Dear Family,
I cannot believe it's been 5 months either!!!! The time is flying by!!
That's awesome you had the missionaries over. I always love the opportunity to go to members homes and strengthen them!! Dad told me your talk was amazing!! Great job mom:) and thank you for the packages!!! There is a chance I should receive them at zone conference on Wednesday if they got here yet, but if not, I won't receive it until June at zone conference hahaha. Or maybe if President Jackson randomly gets up here. no idea!! haha
Well the appointment with Andres was interesting. He has so many questions about the creation and about God, but still won't pray sincerely to find out. He has to many ideas in his head and doesn't want to change and it is so hard to let him go but we told him we can't visit anymore because its not a wise use of our time and for him either if he won't do anything. It's so hard to let investigators go who you work with for so long. Josefa and Cindy we will get to that later. There is some news with that one.
Well Monday, good p-day. Santiago was great and as always is an amazing testimony builder!! Although I do love the architecture of the cathedral. It's incredible!! That night we only had one lesson with a guy named Pedro, he agreed to read and pray and accepted a baptismal invitation but we came to the church Wednesday and found the Book of Mormon out front with a note saying I've already chosen my path so we shouldn't meet anymore. We called him and and he just said nope, I've already decided, I don't need it. So that was rough. Tuesday, we contacted all morning...had two street lessons but there didn't seem a ton of potential in them when we called their numbers later and they were fake. haha awesome. Later we had 1 recent convert and 1 menos activo lesson. we read a chapter in the book of Mormon with both of them and it was interesting, the menos activo (sorry that means less active, haha there are some words that even when we speak in English that we just never use like less active, or apartment haha) but the menos activo lesson we read 1 Nephi 16 and he expresses desires to come back and continue to read but he's only been reading with us and won't read on his own. His name is Mario and he's a great guy but his girlfriend is distracting him. She's also a menos activo but she doesn't show any desires to return. The recent convert lesson was with Miguel. The 80-year-old Gallegan who was baptized in September. He is one of the greatest men I have ever met. His character reminds me so much of the attributes of Christ, he really is so sincere and the only thing he wants to do is just follow the Savior. If he doesn't go to the Celestial Kingdom, nobody will. He's incredible. So we read Doctrine and Covenants 76 with him and talked about the "reinos de gloria" (kingdoms of glory) and it was just a very spiritual lesson. I love that man! We had another lesson and explained the Book of Mormon to a man from Nigeria and holy cow, I cannot teach the first lesson in English. That was so hard!!! I couldn't remember words and it was tough haha that and praying in English are super tough for me but that's a good thing cause that means my Spanish is coming along. I'm to the point where I feel like I could live here alone and be fine. I'm very comfortable with Spanish and yes I've hit the point, I dream in Spanish now. haha heck yes!!! So I'm really pleased. The Lord has blessed me for my efforts. I have studied so hard and although I've got a long ways to go He truly has blessed me with the gift of tongues.
Wednesday we went out to a pueblo (pueblos are the small towns outside of a city) and visited a menos activo, he was angry at God for all the problems in his life and we tried to take him to the scriptures and help him do the simple things but he didn't want any of it. Super rough to see that but then after the visit we ran into a lady at a bus stop who was almost baptized in Peru but wasn't because she moved!! She works Sunday mornings now and it's the only reason she hasn't been to church or baptized here she told us. So, we will be trying to work with her and she'll be baptized as soon as her schedule clears up. After that though, we had a lot of contacting and one other lesson I'll tell you about at the end.
Thursday we started to do a lot of area book work and we found one guy who we had a lesson with and he accepted to be baptized on the 31st of May but he went out of town Saturday night and so now we have no idea what's going to happen there. We will see in 2 weeks supposedly. After we visited Raquel, the menos activo, and read with her and it's always so amazing to just go and put a smile on her face!! I love visiting her. She loves having us over and just talking about the scriptures. Super cool.
Friday, we met with Nadya and she is doing great!! She's been asking us to pray for her son and she said to me, I know the Lord will answer your prayers because you have a lot of power. You are a powerful servant of God. It was extremely humbling to hear that coming from a recent convert that I helped in her process of joining the church and I realize how much I truly need to live up to the standard of my calling. We had to run to another lesson after that on the other side of the city and it went good. He's excited to meet with us and learn more his name is Oscar and he has a lot of potential!! That night, we knocked doors and found a couple people but nothing really came of it. They weren't extremely interested. Knocking doors is super fun. We've been trying that lately but haven't seen much come from it. We also had another lesson with Josefa and Cindy that I'll address later. Saturday, nothing. Every lesson fired us, and we contacted all day and received nothing. Happy 5th Cumple Mes to me!! haha It was a great way to celebrate with not seeing a bit of success anywhere, no members, no references, no area book success, no street contact success, literally the longest day ever as every lesson fire us. Rough, rough day BUT we kept a great attitude and just had fun trying to talk to everyone!! Then, yesterday, we had a lesson in the street and found like 3 other people who were super ready. Amazing day and it was so crazy to see how one day we can get nothing, and the next find golden investigadores. This life is crazy. haha. I love it though!!!
