Thursday, April 3, 2014

March 31, 2014

house keeping: i received my name badge/snickers. Thanks it is very appreciated. Also, next week is transfers so pday isn't until wednesday.
So, this week we had 2 baptisms - two men, carlos and arnoldo, and they were both MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!. First with carlos...he is the neighbor of one of our investigators, Van. Van has a coconut tree and asked Carlos to climb the tree to harvest so we could eat/drink of the bounty. Carlos then stayed for the message and wanted to learn more. That night, he read and prayed about the Book of Mormon and knew it was true by himself! He had a smoking problem but after learning of the Word of Wisdom, he commited to living it without hesatation. The next day, he told us that he found an unsmoked cigarette in the street. He picked it up, put it in his pocket and gave it to his friend because "I quit smoking" :) and he hasn't looked back.
Elder Bernardo, Carlos, and me
 
The other one, Arnoldo, we found him during our 50-contact day. First, he accepted our invitation to be baptized during our street contact. Then, he accepted the Book of Mormon and our message without a problem and was baptized on Sunday. The truly miraculous thing is that he told us later that the very day we talked to him, he was planning to ask his neighbor if he (Arnoldo) could go to church with his neighbor, who is not a member, because Arnoldo recently moved here. So, if we hadn't talked to him, if we just walked on by, a soul probably would have been lost. Always listen to the Spirit. He will direct your actions to help others.
Me, Arnoldo, and Elder Bernardo
 
I heard a quote from Pres. Eyring this week, "The Lord sends people prepared to hear the gospel to people prepared to share the gospel." Keep up your efforts. You have a promise from an apostle. (Don't worry mom, eventually you will get one who lives in our ward). Tell Dad thanks for fixing my bike. It was something I put off because I was leaving for 2 years. Seriously, Matthew, you got hurt again? We are going to need to bubble wrap you :). I agree running isn't (generally) fun (referring to this week's YW fun run).
The market where I buy fruits/vegetables...amazing selection!!
 
My time's up. Enjoy conference.
Elder Brett Wilson