word of the week: Llamar (to call)

This was a fun week--we took advantage of "cinco de mayo" (even though there are no Mexicans here) and made tacos (thanks for the taco seasoning!!!) and they were by far the best tacos I've had in a LONG time! My companion loved them and said that they were the best tacos she's ever had too....haha....It was a lot of fun. On a different funny note, we were knocking doors one night and at one door, a young mom came to the door and as she opened the door, I saw straight inside and saw two missionaries....from the Jehovah's Witnesses!!!! Thankfully my companion didn't see them from where she was standing because my companion is blunt (and likes to fight)....haha.....it was really funny afterword! She was so annoyed that she didn't see them to give them a piece of her mind. (you have to know her, she was kidding...a little....it was hilarious either way!!!!) I've never knocked a door where other missionaries were there already teaching. The woman at the door just looked confused and didn't know what to say while I just tried to hold in my laughter and just smile. The missionaries just looked at us and said "we're already teaching her...about the bible." I just smiled, we left, and laughed so hard! It was so funny! We went and taught Graciela again this week. We went to visit her earlier in the week, but she and her son were sick, so we had to put it off for another day. We are trying to visit her more often so she will hopefully progress faster, but things keep coming up. The lesson we did end up having with her was FABULOUS! Every lesson with her is great and the spirit is always present and powerful! This week, we taught her about the Plan of Salvation and she loved it! I love teaching her because when we leave, she always seems brighter and happier and that she is transmitting peace and happiness, that the spirit had touched and taught her as much as us. She pays close attention and asked questions and keeps herself very involved. It's FABULOUS! It's always refreshing to be teaching someone who really wants to listen and learn. As we taught her and were wrapping things up, we asked her, from what she understood of the plan, what she needs to do. She just looked at us, and as a matter-of-fact-ly said, "I need to be baptized." DING! It was so perfect. She always tells us of the light, peace, and happiness that we transmit. It's such a great reminder and reassurance that there are people who recognize us for who we are as representatives of Christ and as true followers of Him. Unfortunately, we can't seem to get her to church...she is really great....just won't progress without going to church! This week we will have to kick it up a notch and see what we can do with the members help more. This week was another lesson in enduring to the end. It seems that this is the pattern of my mission. In the search for new investigators, we knock a LOT of doors and it always seems that we meet our goal in the last hour of the day or so. At least twice this week we had worked all day without getting into any doors, until about 7:30 or 8 pm. How true is the scripture in 2 Nephi 31 that reminds us that once we've entered the gate, we aren't finished, it's only the gate. The path requires the same faith in Christ that we had which led us to the gate. The new people we taught this week were nearly all from knocking just one more door. How often the Lord requires us to just pray one more time, just ask (or "knock") one more time so He can open the doors for us. We worked nearly 2 days without hardly stopping in the middle of the day, if only for one hour to eat before heading back out. Needless to say, I've never been so sore and tired in my entire life! Haha. I've also been learning a lot about how if we have the spirit and are doing what we are supposed to be doing, the Lord will guide our steps, but we have to be walking. Wednesday, right before heading back towards our apartment, not having been able to reach our daily goals, I was reflecting on the day and what maybe we could have done better. Hna. Cuello walked over to a woman on the street and started talking to her while I went to knock a nearby door. Before ringing the door bell, I looked around and tried to remember if we'd knocked that door before. I couldn't decide...by this time, Hna. Cuello had finished talking to the woman on the street and came to join me. I rang the door bell and we decided together that we had knocked this particular door many times and a young, uninterested father always comes to the door. So, we waited, expecting him, when a young mom (obviously his wife) came to the door and after chatting for a bit, let us in. Within 15 minutes, we had set a baptismal date with her and her daughter! Knock one more time... Those are the highlights from this week. Love you all, Hna. Pelton PS--hope all the moms out there had a special day.... :)