Word of the Week: irse (to leave)

Week 19

Just when the transfer call comes, we find some wonderful people who are ready to hear the good news of the gospel! We also started working a lot more with the members and visiting less active members and as a result, we feel much more love from the members and a lot more interest in helping us work in this area.

This week we explored an area on our map that we haven’t work in much during the transfer because it’s a little further away and a lot of the people we find and end up progressing tend to live close to where our apartment is. Convenient for us, but it also means that we don’t get out to explore our area all too often. This week we were able to go out and knock some doors in this area where we hadn’t knocked before. We found a wonderful woman named Mirta with 7 children (all 18 years old or under). Her kids playing in the yard caught my attention, so we walked over to them and asked to talk with their parents. Mirta came out and welcomed us in to her house to share something with her. She told us that she is a single mom just looking to be a good example to her children. She really wants to find a good church to go to so her children will grow up and follow her example and have a good church to hold on to. We taught her about our church, what we do during our meetings each week and that our church is true. She loved what we shared and told us that she wanted to come on Sunday. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and the blessing of prayer and she just loved it all the more. She was excited to read the Book of Mormon to find out for herself that the church is the true church of Jesus Christ. Before we left, we invited her to pray with us on our knees. She got right now and then all her little kids gathered around too! It was amazing to see this mother, trying to be a good example to her children, offer a simple, sincere prayer with 6 of her children kneeling by her side. It was such a precious moment that I wish I could have captured forever.

That same day, we went to find a reference we had received from the elders. When we got to where the house should have been, we realized that it didn’t exist. Trying to make the best of the situation, we knocked some doors in that area. Unfortunately, no one was interested in listening to us. As we were walking to our “Plan B,” we passed by the house of a woman we talked to on the street one day and had never been able to find in her house. Since we were passing, we stopped and “knocked” (clapped) and sure enough, Maria’s daughter Margarita (40 years old or so) came to the door/gate and let us in. Maria (probably 65-70 years old) was there and her daughter wanted to listen as well. Maria told us when we talked to her on the street over a month ago that she reads the Bible everyday. We were so excited to actually be able to talk to her. She and Margarita both diligently study the Bible everyday so they can learn more about Christ and learn what He expects of them so they can achieve eternal life. They are well versed in the Bible and were very open and willing to read the Book of Mormon. We testified to them that the true church of Jesus Christ is on the earth and they were very intrigued. They love learning about the Gospel and hearing the words of the Lord. It was neat to see how they have been softened and prepared by the Lord to receive the message of the Restoration. I’ve really come to see how good Satan is at deceiving people and how powerful he is; one little distorted piece of doctrine branches out and leads people further and further from the truth.

We also taught another woman who invited us to her house after we talked to her in the street one night. Elda had seen us walking everyday, visiting people house by house and had always wondered when we were going to visit her. She was open when we started talking with her, but not very interested in going to church or changing her way of life. As we talked to her, she told us about how she struggled in life, raising her own son and her younger sister. She talked about how she went through a time of need and the Catholic church (her current “religion”) did nothing for her. We talked about the members of the church here, how we watch out for each other and help one another. We read Mosiah 18 to her and talked about our baptismal covenant to mourn with and comfort those in need of comfort. She really liked that passage and when we asked her what she liked about it, she told us that she thought that it was an invitation to be baptized. The whole mood changed and she told us that she’d like to come to church with us on Sunday.

Sunday was a sad one; just when I’m starting to connect with the members, off I go! Agustina (15 years old), the daughter of the 1^st counselor in the stake presidency just kept telling me how much she is going to miss me. I was amazed that I had even left a mark on her. Another one of the young woman told me the same thing. I will really miss the young woman and I hope to be able to keep in touch with them and help them keep on track!

Thanks for the love and support…keep it coming please…the next few days are going to be a bit rough as I make the transition to full Spanish with a Latin companion!

Love, Hermana Pelton