(This is last week's letter. kp)
We had a busy week, but a happy week! The Lord blessed us in many ways this week, starting with the cool down of the weather! Woohoo! A summer cool down equals RAIN and STORMS! Almost everyday this week, we had some sort of thunder storm. Thankfully, we really only got caught out in one storm one morning when it started raining unexpectedly about 20 minutes after we started working in the morning. We had a good laugh as we huddled under a tree trying to stay dry while the rain passed... it didn't pass, so we decided to run from tree cover to tree cover. That lasted for about 15 minutes, and then we really pushed to get into someone's home. We got in finally and taught a little lesson to a woman. By the time we finished, the rain had stopped! PERFECT!
Tuesday was our day of miracles! We taught 8 new people that night, twice as many as we had set as our daily goal. Later in the week, my attention went in another direction to help another hermana, and I was so greatful that we did not need to worry as much about our weekly goals because we had been so blessed earlier in the week that I could focus on helping her. Of those 8 new people, we found a woman named Valeria and her sister Liliana. We talked to them on the street last week, and they welcomed us into their home this week. We had them in our plans, but as we walked past their house and looked in the window at the huge group of people---mostly older men only wearing shorts---we debated moving on to another plan rather than risking that awkward situation. Hna. Anderson and I just smiled at each other and walked up to the man sitting in the open window and asked for Valeria, to which she warmly welcomed us into her home. She was taught by Elders years ago in her home near Buenos Aires. She had some questions, particularly about the Word of Wisdom. She asked me if she were a bad person for smoking, to which I replied that she was not. She then asked why she was not "allowed" to smoke and drink on occasion. I love the promises of the Lord because my first instinct was to be nervous because I felt like I'd gotten into a pickle, when the words just started coming out. I told her that the Lord gives us commandments to protect us, not to restrict us. Smoking and drinking is bad for our bodies and being under the influence of such substances restricts our abilities, etc. It was perfect and she understood and calmed down. Then, as her sister asked why there are so many churches in the world and how she can know which one is true, I was able to testify to Valeria of the power of the Holy Ghost in the conversion process and how if we are under the influence of drugs/alcohol, we will never be able to hear the soft and quiet voice of the spirit telling us what is the truth and how we need to be living our lives. It was a fabulous lesson and the spirit distilled on us. Hna. Anderson gave a powerful testimony about how she received the answer from the Lord that this is his true church.
I also had the opportunity to bear my testimony to another family that night about my personal conversion. When I told them that I'd been to other churches and just didn't like them (for lack of better words), their response was that I felt better in this church. I just looked at them and said "No. I go to this church because God told me that this is
His church...it's not just the church that I like more...and I'm going to do what God tells me." That quieted them up a bit.
I had great experiences bearing my testimony this week. One in particular stood out to me: We knocked a door and a woman came to the window and started talking to us. She "didn't have time", but we ended up talking through her window a bit to which she said she'd heard about all the religions. When I asked her if she'd listened to our companions she admitted that she had not. The conversation evolved and she asked what the difference is between our church and the Catholic church. I testified to her that we have a living prophet on the earth today that leads and guides the true church of Jesus Christ. I was able to testify to her of the authority that the prophet of God holds and that God knows His chosen servants and He will tell her who is true servant is on the earth today. She said that God doesn't just answer people...and when I rebuttled she changed her stance and said that maybe we are just to hard-hearted to really listen to the quiet and subtle answer...DING! I love bearing testimony in the mission because it is always such a reassuring experience for me and the spirit testifies to me again, every time, that what I'm saying is true. I love it!
As another side note, I had my first speaking assignment in Sacrament Meeting. We found out Friday night and took what little spare time we had to write something up. Poor Hna. Anderson was a little stressed, as was I, but it all turned out well. We spoke about Missionary Work and I used Grandpa's story about the difference in value between a dime and a drill bit. I thought it turned out pretty good for being written here and there and on the fly....mission blessings!
Love to you all! Hope everyone enjoyed the cruise! We are going to "La Caverna de Las Brujas" next week for our P-day...google it....it's in Malargüe, Argentina....we're super excited! Stay tuned for a mission adventure! (with that being said...not sure when I will be emailing next week because the cave is 4-5 hours from San Rafael....)
Love you!
Hna. Pelton
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