and I don't want to steal all the amazing experiences in life! :) If you can, please send me a couple pictures of what you did while there!
This last week I have had so many experiences that have proved to me one thing that I hope I always remember. The Holy Ghost speaks softly and quietly; just go to work and make decisions which feel right. The first experience I had was during nightly planning I felt that we needed to put a certain investigator as a back-up plan. The next day we ended up needing the back-up plan and had a wonderful lesson with a family that we hope comes to church this next week. As we left I felt that we should stop by a reference that is never home when we stop by. We walked down a street that was different than normal to her house when someone yelled "Elders!". We were stopped by a man who knew the church in Arizona and wanted us to come to his house to meet his family and to share our message with his family. My companion and I were in a slight state of shock and my companion told me, "He just fell from heaven!" They are one of the families that came to church and we are going to baptize them this coming week. We then got to the reference and she was home! After scheduling an appointment with her, I felt we should stop by a member who lived one street over and who after talking for a bit gave us three references.
Another experience was the other night, Elder Diaz and I were out with the Ward Mission Leader when the last two appointments fell through. Thinking of the most productive thing we could do with this time I thought of all the new investigators we had received. However, Maria Teresa, Jaqueline, and Alan popped into my mind and I didn't know why because they were doing fine and we needed to focus on the people we just started to teach. After talking to my companion we decided we should stop by. When we arrived it was clear that the hand of the Lord was behind us coming. Jaqueline was in a horrible state of guilt and shame due to having broken the Word of Wisdom with another member at party this weekend. She felt terrible and just cried and cried. We helped her realize that the Lord doesn't want her to feel this way and that if she repents all the pain and guilt will go away. She was so grateful for this advice and called her friend to give him the same advice. Before going to call her friend she related to us that after church she felt so horrible and tried to think of someone she could talk to. Her mom wasn't home and her friend was basically in the same state. She was on her way to talk to a non-member friend when she felt that she should go back home. On the way back home she almost gave up to deal with everything herself, and then I called her to see if they were home. She hurried home to find us waiting to help her.
These experiences were started with just thoughts that popped into my head and turned out to be spectacular experiences. First, we were just in the right place at the right time. The second, an opportunity to give strength to someone that had almost given up on the church and all that she knew to be true. I am so humbled by these opportunities to have been an instrument in the hands of the Lord and am grateful that I listened. I am going to pay more attention from now on so that I don't miss even one whisper or Spirit-driven thought.
I really am having the time of my life and am learning things that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I love all of you tons and tons! Thank you Grandma Janis for all of the letters from the cousins and Kristina for the Birthday card. I want to start thanking the people that write me in this letter home to my family so that you know it made it to me and that I am so grateful for them! Oh, and Mom don't worry, I haven't received the package but look forward to the day it arrives!!
Con mucho cariño,
Elder Janis
We had a wonderful week and I am so happy to be starting another! We are having a surprising amount of success and I am just loving it! We had many new investigators and four complete families came to church with us this Sunday. As I sat in sacrament meeting I could not help but be overwhelmed with gratitude for the families the Lord has given us to teach and that they are accepting what we are teaching them and coming to church. We hope to baptize three of the families in this next coming week. I am going to do EVERYTHING I possibly can to make this happen.
It was so fun to read about the trip to Disney World and I had fun remembering when we went way back when. I couldn't help but laugh at my own memories of the Tower of Terror and how full of terror I remember feeling. I am so happy to hear that it was a great break and that you all had a great time. This makes me happy because I am having the time of my life and I don't want to steal all the amazing experiences in life! :) If you can, please send me a couple pictures of what you did while there!
This last week I have had so many experiences that have proved to me one thing that I hope I always remember. The Holy Ghost speaks softly and quietly; just go to work and make decisions which feel right. The first experience I had was during nightly planning I felt that we needed to put a certain investigator as a back-up plan. The next day we ended up needing the back-up plan and had a wonderful lesson with a family that we hope comes to church this next week. As we left I felt that we should stop by a reference that is never home when we stop by. We walked down a street that was different than normal to her house when someone yelled "Elders!". We were stopped by a man who knew the church in Arizona and wanted us to come to his house to meet his family and to share our message with his family. My companion and I were in a slight state of shock and my companion told me, "He just fell from heaven!" They are one of the families that came to church and we are going to baptize them this coming week. We then got to the reference and she was home! After scheduling an appointment with her, I felt we should stop by a member who lived one street over and who after talking for a bit gave us three references.
