First of all. I AM STAYING HERE. Changes are this Wednesday, and our Zone Leader called us last night, to inform my Hna. Rodas and I that we are staying here in Las Tablas! I thought we would, but I was terrified that I wasn´t going to be able to. I feel like we have so much more work to do here.
Second of all. My first baptism was Saturday!!! She is a wonderful, super spiritual nine year old whose dad was inactive until a few weeks ago. They came to church last week, and at the end of the meetings, she and dad came up to us, and she said she wanted to be baptized. So, we taught her a lesson right then and there. Her dad is an incredible human being. He was basically an unofficial missionary here in Las Tablas. Back before there was a branch here, he talked with friends, preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, and even baptized many of them. But they were all traveling really far to get to church in Chitre. So. this hermano wrote a letter to the mission president at the time, asking about opening a branch here in Las Tablas, where there has been one for about ten years. In the past week, he has helped us so much, and we have been really productive in working with him. He has a beautiful testimony. When he shared it with us at his daughter´s baptism, there was not a single dry eye. One of the things he said was that he was grateful for the opportunity to return to the church. He was grateful for the process of repentance and forgiveness from our Savior and Heavenly Father. I too am gaining a testimony of that very principle and so many others. Heavenly Father and our Savior truly do love us, and only want the best for us. I am so happy to be learning more about their role in our lives every day.
Also. We have started Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching in the branch! We talked with our branch missionary leader last week, pouring over the names of the members, organizing who could work with who (because very few people have cars) and who they needed to go visit. When it was announced in church yesterday, everyone was excited, and jumped up to get the paper with the list of names. Its so important to visit with people, our church family, and our friends and family in general...I think this is going to make a huge difference here. We are so close to an attendance of 50! Soo close.
The unity here is beautiful. For example, when we called our branch president Friday to confirm the baptism for Saturday, we were worried about how many people who would be there to support our awesome nine year old friend. There was an activity for the members in Chitre that afternoon, and the baptism was scheduled to start two hours after the end of the activity. However, by car, by bus, by bike, by foot...these members came. Most of our branch was there, smiling and happy...I nearly cried when I saw everyone come in. These people truly do have such a strong testimony of the role of Jesus Christ in their lives. The baptism was beautiful. I gave my first talk completely in Spanish! I am finally starting to feel more comfortable with the language. Often, I think of a word in Spanish before I think of it in English. Its such a cool process. Frustrating sometimes, but cool.
Also, about unity. We have a young couple here who have a beautiful little girl who is sick. Her mom came up to us at the end of one of the classes yesterday, explained a little bit of what was happening, and then simply asked us to keep her in our prayers. Instantly, someone said, ¨Why don´t we fast as a branch?¨ Another, "Why not tomorrow?¨ And within a minute, it was decided as a ward we would have a special fast for this precious daughter of God. Some people decided to start right in that moment. Every moment I spend with these people is a treasure. I love what I am learning.
I am so happy to be learning more about our Savior, Jesus Christ, each and every day. I know that the power of repentance and forgiveness is real. I know that He and our Heavenly Father truly love us. I know that He listens to each and every prayer, and that He will help us if only we ask. I know that all things are possible through our Savior, Jesus Christ. I may have hard days, but He is always walking beside me, helping my companion and I find those who need to hear comforting words about their Savior and Heavenly Father. I am so incredibly blessed.
I have so many more things to say...but the most important thing to say is that I know that our Savior lives. I know that through acting in faith, we will recieve blessings, blessings that our Heavenly Father is more than willing to give us. I know that He knows each and every one of us. I am so blessed. I am so grateful for my family, and for the example that they have been for me. I am learning so much about how to conduct the rest of my life...life is such a beautiful process.
See you next week!
Con amor, Hma. Scott
Con amor, Hma. Scott
Picture with their Zone Leader & his companion.
Their second baptism. 
No comments:
Post a Comment