Dear Family,
This was quite a week. I´ll start with the most important. This saturday we were able to participate in the baptism of Elsa Cruz, the mom of Celeste Soria (who was baptized a little more than a month ago). Elsa was really happy to do so. Her decision really began when she came to the baptism of Celeste (getting people to baptisms is the best way to prepare them). We had also helped her family with moving all of the soda inside as an act of service and I believe that helped to soften her heart too. So, she accepted to start listening to us afterwards. The second lesson with her is especially memorable. I think I explained it to you before, but maybe I`ll do it again. She has a 14 year old daughter named Romina who, when she was a kid, had a sickness that caused her to go deaf and mute (she can hear really loud sounds and make noises, but not well enough to listen and talk). 2 years ago Elsa signed up for a government program to get her hearing aids, but a while ago they said that her papers had expired and that she wouldn´t receive them. She got upset saying, "It isn`t my fault that they went out of date, they were sitting there in your office for the past two years. You have the blame." While we were teaching her about the Book of Mormon, she received a phone call with a miracle on the other end. They told her to bring Romina in to have some tests to receive the hearing aids. We had the opportunity in that moment to explain that this occurance was due to the prayers that she has made and that God always listens to our prayers. She kept fulfilling all of her commitments (even if she didn´t understand much of what she read) to the point that she read the entire book of Gospel Principles before she was baptized. She stopped going to the casino, stopped drinking tea, and stopped working on sunday (after church) easily once she learned the commantments. But, she kept saying that she wasn´t sure if God could forgive her for some of her sins. After a joyful interview with President Benton, she was found worthy and learned for herself that God can forgive the sinner who repents.
The baptismal service was excelent. There was a good turnout (the members here are very supportive) and all was prepared well. Celeste gave an excellent talk about baptism for her mom (we helped Celeste learn how to find a good scripture to use). Celeste was really happy because she has the desire that her entire family can receive the gospel and she said in her talk, "I never imagined that it would happen so fast!" I was asked to do the baptism and it was an honor. Elsa, even though she didn´t want to, consented to give her testimony and explain why she decided to get baptized. It turned out really well. Faithful service really does bring joy.
This week, Elder Aidukaitis also came. And Wow. He sure did help us raise the bar and raise our faith. First off, he let us know that we should be baptizing on a weekly basis and in a work of miracles and with faith that it is completely possible. And I do really feel that it is possible to work with faith to be able to baptize every week. He is an expert missionary who gave us a ton of great insights of tactics we could use to improve things or basically bringing to our attention things written in Preach My Gospel that we could do better to receive miraculous results. I know that God fulfills his promises and that the field is white already to harvest. This mission has improved a lot. During my time here, we have basically doubled the baptisms. Elder Aidukaitis let us know that "El Señor está feliz con su trabajo, pero no está sastifecho. El quiere más." (The Lord is happy with your work, but he is not sastified (a spanish word that also means full as from eating). He wants more.) This mission is going to continue seeing great miracles.
With that energy and faith from that conference, I started looking for who would be able to be baptized this next saturday. Hma. Farías came to church with her sister from Paraguay, named María Elena. She already knows everything and has a testimony, but hasn´t ever gotten baptized due to opposition from her family. I felt that it is her time to be baptized and that, through prayer and fasting, that her family would be softened. She has harbored the fear that if she gets baptized, her family will reject and exile her. But, through a powerful lesson guided by the spirit (and a bit of help from Elder Riggins, my zone leader who was with me during divisions), she could increase her faith and trust in the Lord to do His part. Her sister, Hma. Farías (a really good, strong, active and faithful member) gave a really good testimony about how "sometimes you just have to be a bit more Kamakaze." María Elena desires now to get baptized soon, but she wants to do it in Paraguay so that her family doesn´t feel that she escaped to Buenos Aires to be baptized. I agree with her. And I feel that her baptism will be the key to open the locked hearts of her family. I can´t do too much more for her now, but I await to hear the good news when she heads home.
The work continues forth, but during the week I read some of the articles in the new Liahona. I absolutely loved the talk by Elder Bednar that he gave in a devotional at BYU a year ago (in may of 2009) about the dangers of technology and how it can make us lose sight of "things how they really are." I hope to really improve on not wasting time chatting online and doing other such things on the computer so that I can focus on real relationships with people. I know that will bring me great happiness throughout my life, especially in my later years when I see that the friends I have made are real friends and not just there for entertainment.
I know this work is true and that God leads our leaders. If we follow, we will see great miracles in our lives and greater joy, peace, and happiness.
Love,
Elder Drake Ranquist
No comments:
Post a Comment