Another experience was the other night, Elder Diaz and I were out with the Ward Mission Leader when the last two appointments fell through. Thinking of the most productive thing we could do with this time I thought of all the new investigators we had received. However, Maria Teresa, Jaqueline, and Alan popped into my mind and I didn't know why because they were doing fine and we needed to focus on the people we just started to teach. After talking to my companion we decided we should stop by. When we arrived it was clear that the hand of the Lord was behind us coming. Jaqueline was in a horrible state of guilt and shame due to having broken the Word of Wisdom with another member at party this weekend. She felt terrible and just cried and cried. We helped her realize that the Lord doesn't want her to feel this way and that if she repents all the pain and guilt will go away. She was so grateful for this advice and called her friend to give him the same advice. Before going to call her friend she related to us that after church she felt so horrible and tried to think of someone she could talk to. Her mom wasn't home and her friend was basically in the same state. She was on her way to talk to a non-member friend when she felt that she should go back home. On the way back home she almost gave up to deal with everything herself, and then I called her to see if they were home. She hurried home to find us waiting to help her.
These experiences were started with just thoughts that popped into my head and turned out to be spectacular experiences. First, we were just in the right place at the right time. The second, an opportunity to give strength to someone that had almost given up on the church and all that she knew to be true. I am so humbled by these opportunities to have been an instrument in the hands of the Lord and am grateful that I listened. I am going to pay more attention from now on so that I don't miss even one whisper or Spirit-driven thought.
I really am having the time of my life and am learning things that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I love all of you tons and tons! Thank you Grandma Janis for all of the letters from the cousins and Kristina for the Birthday card. I want to start thanking the people that write me in this letter home to my family so that you know it made it to me and that I am so grateful for them! Oh, and Mom don't worry, I haven't received the package but look forward to the day it arrives!!
Con mucho cariño,
Elder Janis
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sorry for all the "poop" I gave you Mom
Hola Familia!
Wow, what a busy and successful week! As I related in my last letter I received a kid this last week. I could not have asked for a better missionary to train. He is really smart, but super humble, something that takes an average missionary a while to learn. Elder Diaz is his name and he is from Tampico, Tamaulipas, the Rock and Roll center of Mexico. I have really grown to like his fun sense of humor and contagious excitement to work and work harder. He was rather shocked by some of the cold shoulders we sometimes get as missionaries but resiliently he went back up to his high level of excitement. In our training that we had on Monday, the President informed us that he put each trainer with a new missionary for us to learn from one another. I am really excited to learn from my "verde" (greenie). He constantly asks me "how did I do". I think that I might start asking him the same the question because I am by far not done learning.
So, Mom I thought I would tell you something that might make you somewhat pleased in spite of all the poop I gave you about piano lessons all those years. One of the members has a piano in their home and while she was making last minute preparations of the food, her kids asked me to play Moonlight Sonata on their piano. She heard me play, told the other sisters in the ward, and now I play the hymns in sacrament meeting. Almost every member has told me how thankful they are to finally have someone use the piano and how much they enjoy the piano compared to the CDs that they use here. Despite my mistakes and awkward rhythms at times the ward members seem so pleased. I know that the Lord is making me better at playing the hymns than I really could otherwise because sometimes I am asked to play hymns that I have never played before. I am grateful for the help from the Lord because I wouldn't be able to play the songs the director asks me to play otherwise. The Lord´s hand really is in every aspect of missionary work!
