Hi All!
We went to the temple last week, and it was incredible! I love going to the temple, and I always get to learn a ton of things! It also gives me more things to study, and I love it!
We have a breakfast as a zone tomorrow that I'm in charge of, and we were looking through my cookbook to decide what to make, and I was reminded of all of the amazing food it's possible to make! Tomorrow we're making Orange Julius (modified), buttermilk pancakes, and creamy syrup! I hope it goes well!
The baptism that we had the other week? We are teaching his sister and nephew. His sister is amazing! She is really excited to be baptized and is learning everything super well! We were also teaching his niece, until Friday. She told us on Friday that she wasn't going to attend the lessons anymore (we teach them all together) and she wasn't going to come to church either. There is a lesson here. We can do all we can, and in the end, everybody has their agency. I imagine this is a little how a parent feels when their child chooses wrong decisions. We need to trust in the Savior enough to know that he can comfort us, and that the teachings and the guidance that we have given to others will not be forgotten, but will resurface at some point. There are a few things that faith and prayer can't change, including the will of God, and the agency of others. Also, her stated reason for leaving was that the members of the ward weren't very inclusive. So I include in my letter this week a plea. You will soon have three new members in your ward, and I urge you to remember the words of Gordon B. Hinckley, when he said that the three things a new convert needs are a friend, a responsibility, and to be nourished by the good word of God. The largest reason people go inactive is the lack of one of these, most likely a friend. These are people, who feel very different than you, who want to be like you. Help them! It helps you to grow that relationship with them if you can go to the lessons with the missionaries. You can see their growth over time, and how hard they work to change, and that inspires love. So please, help those who are trying to come unto Christ, that are different than you!
We are also teaching a single mom with two kids, and I had a really sweet experience. I've been thinking over the past 6 months about the story from my primary teachers that I started crying merely because of the power in the story, and the display of love. I was wondering what had changed in me, to prevent me from crying in almost any circumstance. We were watching On the Lords Errand, the movie about Thomas S. Monson, and there's a story about President Monson being prompted to shake the hands of all of the primary children. The primary teachers had promised the children that if they prayed in faith, President Monson would want to shake their hands. As I watched the video, and saw the rendition of all the children running up to shake his hand, in answer to their prayers of faith, I felt tears in my eyes, and I knew that I was still the same boy, who could feel the impact of that love. It was such an amazing experience!
We find people by knocking doors, talking in the street, talking in the stores, references from members, basically everything! It's pretty fun! We eat with our pensionista for lunch and dinner, and she is amazing! Her husband teaches English at a college, but it's British English, and she is taking American English classes right now! She was the Relief Society President until I got here, and now she is Young Women's President! She works super hard, and her food is really good! They make juice here by blending up fruit with a little water, which is way healthier than juicing the fruit, and tastes awesome! So we get juice/smoothie every day, every meal! I don't eat breakfast most days, because I don't need it due to all the food I eat here, but we all eat together for the most part, for every meal, because the 5 of us share the same apartment, and our schedules pretty much line up. Elder Huaman is still here, he extended his mission until the 28th of February, so we won't have any changes until the end of the transfer. It's a little difficult being in a trio, because we talk a lot less, which means it's easier to get distracted, but we're getting better! The members here are great! We usually have people to accompany us to lessons when we need them, and we have people introducing us to their friends, and everyone is very friendly!
I love you all, and enjoy everything you're doing!
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