September 19th 2011
Hola Family and Friends...
not much to say this week. ...we had the baptism of Abigail yesterday!!!!!! it was beautiful! and we are working hard to complete with the other five...every baptism is a miracle and every miracle needs prayers to happen! please pleas please pray for our investigators...i love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!
Sonia Velasquez
Mauricio Velasquez
Alex Diaz
Alejandra Diaz
Katherine Diaz
September 12th 2011
"Hello Beloved Family and Friends!"
We have six baptismal dates!!!
i want to thank each and every one of you for your prayers for me and for our investigators...BECAUSE WE HAVE 6 BAPTISIMAL DATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO! yup yup yup. its pretty exciting. our lìder misional gave us a thought yesterday that i cant to share with you all because, true confession, i havent written in my journal in over a month...or two...and i dont want to forget this idea, because its really good....ready?
Christ can do everything. nothing is impossible for him. for us, walking on water, healing the sick, moving mountains, are miracles. it is impossible for us to do these things with our own power. but not for Christ, to do these things is as easy for Him as it is for us to breathe. He can do everything. However there is one thing that is a true miracle for Christ and that is when somebody has a change of Heart. when somebody decides to repent and change their own life. this is a miracle for Christ because he will not, he cannot, obligate a person to change. He cannot make a person repent. so everytime we witness a change of heart in somebody's life, everytime we have the opportunity to witness a baptism, we witness a true miracle for Christ. How beautiful is that!?! I know that the work that i am doing is the best work one can have the opportunity to do. to help people change thier lives... i witness miracles everyday.
Miracles right and left
Especially right now i am seeing miracle right and left. we are teaching the Velasquez family and they have accepted a date! the 26th of September! Sonia is all for it, this is the date that she felt when she prayed about it. Mauricio is still a little shaky, he needs prayers, he is putting forth effort, yesterday we passed by to see how everything was to go to church about 45 minutes before and he was still asleep, i didnt think he was going to come, but he did! and they go to every single church activity during the week if they are not working, and we visit them at least three times a week (if not four or five) they are awesome! so please continue to pray for them. Also their kid, Abi...she was going to get baptized with them, but she wants to go to the Temple on the 24th, which means she needs to get baptized and confirmed this week...so she is!
In your prayers
Alex, Alejandra, and Katherine, also need prayers. they are ages 11, 12 and 13. they are always in the house the two older kids dont go to school and thier mom is ALWAYS working. they have too much time on their hands. we are visiting everyday and trying to help them, but they are finding it difficult to change. they go to seminary and all the other activities. I know that this could really help their family and also thier mom. thank you for your prayers!
And sick... again... again...
in other news...there is no other news...i got sick again :) and i dont even know why! i dont eat from street vendors and i wash my vegetable with bleach...but that is the life i guess...i got a blessing and by the end of the night i was better! thank goodness for the Priesthood, works miracles (for us, not for God)
Information from home
I just recieved a mountain of information from home. 'the restaurant,' or rather my family's restaurant that has been part of, i mean, has been our life for the past 17 years is closing in two weeks...and Trish is going to have a baby...A BABY!!!! there will be 6 baptisms here within the next two weeks...the only thing that will not kill the climax is if the world were to end in three weeks...
i just completed half my mission this week....i would say woot woot! but it means i only have 9 months left...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
anyway, this week was a great week. we have investigators progressing and 3 baptisimal dates! no, not the Velasquez Family (but we are working on it!) please pray Especifically! for the following people and the following goals
Alex
Alejandra
Katherine
Mauricio
Sonia
Abigail
the top three have a date and the bottom three are our family! i love them!
that we will have 6 baptisimal dates at the end of the week
7 investigators come to church
and 115 people in the sacrament meeting
other than that i hope you all have a great week!