So a little update on Beto. He has gone a week and half with out a sip of alcohol or smoking!! We had a neat experience where Elder Diaz and I gave him a priesthood blessing which I know has helped him make it this far. He was so excited for the blessing and is getting more and more excited for his baptism. We had him planned for baptism but he failed his baptismal interview. He has a girlfriend that he never told us about that he will have to either marry or separate from her. He also has decided that he can't give up his Santos (Saints) seeing as they were given to him by his mother. So basically we have a lot of work cut out for us with him but I know he can do it. He has changed tremendously and all aspects of his life are improving. The light that Christ emanates is definitely evident in Beto and I hope he does what he needs to in order to keep this progress and be baptized.
I read Elder Janis' (Damon) letter home and wanted to also convey my love for missionary work as second witness to what he said. To all those that are preparing or planning to serve a mission let me tell you that will never EVER regret the decision. I have had moments in my mission that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and cherish. I love sharing the Gospel with people and that has brought me priceless peace and purpose seeing these feelings brighten the lives of those we are teaching. The joy and pleasure the Book of Mormon prophets describe to us is real and I testify to how I have never felt happier.
I know that we have a living prophet and that the power of God is on the Earth today. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and a palpable evidence to the love of Christ and the truthfulness of the Restoration. I know that Christ died for us but now lives to make us free from sin and sadness. Look to Him who did it all for us so that we would not have to suffer. I love the Savior and I love the work He has called me to do!
Love,
Elder Janis
Wow, what a busy and successful week! As I related in my last letter I received a kid this last week. I could not have asked for a better missionary to train. He is really smart, but super humble, something that takes an average missionary a while to learn. Elder Diaz is his name and he is from Tampico, Tamaulipas, the Rock and Roll center of Mexico. I have really grown to like his fun sense of humor and contagious excitement to work and work harder. He was rather shocked by some of the cold shoulders we sometimes get as missionaries but resiliently he went back up to his high level of excitement. In our training that we had on Monday, the President informed us that he put each trainer with a new missionary for us to learn from one another. I am really excited to learn from my "verde" (greenie). He constantly asks me "how did I do". I think that I might start asking him the same the question because I am by far not done learning.
So, Mom I thought I would tell you something that might make you somewhat pleased in spite of all the poop I gave you about piano lessons all those years. One of the members has a piano in their home and while she was making last minute preparations of the food, her kids asked me to play Moonlight Sonata on their piano. She heard me play, told the other sisters in the ward, and now I play the hymns in sacrament meeting. Almost every member has told me how thankful they are to finally have someone use the piano and how much they enjoy the piano compared to the CDs that they use here. Despite my mistakes and awkward rhythms at times the ward members seem so pleased. I know that the Lord is making me better at playing the hymns than I really could otherwise because sometimes I am asked to play hymns that I have never played before. I am grateful for the help from the Lord because I wouldn't be able to play the songs the director asks me to play otherwise. The Lord´s hand really is in every aspect of missionary work!
So a little update on Beto. He has gone a week and half with out a sip of alcohol or smoking!! We had a neat experience where Elder Diaz and I gave him a priesthood blessing which I know has helped him make it this far. He was so excited for the blessing and is getting more and more excited for his baptism. We had him planned for baptism but he failed his baptismal interview. He has a girlfriend that he never told us about that he will have to either marry or separate from her. He also has decided that he can't give up his Santos (Saints) seeing as they were given to him by his mother. So basically we have a lot of work cut out for us with him but I know he can do it. He has changed tremendously and all aspects of his life are improving. The light that Christ emanates is definitely evident in Beto and I hope he does what he needs to in order to keep this progress and be baptized.
I read Elder Janis' (Damon) letter home and wanted to also convey my love for missionary work as second witness to what he said. To all those that are preparing or planning to serve a mission let me tell you that will never EVER regret the decision. I have had moments in my mission that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and cherish. I love sharing the Gospel with people and that has brought me priceless peace and purpose seeing these feelings brighten the lives of those we are teaching. The joy and pleasure the Book of Mormon prophets describe to us is real and I testify to how I have never felt happier.
I know that we have a living prophet and that the power of God is on the Earth today. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and a palpable evidence to the love of Christ and the truthfulness of the Restoration. I know that Christ died for us but now lives to make us free from sin and sadness. Look to Him who did it all for us so that we would not have to suffer. I love the Savior and I love the work He has called me to do!
