The Parable of the Argentine Ant

Mon, October 18, 2010 1:36:54

Word of the Week: Hormiga (ant) Yeah, my word of the week is random, but I just learned how to say "ant" because there is an amazing amount of ants in this country! I'm fascinated by them in reality... This was quite a crazy week as we went to Mendoza for Zone Conference with an area authority (Elder Aidukitis). The road trip was long, starting when I got up at 3:15am, and ending when we got back to our apartment around 10:30pm that same day. It was great to visit Mendoza, see President and Hermana Lindahl, visit with former companions, and listen to Elder Aidukitis. He gave us some wonderful advice on how to help the work in this area. He gave us tips on how to encourage members to work with us, how to get references, and how to boldly invite people to be baptized. I've been trying to put in practice what he taught us and have already seen more success. All in all, it was a long day, but we learned a lot and ate some yummy food! The long day of conference made the week a little more complicated in terms of the work because we were all really tired and had one less day to work. We found, nonetheless, a wonderful young mom named Leticia. I talked with her on the street one day, and we passed by her house on Friday. She welcomed us in and as we talked, I realized how prepared she is! She is religious, but isn't the standard Catholic you meet on the corner. She believes in having conversations with our Heavenly Father through prayer rather than reciting (AWESOME!); she feels that she has so many blessings that when she prays, she feels like sometimes she should only give gratitude; she hasn't been baptized because she hasn't found a church where she feels that she is in the right place--baptism means something to her!; she's looking for a church where she FEELS that it is right... We taught her about the restoration and particularly about the restoration of Priesthood keys to perform baptisms that will be valid in heaven. She accepted the invitation to be baptized! I'm really excited to work more with her because she was so receptive and excited to learn. I hope we can teach her 11 year old daughter and husband in the near future too! We also committed Sonia to be baptized (the hermanas before me taught her) She wants to be baptized, but she works on Sundays and isn't able to come to church. I'm hoping that having a date--a visible goal--will help her make church and her baptism a priority! We went to a man-made lake this morning (Valle Grande), which is the big touristy area here. We stopped to take some pictures by the dam and as we were walking back to the van (which was taking us around), I noticed a line in the dirt without rocks or sticks and full of moving black ants with huge chunks of leaves on their backs. Ants are everywhere here and have impressive caravaning systems and I'm always taken aback by their capacity to work and carry these huge burdens on their backs when they are so small and insignificant. In this particular moment, I was particularly impressed by the clear trail they had carved out for themselves--it was really profound. (Had I stopped and thought about the millions of ants running in front of me, I might have been too grossed out to make this magnificent connection...) As we walked around the lake, took pictures, then came back to real life in the city, I thought about how often I feel like those little ants: running around frantically with huge burdens on my backs How impressive these little creatures are (even if they are crawly little things) with burdens on their backs 5 times their size. How quickly I forget the potential I have to bear burdens that seem so huge, but to which the Lord has shaped and prepared me to bear. Like those ants, I'm feel weighed down, but one step at a time, one foot in front of the other (with many friends, family members, and ward members at my side), I am carving out a clear path to my destination, free from rocks and sticks. I'm clearing my path each day and pushing those stumbling blocks away and discovering that I am able to handle that huge task and that I'm one step closer to my Heavenly Father. Thanks for all the love and support. Love to you all! Transfers this week...Stay tuned! Hermana Pelton Aunt Laura: thanks for the banner and the well wishes! Love to you all! April: Superstar letter writter...love you!