Hey everyone! This week was challenging especially as we worked harder this week than ever before and probably received more rejections than ever before. But I also feel more at peace and more grateful for the blessings God has put into our lives. So in the end all is well.
Our president has given us a goal to contact 20 people everyday. Being in a small area with few members to work with that means knocking lots and lots of doors. Usually out of the 20 contacts we do 2 maybe 3 will let us back. So it has been frustrating to see how Satan has cheated the hearts of many of the people here. I'd say about a third of the people here go to one church that I have never heard of in my other areas. It is called the Assembly of God and I think there are two different chapels here and a so called "temple" which is a small square brick building. So that's a lot compared to our small house church with about 3 or 4 families attending. Also they receive a lot of aid from donors in the united states which makes it hard to compete with. I also think the kids have American godfathers who write them letters.
But one thing I have really learned is that none of our efforts our wasted and God blesses us in ways we can't imagine. Tuesday we did our 20 contacts and felt good. Right after we finished the 20, a lady came up to us in the street and asked if we could teach her 14 and 15 year old boys who don't go to any church. We visited them Sunday and had a really good appointment. Wednesday the first door we knocked was opened by a young man who invited us back that night. He is 20 and has a wife and one kid. They haven't had God in their lives but as a family really want to grow closer to God. The rest of the contacts that day said no but we felt good after our appointment with them that night.
Now I want to talk about Friday. I had been really looking forward to conference and I think Satan knew that also. He decided to throw every attack at me possible. It started off with breakfast when we were served a nice hot bowl of Pataska. I don't know if you remember, but it's the bowl of soup that consists of corn, meat, and stomach lining or intestine... That didn't leave me feeling very good but we still went out working. After contacting in the morning I was left frustrated going to lunch because we met some good people who are more loyal to their churches than to God. One contact asked me, "What would God think if I left my church to join you guys?" I explained God would want that but many people here don't believe that a true church exists. They believe all churches are good and God is fine with you joining any church as long as you stay loyal to that church... Anyways I was ready for lunch since I was hungry and needed a break to cool off. Well for lunch we were served fish, rice, and chopped onions. Which doesn't sound bad except for the fact that they just fry the entire fish, head and everything. I didn't eat the head but how they cook it means none of the bones are taken out and you get lots of surprises as you eat haha. So leaving lunch unsatisfied we continued to work. I told my companion the only thing that could make the day worse is if it started to rain. Well about 5 minutes later we heard thunder and it rained for a half hour or so. Anyway contacts 1-19 were solid no's and I was ready to get the last contact over with and end the day to watch general conference the next day and have a break. Well at contact number 20, we found another young man who has a baby of a about 1 year and seemed really interested. So we will see how the appointment with him goes.
Then we had conference. All of the talks were really good and almost all shared the same message. Wickedness never was happiness and that if we want to be happy we need to make Jesus Christ the focus of our lives. I had a really good weekend and feel ready to start another week. But don't think this week was uneventful either. Saturday night we felt impressed to stop by Jancarlos our investigator with a baptismal date to invite him to the conference Sunday. Well we entered their house to find everyone sad. Their mom (they don't have a dad) is super sick and cancer runs in the family so she is going to Lima to receive medical attention. She is taking Jancarlos with her to take care of her. So we lost our only investigator with baptismal date and also his mom was the lady washing our clothes so now we need to find someone else to wash our clothes. But as bad as I feel for them leaving I feel worse for their other kids. The oldest is about 16 and will now have to take care of his two younger sisters, one of them being special needs, while their mom leaves to see if she has cancer. One moment i will never forget is entering his bedroom to see the sixteen year old in the corner reading the bible, on the verge of crying. I can't imagine being in his situation and I don't think at 16, that I would have been faithful enough to turn to God as much as he did. I probably would've been crying and asking God why. So that made Saturday interesting but conference Sunday brought peace back into our lives.
Sorry this is so long but to end i just want to reflect on what President Nelson said. Next conference will be different than any conference we have ever had. He said we need to prepare for it by reflecting on our testimonies of the restoration. Literally the prophet of God told us to prepare in these next 6 months. I don't know what for, but I do know we need to listen and be prepared. I have set a goal to read the entire standard works (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) before conference. It will require reading 14 pages a day and will take about 45 minutes each day to do. If any of you are down (willing), I invite you to read with me and take 45 minutes out of your day to grow closer to God.
Love y'all have a good week!
Photos:
1) What happens when two ex SBO's are companions - A poster to promote the Book of Mormon
2) Kids in traditional clothing
3) Be grateful for the flat screens y'all get to watch conference on.