Love,
Elder Janis
Monday, March 7, 2011
I'm a Dad!
Hola Familia!
Elder Figueroa and I had a wonderful last week of the transfer and I have some absolutely amazing news to tell. First of all, we had two baptisms this last Sunday; one for Angelica and the other was for Jesús. We have added a lot of young men and women to the ward and they are giving us referrals to their friends with hopes of converting all the students in their home room! Angelica is a solid convert and addition to the Relief Society. I have especially liked helping her find the light of the Gospel and see her overcome a lot of marital problems. Her baptismal service was so full of the Spirit and the members are becoming more and more a part of our investigators´conversion.
Guess who came to church....BETO!! We passed by and taught him everyday expect once this last week solving many doubts and encouraging him to leave alcohol and smoking. Saturday and Sunday were two days free of drinking and smoking! He is actively preparing himself to be baptized this coming Sunday which means he cannot drink or smoke the whole week or we have to push back the baptism another week. His family was kind of annoyed by us when we first started talking to Beto but know all seem really happy when we pass by! I am hoping that they will let us start teaching them soon. Beto loved church and has so much faith. Saturday night, I passed by with my District Leader after he interviewed Jesús. Beto told us that he will not go to church because as he leaves alcohol he has attacks and convulsions, his breath stinks, and his foot is super swollen and blotchy. We talked about how the Lord wants him to go to church and that if he prays for the Lord´s help, he will be able to go. Miraculously enough, we arrived with a group of investigators to find him waiting outside the gate. He was sweating like crazy after walking on his swollen foot. It is amazing what the Gospel can do to the people we teach!
Ok, so today is the start of the new transfer and I have some pretty exciting news. I am going to have a kid! President Villarreal called me to train a new missionary this next transfer making me a dad. I was planning on only being bumped up to Senior companion being in Mexico for only one transfer but was SO surprised to become Senior Companion and trainer. I am so excited for this opportunity! At the same time, I am super humbled by the responsibility of both these calls being given to me at the same time but I know that if the Lord trusts me to do it, then I can do it! I don´t know who he is yet but in a couple of hours I am going to go to a training meeting, after wards I meet my new companion. I am so excited for the things that I will get to teach my son including obedience and diligence. This will be a crazy learning experience for the both of us but the Lord will qualify both of us.
Well, I have to head out to get a haircut and then go the mission offices. I love you all and am so thankful for the letters you have sent me. Every single one of them is super special to me and I appreciate the time you spent thinking of me. CONGRATULATIONS Chad on being accepted to BYU! You are going to LOVE it!
Love,
Elder Janis
Elder Figueroa and I had a wonderful last week of the transfer and I have some absolutely amazing news to tell. First of all, we had two baptisms this last Sunday; one for Angelica and the other was for Jesús. We have added a lot of young men and women to the ward and they are giving us referrals to their friends with hopes of converting all the students in their home room! Angelica is a solid convert and addition to the Relief Society. I have especially liked helping her find the light of the Gospel and see her overcome a lot of marital problems. Her baptismal service was so full of the Spirit and the members are becoming more and more a part of our investigators´conversion.
Guess who came to church....BETO!! We passed by and taught him everyday expect once this last week solving many doubts and encouraging him to leave alcohol and smoking. Saturday and Sunday were two days free of drinking and smoking! He is actively preparing himself to be baptized this coming Sunday which means he cannot drink or smoke the whole week or we have to push back the baptism another week. His family was kind of annoyed by us when we first started talking to Beto but know all seem really happy when we pass by! I am hoping that they will let us start teaching them soon. Beto loved church and has so much faith. Saturday night, I passed by with my District Leader after he interviewed Jesús. Beto told us that he will not go to church because as he leaves alcohol he has attacks and convulsions, his breath stinks, and his foot is super swollen and blotchy. We talked about how the Lord wants him to go to church and that if he prays for the Lord´s help, he will be able to go. Miraculously enough, we arrived with a group of investigators to find him waiting outside the gate. He was sweating like crazy after walking on his swollen foot. It is amazing what the Gospel can do to the people we teach!
