June 6, 2011  Salta Argentina

 

So transfers are next Monday... I am not worried about it but it would be nice to stay here so the area doesn't get white-washed (meaning two new missionaries take over the area). My companion is for sure leaving because he has 6 months in this area and already found out. He went to a zone leader training last Friday in preparation for his next area. He has been district leader for a transfer. He will be a good zone leader! He has been a great companion! I have learned so much from him! 

 

On Sunday we had a baptism of a 9 year old in a non-active family. The mom and sister came to church and her baptism after church (it was after so her dad could come - he didn't show up). Alot of the relatives are very active and the whole family and relatives are sealed in the temple. Hopefully they will make their way back to church now. 

 

We were supposed to have another baptism on the 4th (Saturday) for a guy who we had get married on Wednesday but Thursday he never answered his phone and wasn't at his house when we had an appointment... Friday, the same, when his interview was going to be and Saturday too. We tried from other phones to see if he wasn't answering ours but nothing still. He was one of our best investigators, so we are thinking that there was an emergency or something. Hopefully we will find him this week. 

 

We have found some more great people but none of them made it to church. Most, because of something they already had going and committed for next week. This week we still had 6 people at church so that was really good! One was an investigator who said she would, but had flaked out on all of our appointments for weeks. You just never know what they are feeling. The JW family had been having some issues and 2 weeks ago the wife told us that she was more content with her church. She told us she wasn't a member because she couldn't memorize the scriptures needed to be baptized but still went to study with them. This Sunday her husband was supposed to come but she and her 8 year old daughter came instead! We were blown away! We went to her house that night and her husband was doubting there was a God like he has many times, but after we talk to him he is always excited to read again and go to church and feels good about what we are teaching. The wife said she just felt like she needed to go today and that she had been reading the Book of Mormon after having said she didn't really want to. It was Fast Sunday and she felt really good about all the people's stories about how they have changed so much because of the gospel. She loved it and said she was going to go again. I think she has gone 4 times now. The 8 yr-old wants to come early like they did once before because she absolutely loved Primary. I think she will be key in getting her parents to church and baptized! We watched Together Forever the other night with them and they both loved it and felt that the families in the movie had some of the exact same problems that they were and are dealing with.

 

Another experience we had this week was with someone we heard about from a member. We stopped by 5 weeks ago and had a GREAT lesson with him! He was so excited but he works a ton and we just got to meet with him again this week. We just started visiting with him and asked how he felt about the church when he went there a year ago once and he told us he felt good there and never felt that at the other churches he visited. He told us that when we talked about Joseph Smith and him seeing Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that he felt an amazing peaceful feeling similar to that which he felt in church but much greater! He couldn't stop thinking about it that night and talked to his wife about it (this was 5 weeks ago). He had something going Sunday but said he was going to for sure come next week. He isn´t actually married so we have to get him married too before we can baptize him.

 

These experiences have confirmed the truth of the gospel to me 10 times more than it already was! Its truly the work of the Lord!