August 22nd 2011
"I wish you all could have felt..."
so iforgot to mention in mylast letter that this weekend was the dedication of the San Salvador, El Salvador Temple!!!! Presidente Eyring came to dedicate it (because it was Pres. Monsons Bday on Saturday) the night he got here we had a meeting with him which included both of the Missions in El Salvador! he and Elder Christofferson came to speak to us....it was AMAZING!!! i wish you all could have felt what i felt when he walked into the room...yes i have been to see Conference in the conference center when the first presidency walked in, but i have never felt what i felt when Pres. Eyring walked through the door only five feet from where i stood. i have no doubt in my heart or mind that he is a prophet of God. when he spoke to us it was pure love and the things he said were the exact things that i needed to hear. it was an amazing experience all around, especially because i had the oportunity to sing in a choir for a special musical number. we sang Divina Luz (Lead Kindly Light) there were only 16 of us in the Choir (4 on each part) because we were so small in number we got to sit in front! which is why i was only 5 feet from him when he walked in....anyway. this experience was nothing short of amazing and I wouldnt mind repeating it.
Lost in TV land...
I am really sad because on Saturday we did not get to see the cultural celebration :( it started at 6pm and the last bus returns to Ataco at 645 ...they said it was going to play on the local channels, but they lied because we searched every channelfor an hour...not only did we feel inicuo (iniquitus...?...i have forgotten how to speak English) because we saw small bits of Psych, Glee, and Modern Familiy but we did not get to see the Cultural Celebration and we wasted an hour!!! ...but life moves on.
And sick... again...
Sunday was beautiful. i loved the temple dedication and now tomorrow the temple opens to work! HOW EXCITING IS THAT!?!?! Elder Christofferson told us that right now is the best time to be a missionary in El Salvador and I would have to agree with him! ...other that that this week was pretty calm. Sunday night I got sick...( i think i have to quit eating tamales, because the only times ihave gotten sick in the mission is when i ate tamales) ...anyway...im sure youall wanted to know that...i have to go now before i write something else you really dont need or want to know ...LOVE YOU ALL!!!! have a great week!
I have seen more miracles this week than in any other time in my mission so far!!!
Miracle One:
i think the first one happened wednesday...remember the story i told about the lady who unloaded two years of stress and heartache on us? well we visited their house again, she wasnt there but her husband, rafael, was. we started the lesson and he told us that he has no idea what we were thinking when we came to visit him that day, but that it was truly a miracle. he had been feeling horrible about his family relationships and he had gotten on his knees that morning to beg Heavenly Father for forgiveness and that if there was a way to fix it, to please show him a sign....then we knocked on the door just a few hours later...after we left they talked a long time and are both agreed to make things better. He feel like he recieved his answer and that everything is going to be okay, because he knows that God is taking care of him and listening to his prayers.
Miracle Two
The Valasquez family came to church...well, most of them. they are coming to every activity and now to church...this family is Poderoso!!!! now we just need to get them in the water!
Miracle Three
Josue was Baptized....this is the second time in the history of my mission that a baptism has gone through with the first date...the 'hard part' with him is that we had to get permission from his parents. well, one of his parents is not a member and the other one is now assisting a church evangelical....so we were a little bit nervous about what was going to happen....however. his mom told us that she will support him in whatever decision that he wants to make in his life and that this decision is really personal. then his dad told us that he was overjoyed that his son wanted to take this step in his life and that he was there to support him 100%. ...it was so amazing to speak with them and it was nothing short of a miracle.
Miracle Four
this is perhaps the biggest miracle of all...i dont remember if i have talked about Edwin, but he is an investigator that we have been teaching this entire transfer. he and all of the kids (between the ages of 11 and 28) in the area that hang around his house. he is a 'bad boy' walking in all kinds of things that arent really good in any way. at first he was hard. he didnt speak hardly at all in the lessons and believes in God, but as far as anything else, including satan, he doesnt believe. little by little he has been changing and now he speaks openly to us about pretty much everything. that is not the miracle. everytime we mention the word church he closes up, he does not have any desire to go to church...we think that he thinks if he goes a lightening bold is going to fall upon him...anyway. yesterday when the sacrament meeting had just started one of the young women told us that we had two investigators outside...thinking it was the valasquez family we went to bring them in...but it was edwin and Jorge (one of the kids that hangs in the house) Edwin tried to tell us that he only came to drop off Jorge....but he couldnt fool us because he was in a formal church shirt and shoes.... .... ...right after sacrament meeting he fled,but the miracle is that he came...please pray for him. if we can help change their lives we will change the world....
i love you all and hope all is well, write me :)