Ok, so today is the start of the new transfer and I have some pretty exciting news. I am going to have a kid! President Villarreal called me to train a new missionary this next transfer making me a dad. I was planning on only being bumped up to Senior companion being in Mexico for only one transfer but was SO surprised to become Senior Companion and trainer. I am so excited for this opportunity! At the same time, I am super humbled by the responsibility of both these calls being given to me at the same time but I know that if the Lord trusts me to do it, then I can do it! I don´t know who he is yet but in a couple of hours I am going to go to a training meeting, after wards I meet my new companion. I am so excited for the things that I will get to teach my son including obedience and diligence. This will be a crazy learning experience for the both of us but the Lord will qualify both of us.
Well, I have to head out to get a haircut and then go the mission offices. I love you all and am so thankful for the letters you have sent me. Every single one of them is super special to me and I appreciate the time you spent thinking of me. CONGRATULATIONS Chad on being accepted to BYU! You are going to LOVE it!
Love,
Elder Janis
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Most Smooth Sailing Baptism Thus Far
¡Hola Mi Asombrosa Familia!
We had an amazing week! After the trials of last week, this was a week of mountains of success! Maria Teresa was confirmed this week making the family all members of the church. Each and everyone of them has changed so much and it is so cool to hear them talk about the experiences they have had. I look forward to a year from now when I will go to the temple with them!
We had one of the most smooth sailing baptisms thus far in my mission. We baptized a girl named Vanessa whose mom was baptized a couple months ago. We are hoping that with her baptized also, the family will become more active. Vanessa is excited to be baptized and has helped her mom start coming to church regularly! Also most of the people here have never swam in a pool or been fully submerged and sometimes the baptism can take a while because they are scared. With some people it takes four or five tries because they flail and kick and aren't fully submerged. Vanessa went down smoothly and came up smoothly; my first one here that wasn't a problem. She has changed so much and we are hoping that she likes the changes and will help her other siblings follow suit.
We have started teaching an alcoholic named Beto who is in such a sad state. He cried tons in our first lesson with him in which he described to us the pain and sadness alcohol and his addiction has brought into his life. He confided in us that he feels we are sent from his "Jefe" or as we call Him, Jesus Christ. We spent time writing down all of the things that he has been missing out on or that he has lost because of his addiction and also what triggers his drinking, After we made the list, we spent a time thinking of ways that he can distract himself from drinking by doing his favorite things. We helped him realize that his "Jefe" wants to help him and will give him the strength to overcome this problem. He seemed so happy and excited when we left. We left him a couple photos of Christ to put up in his room because he confided in us that the typical depiction of Christ on a cross is sad and he would rather remember Christ in a better way! Not many people here feel this way, rather quite the opposite! We are going to pass by him everyday this week!
We took another family to the Mexico City Temple and man are they sooooo solid. Esperanza, the mother, keeps asking me if preparing for baptism is hard and what they will need to do to be baptized. They are so ready right now they just need one more Sunday in sacrament meeting and the parents need to get married. They are a great family and it never gets old watching and helping people change. They are all Jehovah's Witnesses except for the father and it was a surprise how easily they accepted the message we share.
I am loving life and am so excited for this next coming week. I know that the Lord will bless us for our obedience and diligence despite the hardships of last week and he has blessed us! I love all of you and hope you have a great week like I am going to have!
LOVE,
Elder Janis
We had an amazing week! After the trials of last week, this was a week of mountains of success! Maria Teresa was confirmed this week making the family all members of the church. Each and everyone of them has changed so much and it is so cool to hear them talk about the experiences they have had. I look forward to a year from now when I will go to the temple with them!
We had one of the most smooth sailing baptisms thus far in my mission. We baptized a girl named Vanessa whose mom was baptized a couple months ago. We are hoping that with her baptized also, the family will become more active. Vanessa is excited to be baptized and has helped her mom start coming to church regularly! Also most of the people here have never swam in a pool or been fully submerged and sometimes the baptism can take a while because they are scared. With some people it takes four or five tries because they flail and kick and aren't fully submerged. Vanessa went down smoothly and came up smoothly; my first one here that wasn't a problem. She has changed so much and we are hoping that she likes the changes and will help her other siblings follow suit.