Wednesday we went out to a pueblo (pueblos are the small towns outside of a city) and visited a menos activo, he was angry at God for all the problems in his life and we tried to take him to the scriptures and help him do the simple things but he didn't want any of it. Super rough to see that but then after the visit we ran into a lady at a bus stop who was almost baptized in Peru but wasn't because she moved!! She works Sunday mornings now and it's the only reason she hasn't been to church or baptized here she told us. So, we will be trying to work with her and she'll be baptized as soon as her schedule clears up. After that though, we had a lot of contacting and one other lesson I'll tell you about at the end.
Thursday we started to do a lot of area book work and we found one guy who we had a lesson with and he accepted to be baptized on the 31st of May but he went out of town Saturday night and so now we have no idea what's going to happen there. We will see in 2 weeks supposedly. After we visited Raquel, the menos activo, and read with her and it's always so amazing to just go and put a smile on her face!! I love visiting her. She loves having us over and just talking about the scriptures. Super cool.
Friday, we met with Nadya and she is doing great!! She's been asking us to pray for her son and she said to me, I know the Lord will answer your prayers because you have a lot of power. You are a powerful servant of God. It was extremely humbling to hear that coming from a recent convert that I helped in her process of joining the church and I realize how much I truly need to live up to the standard of my calling. We had to run to another lesson after that on the other side of the city and it went good. He's excited to meet with us and learn more his name is Oscar and he has a lot of potential!! That night, we knocked doors and found a couple people but nothing really came of it. They weren't extremely interested. Knocking doors is super fun. We've been trying that lately but haven't seen much come from it. We also had another lesson with Josefa and Cindy that I'll address later. Saturday, nothing. Every lesson fired us, and we contacted all day and received nothing. Happy 5th Cumple Mes to me!! haha It was a great way to celebrate with not seeing a bit of success anywhere, no members, no references, no area book success, no street contact success, literally the longest day ever as every lesson fire us. Rough, rough day BUT we kept a great attitude and just had fun trying to talk to everyone!! Then, yesterday, we had a lesson in the street and found like 3 other people who were super ready. Amazing day and it was so crazy to see how one day we can get nothing, and the next find golden investigadores. This life is crazy. haha. I love it though!!!
Okay, as for Josefa and Cindy, well we were waiting to find out if we got the permission, we got to the lesson and she pulled something out of her bag and handed it to us and it was a signed paper saying they both have his consent!!!!! Ahhh!!!!!! and then she told us a story. She said last weekend she all of the sudden had a thought to call a friend to invite her to her baptism and she was like, no, she won't be able to come but she kept having a feeling to call her and so she did and her friend said what church is it? and Josefa said the Mormons, and her friend said my whole family was baptized into that church, and let me tell you that will be the greatest decision you will ever make. You truly are making the right decision and Josefa took that as her answer and told us how she realized she learned what the Holy Ghost is and how to follow His promptings and how she knows that this church is true through the experience she had through feeling the Spirit and she said she's felt the truth of the Book of Mormon, and it was incredible. The Spirit was so strong!!!! So the good news of the week. Josefa and Cindy will be baptized this Saturday if they pass the interview (which I am 99% certain they will!!!) :) AHH!! :) We are so excited!!!!!
So that was my week!! Thank you so much for everything you have done for me and for your love, support and emails. You're amazing!!! I love you mom!! It was a good week and I have been extremely happy. I love this work, and even though it's really easy to get discouraged sometimes I know this is worth it. So, for the spiritual thought for the week! Just something simple I found this week. I found a super cool scripture in Mormon 9 verses 12-14 that teaches the Plan of Salvation really well. I love how it simply explains the need for a Savior and the results of His atonement for us! I know he lives and I am so glad to be a representative of Him in these last days here in A Coruña. I am so excited to hear where janzen goes!!!!! and, oh man, I can't believe Zach gets home. That is wild!!!!!! Well, I hope you all have an incredible week and I love you all so much!!!!!!
con amor,
Elder Anderson
¡El reino de dios o nada!
I put this at the end to make sure its easy to find, the 11th we can skype and we should be able to at a members house. we're planning on 4 o'clock the 11th so that should be 8 o'clock your time. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!! love you!!!!!:)
