¡Familia!
Elder Fernandez and I were sitting in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday and we heard something that caught our attention. After the sacrament service, the Bishop was announcing the program and out of nowhere we heard, “Then, our ward missionaries will follow with a brief message.” Well, that was news to our ears! We had 5-10 minutes to get some thoughts prepared and before we knew it, we were at the pulpit speaking to the congregation. LOL! It’s a good thing we were paying attention.
We had a great week in Mendoza and we spent most of our time looking for people to teach. When we actually get invited into a home, we’ve been focusing on sharing messages that are twenty minutes or less. This allows us to teach more people in the span of a day.
The other day, we found Marisa and Mara who are a mom and daughter. They accepted our message right off the bat! Due to some bad experiences in other churches, Marisa is looking for a new place to take her daughter. Simply, she’s looking for a place where they’ll feel comfortable. She’s been to a lot of churches and is still looking for the right one. When we met them, we quickly shared our message of the Restoration and then Marisa said one of the most powerful prayers I’ve heard. We knelt down together and she asked our Heavenly Father to lead her where she needs to go and asked if our message was true. It was simple but powerful! Then, we just stayed on our knees and let her meditate for a second. A warm feeling of peace came over us and when I looked up, there was a big smile on her face. I will never forget her ear-to-ear smile or the look she gave me. The Lord truly answers the prayer of anyone who asks will real intent and faith in Christ. I have no doubt about it!
Our friend, David, is progressing a ton. He has read a large portion of the Book of Mormon and has faithfully gained a testimony of the truthfulness of our message. Every time we go to his house, we begin with a prayer and then he just tells us what he’s been learning and gives us a recap of what he’s read in the Book of Mormon. Every time we’re with him, I’m stunned by his comprehension of what he’s read and of what we’ve taught him. He understands everything so well and he earnestly wants to learn more. He has a goal to finish the Book of Mormon in two weeks and if he keeps up his current reading pace, he’ll reach his goal. There’s a lot of religious contention in his house but he is able to ignore it because, as he’s told us, he’s received his answer and he’s going to follow it. We’re trying to work with the police so David can get permission to go to church with us. So, keep him in your prayers!!
Banti and Florencia are doing well also. Banti is learning a ton and the other day while we were preparing him for his baptismal interview he taught us the message of the Restoration from the perspective of a nine-year old. It was pretty hilarious to hear his thoughts and rendition of the message. He’s a really smart kid and he’s getting prepared for his baptism. Hopefully, he’ll be baptized soon. We’re just waiting for a little more support from his family.
On Friday, we had our Zone Conference and it was one of the best conferences I’ve participated in. Here in Mendoza, the work is progressing steadily. I had to teach about the importance of ministering to the members as well as the investigators and about how to gain their confidence and trust. We are truly on the Lord’s errand and ministering to our sheep is our outlook. One thing we’ve implemented in the mission is saying every prayer, in every lesson, on our knees. It’s just so much more powerful that way and we are able to have more spiritual experiences with our investigators. We’ve learned that it’s these experiences that help them gain a testimony. Every night we return to our pench with dirty pants, but kneeling in prayer truly makes a difference.“If you are ever too tired to stand up, KNEEL.”
– Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Elder Roderick
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