We have started teaching an alcoholic named Beto who is in such a sad state. He cried tons in our first lesson with him in which he described to us the pain and sadness alcohol and his addiction has brought into his life. He confided in us that he feels we are sent from his "Jefe" or as we call Him, Jesus Christ. We spent time writing down all of the things that he has been missing out on or that he has lost because of his addiction and also what triggers his drinking, After we made the list, we spent a time thinking of ways that he can distract himself from drinking by doing his favorite things. We helped him realize that his "Jefe" wants to help him and will give him the strength to overcome this problem. He seemed so happy and excited when we left. We left him a couple photos of Christ to put up in his room because he confided in us that the typical depiction of Christ on a cross is sad and he would rather remember Christ in a better way! Not many people here feel this way, rather quite the opposite! We are going to pass by him everyday this week!
We took another family to the Mexico City Temple and man are they sooooo solid. Esperanza, the mother, keeps asking me if preparing for baptism is hard and what they will need to do to be baptized. They are so ready right now they just need one more Sunday in sacrament meeting and the parents need to get married. They are a great family and it never gets old watching and helping people change. They are all Jehovah's Witnesses except for the father and it was a surprise how easily they accepted the message we share.
I am loving life and am so excited for this next coming week. I know that the Lord will bless us for our obedience and diligence despite the hardships of last week and he has blessed us! I love all of you and hope you have a great week like I am going to have!
LOVE,
Elder Janis
Monday, February 21, 2011
Like a Good Soldier of Jesus Christ
Hola Familia,
Elder Figueroa and I had a rather hard week. We had 6 investigators get interviewed for baptism with three that were going to be baptized this last Sunday. However, Saturday night one of the baptisms fell through because his mother wanted him to have his first communion and told us "déjenos en paz ya." Meaning that she a wants nothing to do with us and wants to stay Catholic. The day before she was all for his baptism and was planning on getting married in order to receive a baptism herself. We are going to pass by the family again in a little while when they have settled down a bit. The other two decided Sunday morning they had important things to do and that they weren´t going to come to church asking that their baptism could be another day. This was especially sad because they know how important this baptism is and blessings they will receive.
Despite this dreadful ending to a week, I learned a valuable lesson. We were obedient and diligent doing everything in our power and ability to help our investigators make this important step but ultimately they have their agency. Every single one of them knew how important following the example of Christ is and made the decision to put it off. I felt a lot of sorrow for these decisions but know that I did everything I could have done. I felt peace and love from the Lord poured out upon us as we continued to work hard and be obedient despite the hard times we had. I like to think that "estamos bajando para subir." (we are having difficult times to only have better times!) The Atonement was not a cheap or easy experience for the Lord, the Only Begotten of the Father, meaning that it won´t be easy for me as I bring souls unto the Lord. I truly love the mission and this last week as made me love it even more. The hard times are how we get to grow closer to the Lord and have provided me with opportunities to be even more firm in my diligence and obedience. On an amazing note, Alan received the Holy Ghost this last Sunday and Maria Teresa will this next week. I am so grateful to have baptized this amazing family and love seeing their growth. They are starting now to make preparations to enter the temple!
I love the Lord and enjoy every moment in His work. I look forward to the successes that I will have and will endure the tribulations "like a good soldier of Jesus Christ." I love all of you!
Love,
Elder Janis
Elder Figueroa and I had a rather hard week. We had 6 investigators get interviewed for baptism with three that were going to be baptized this last Sunday. However, Saturday night one of the baptisms fell through because his mother wanted him to have his first communion and told us "déjenos en paz ya." Meaning that she a wants nothing to do with us and wants to stay Catholic. The day before she was all for his baptism and was planning on getting married in order to receive a baptism herself. We are going to pass by the family again in a little while when they have settled down a bit. The other two decided Sunday morning they had important things to do and that they weren´t going to come to church asking that their baptism could be another day. This was especially sad because they know how important this baptism is and blessings they will receive.
