Aug 15, 2011 Salta Argentina
I have a bit of a cold but it's going through its stages. The weather is changing back and forth so fast that everyone gets colds. I guess it's normal close to the end of winter. It’s really warm out today which is nice.
So about the patience thing... I have been praying for help and am being blessed with MANY opportunities to work on it, ha ha. I don't know if I am just seeing situations differently now that I am trying to change or if I am really getting more opportunities. This lady we are teaching brings her two kids to the church during the week when we have lessons with her and they are a handful! The little girl is 6 and the boy is 8 or 9. They both love grabbing our stuff and running off with it while we are teaching and also digging through it so we have to go get the stuff and bring it back. They took all the tithing slips and crumpled them up in their pockets and went through everything they could. The other day the boy went out and got a bunch of red current berries or something (they are like small blueberries and I don't think they are edible). Anyways, he started throwing them at us during the lesson and then was throwing them around the room until my companion told him to get a trash can and practice shooting them in. With his short attention span that worked for two minutes and then he was back at trying to get our attention. He did ha ha. He got more berries after his mom took them away and then he was in the other part of the church. Finally we were able to talk. They left and she will be ready the 27th for baptism and is very excited! We went and got lunch and came back to the church since that day a family gave lunch to us in a container. We ate and started picking up the berries. We got to the only carpeted room in the church and yup... he had thrown them all in there and walked all over them! I took a deep breath and we cleaned it up laughing at how that kid can think of every way to get under your skin! The stains blended into the carpet well so you couldn't notice them after we cleaned it with a rag as well as we could.
Like I said, I am being blessed with many opportunities to practice! ha ha
We are teaching a lady who read the Book of Mormon a long time ago and loved it but never pursued it. We passed her on the street and said hi as we walked by and because of her enthusiasm in saying hi back we stopped and started talking to her. It was quick but we got her address and she was excited to have us come over. After weeks of trying to find her home and not sick we connected! She told us she had one question about the Book of Mormon and everything else she loved. She said she didn't understand the part where Alma Lot was walking away and commanded not to look back. She knows the Old and New Testament like the back of her hand and since she has been reading the Book of Mormon over she is finding that it is so true just by proof and also how great she feels about it! She ends up teaching us more than we teach her! ha ha. She has studied all the different types and translations of the Bible but just feels like she learns so much more when she reads the Book of Mormon! She also had a dream in which I told her "plainly" that "I KNOW THAT WHAT WE ARE TEACHING IS TRUE!!!" and woke up feeling something that she couldn't describe inside her! We know that it is the spirit and that she is receiving answers to her prayers. She not only has been reading the pamphlets we give her, she does all the questions in the back of them by searching for the answers in the verses listed. She said while she was doing these she felt like her understanding was enlightened! It is so amazing to be present while the Lord is doing his work! We found out that a bishop a long time ago stopped at their house at 10 at night and knocked on the door. Clara(who we are teaching) said that her mom(now passed away) was mad that someone would knock that late but when she opened the door, the guy(a bishop in the LDS church) said that the spirit told him that he was supposed to stop here at this house and do something for the family. He then asked what it was they needed and Clara's mom said that she was trying to build a school and had been praying for the funds for 3 months! It was a Catholic school but the bishop paid for every part of the school and told them not to tell anyone who did it. Clara now wants to know if it would be OK if she could put a plaque on the school that says 'built by a Mormon bishop'! ha ha She never forgot that moment and has wanted to do something about it but couldn't because of what he said. He passed away a few years ago and she wants to do something now. She was blown away that he would do that for another religion!
Another guy we are teaching read a ton the first time we asked him to read the Book of Mormon and he had a bunch of questions written out including asking about the trinity and many other things! It was a great lesson with the spirit and he loves the book! We can only meet with him Saturday though because of work so that is the only bad thing. He is excited to keep learning!
We are being blessed with alot of people who are interested and progressing including many who we were teaching who we haven't been able to meet with for a while. One of the recent converts we had, now has a wife who is really interested in learning more. She never wanted to listen while we were teaching before because she knew she would just start crying. She told us that her husband said (before he got baptized) that maybe it's the spirit trying to tell you something! We are being blessed with many amazing experiences and tons of walking! Our area had 4 missionaries before but then they took two out a few years ago. It’s been two ever since and it's huge! I might be here for another transfer because my companion goes home at the end of this transfer.
Well I hope everything is going great back home and that you're getting some of this fabulous sunshine!
Love you all!
Alex
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