Despite this dreadful ending to a week, I learned a valuable lesson. We were obedient and diligent doing everything in our power and ability to help our investigators make this important step but ultimately they have their agency. Every single one of them knew how important following the example of Christ is and made the decision to put it off. I felt a lot of sorrow for these decisions but know that I did everything I could have done. I felt peace and love from the Lord poured out upon us as we continued to work hard and be obedient despite the hard times we had. I like to think that "estamos bajando para subir." (we are having difficult times to only have better times!) The Atonement was not a cheap or easy experience for the Lord, the Only Begotten of the Father, meaning that it won´t be easy for me as I bring souls unto the Lord. I truly love the mission and this last week as made me love it even more. The hard times are how we get to grow closer to the Lord and have provided me with opportunities to be even more firm in my diligence and obedience. On an amazing note, Alan received the Holy Ghost this last Sunday and Maria Teresa will this next week. I am so grateful to have baptized this amazing family and love seeing their growth. They are starting now to make preparations to enter the temple!
I love the Lord and enjoy every moment in His work. I look forward to the successes that I will have and will endure the tribulations "like a good soldier of Jesus Christ." I love all of you!
Love,
Elder Janis
Monday, February 14, 2011
Well, you´ve come to the right place! or Chamaca vs. Chamarra
Hola Familia!
I have some awesome news! About two weeks ago, we baptized a 14 year old girl that changed so much as she prepared for her baptism. She left behind alcohol and partying (something quite normal here) to do what she knew was right; even when it took a lot of effort and time to get permission from her mom. Well, her mom and brother were baptized this last Sunday! It was such a neat experience because her mom, Maria Teresa, is so converted. She has even decided to leave her job and find another so that she can attend church each week. Finding work right now in Mexico City is not an easy task but she told us that she will trust in the Lord. She has already got a job that is lining up and we are praying that it all works out! Alan is the brother who just turned 8 on Saturday and cried when Maria Teresa said that they were going to wait until this coming Sunday for the baptism. She changed her mind and decided to do it this last week because of how bad Alan wanted to do it. It has been such a joy teaching them and especially seeing how much peace they found in the Gospel. I will miss stopping by to teach them but look forward to finding another family that I can help have the same experience! We are going to talk to Maria Teresa more about how she can prepare for the temple and eventually do the work for her husband who passed away. I hope to be here when she goes through the temple and gets sealed to her husband.
Elder Figueroa and I were out contacting in the street when we felt the need to stop by a less active member that we have been trying to get a lesson with for weeks. We decided that this would be the last time we would stop by seeing as we have already tried a couple times. We knocked on the door and her daughter answered the door to tell us that her mom wasn´t home. Before we left, the daughter told us that one of her neighbors wanted to talk to us. The neighbor invited us in and introduced herself as Lourdes. She is a mother of a two year old and is hiding from her husband while they work out a divorce. She told us that she really needs peace in her life and a friend told her that she could find that peace in our Church. When we heard this we basically said, "well, you´ve come to the right place!" She is on date for this coming Sunday to be baptized. This experience has helped me grasp at the fact that we are guided by the Spirit even when we don´t really know it.
I had another rather embarrassing Spanish mistake that I thought you might enjoy! I was holding Alan´s jacket when he told us that it was really cold outside. Trying to remember the word for jacket, I told Alan to put on his "chamaca" thinking it meant jacket. The response I got from him, his family, and my companion was tons of laughter. Then, figuring it was the word I used for jacket, I asked Elder Figueroa what the word I said meant and what word I should have used. He then told me that "chamaca" is slang for a girl and that the real word is "chamarra". So basically, I told an 8 year old to put on his girl...I won´t be making that same mistake twice!
This last week I studied a talk in the last General Conference by Elder Scott about the importance of faith and character. I absolutely loved reading this talk and many things started to click for me. One thing in particular that I think about at least once a day is how far I have progressed and how far I want to have progressed by the end of my mission. Elder Scott helped me realize that one of the most advantageous fruits of my mission would be a fortified character. He talked about how character is built through faith, obedience, and diligent application of the things I am learning. That is what a mission is all about: bringing souls unto God through faith, obedience, and diligent application. It then dawned on me that a solid, fortified character built on these principles would serve and support me until the day I stand in front of God to be judged. Elder Scott stated that our character will be a good measure of how well we used our opportunity of earthly probation. I have taken to focus on these three building blocks of character this past week. What an opportunity I have to serve the Lord and get a huge boost in gaining and maintaining the character that will carry me for the rest of my life!
Elder Figueroa and I had an amazing week and have all the plans for yet another. I plan to focus on my faith, obedience, and diligent application as it will bring me results that I need and God has planned for me. I hope all of you had a great Valentine´s day! I love all of you!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Janis
I have some awesome news! About two weeks ago, we baptized a 14 year old girl that changed so much as she prepared for her baptism. She left behind alcohol and partying (something quite normal here) to do what she knew was right; even when it took a lot of effort and time to get permission from her mom. Well, her mom and brother were baptized this last Sunday! It was such a neat experience because her mom, Maria Teresa, is so converted. She has even decided to leave her job and find another so that she can attend church each week. Finding work right now in Mexico City is not an easy task but she told us that she will trust in the Lord. She has already got a job that is lining up and we are praying that it all works out! Alan is the brother who just turned 8 on Saturday and cried when Maria Teresa said that they were going to wait until this coming Sunday for the baptism. She changed her mind and decided to do it this last week because of how bad Alan wanted to do it. It has been such a joy teaching them and especially seeing how much peace they found in the Gospel. I will miss stopping by to teach them but look forward to finding another family that I can help have the same experience! We are going to talk to Maria Teresa more about how she can prepare for the temple and eventually do the work for her husband who passed away. I hope to be here when she goes through the temple and gets sealed to her husband.
Elder Figueroa and I were out contacting in the street when we felt the need to stop by a less active member that we have been trying to get a lesson with for weeks. We decided that this would be the last time we would stop by seeing as we have already tried a couple times. We knocked on the door and her daughter answered the door to tell us that her mom wasn´t home. Before we left, the daughter told us that one of her neighbors wanted to talk to us. The neighbor invited us in and introduced herself as Lourdes. She is a mother of a two year old and is hiding from her husband while they work out a divorce. She told us that she really needs peace in her life and a friend told her that she could find that peace in our Church. When we heard this we basically said, "well, you´ve come to the right place!" She is on date for this coming Sunday to be baptized. This experience has helped me grasp at the fact that we are guided by the Spirit even when we don´t really know it.
I had another rather embarrassing Spanish mistake that I thought you might enjoy! I was holding Alan´s jacket when he told us that it was really cold outside. Trying to remember the word for jacket, I told Alan to put on his "chamaca" thinking it meant jacket. The response I got from him, his family, and my companion was tons of laughter. Then, figuring it was the word I used for jacket, I asked Elder Figueroa what the word I said meant and what word I should have used. He then told me that "chamaca" is slang for a girl and that the real word is "chamarra". So basically, I told an 8 year old to put on his girl...I won´t be making that same mistake twice!
This last week I studied a talk in the last General Conference by Elder Scott about the importance of faith and character. I absolutely loved reading this talk and many things started to click for me. One thing in particular that I think about at least once a day is how far I have progressed and how far I want to have progressed by the end of my mission. Elder Scott helped me realize that one of the most advantageous fruits of my mission would be a fortified character. He talked about how character is built through faith, obedience, and diligent application of the things I am learning. That is what a mission is all about: bringing souls unto God through faith, obedience, and diligent application. It then dawned on me that a solid, fortified character built on these principles would serve and support me until the day I stand in front of God to be judged. Elder Scott stated that our character will be a good measure of how well we used our opportunity of earthly probation. I have taken to focus on these three building blocks of character this past week. What an opportunity I have to serve the Lord and get a huge boost in gaining and maintaining the character that will carry me for the rest of my life!
Elder Figueroa and I had an amazing week and have all the plans for yet another. I plan to focus on my faith, obedience, and diligent application as it will bring me results that I need and God has planned for me. I hope all of you had a great Valentine´s day! I love all of you!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Janis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)