Buenos
Dias!
We've
realized here that a week that ends good is a good week. This Saturday we went
to the endowment and sealing for the Basurto Family! Although I got to go to
the Armendariz one last week, this one was a lot more powerful to me just
because of how much I was involved with teaching and baptizing them. They were
so prepared and had so much of the ward there to support them and help them
through everything. This week, just like last week, the entire sealing room was
packed and there were no empty chairs. We got to see Juan get sealed to Maria,
and then Oscar get sealed to them afterwards. It was also cool because it was
the first time I've ever been to an endowment session in spanish! I was
surprised at how comfortable I was in there, just because I had never done it
before and wasn't sure I would understand 100% of the terminology. As I was
there, I thought of all the people that told me that Spanish is the language
they use in heaven, and it was a really special experience to be able to go to
the temple with all of the people that I've grown so close to here in Mesa!
They had a get together afterwards to celebrate this special day, and we got to
meet a bunch of Juan's family, who actually seems to be pretty open and
interested!
Another
highlight of the week was definitely with Milta and Ricardo! So last Monday we
stopped by to visit Milta, and we were just sharing a simple scripture and
talking about things like we normally do. Then, out of nowhere she started
asking all of these questions about baptism, like what you wear and how it
works. We answered them and were pretty surprised, because we talk to her a lot
about baptism but she's always told us she doesn't feel like she's gotten an
answer yet. Anyway, we asked her if she wanted to get baptized and she said
yes! She would have been baptized the very next day if she could have. So we
planned on June 5, so it would give us a couple weeks to teach her everything
and solidify it all. The next day I brought an english missionary into my area
and we took Milta and Ricardo to the Visitor's Center. We watched Finding Faith
in Christ and as we discussed it afterwards, Milta asked what they need to know
before they get baptized because Ricardo wants to get baptized with her!! That
was a total surprise, because she said he was the reason why she wasn't getting
baptized. He was sincere and really wants to go through with it, and because of
the kind of guy he is he just means business. We've taught them just about
every single day this week and as we taught them the Word of Wisdom he talked
about how all he would have to give up is coffee. It was funny because as we
discussed it and asked him if he would be able to give it up, he said there
wasn't a question. It doesn't matter how much he drinks it, if it's a commandment
of God there's no other option. Because of the crazy things he's seen on the
streets and with his friends, he's definitely seen the results of not following
God and he's 100% committing to doing what he needs to do. So they came
yesterday to church with her grandson and loved it. So Milta and Ricardo are
getting baptized next week!
Other
good news is that things are going well with Karen and her daughter Itzel!
Karen has been getting re-activated and they've come for a few weeks now to
church. She wants to make sure that Itzel knows what she's doing and that she
is making the decision for herself. Itzel has actually been wanting to get
baptized for a while now, but her mom has just not been ready yet to give her
consent. Last night we had a breakthrough as we taught them the Plan of
Salvation. Itzel asked us when we thought she should be baptized and I told her
it would be cool for me to see it before I leave. Her mom told her that she can
get baptized whenever she wants! So hopefully Itzel will be able to get
baptized this next week as well! Karen's super awesome, one of those people
that you can just talk to straight-up and have fun with. She's going through a
rough time because she's in the process of getting divorced and her husband's
being ridiculous. She said she was tempted to not go to church yesterday
because she felt burnt out, but she knew she needed it and felt a lot better
after she came.
So
it's been interesting going on so many exchanges lately. We've been going on at
least 2 a week and it's crazy being with so many different companions! Everyone
does things differently, and especially teaches differently, but the good thing
is most skills are universal when it comes to missionary work. We all have the
same schedule and are sharing the same message. I went with Elder German this
last week (he's served around me a whole lot) in Gilbert and it was unique
because their teaching pool is pretty small right now and we had to walk
everywhere. He got a concussion a couple weeks ago, so he's not supposed to
ride the bike for a couple more weeks. Thus we walked ALL day long in the sun
(because there aren't incredible amounts of trees in Arizona) and I felt like a
champ at the end of the day (by that I mean I was especially tired). We got to
do a lot of tracting and talking, and I like just being able to get to know so
many people. When you get out of your area, it's a nice break but you feel an
extra desire or urgency to help out the area that you're in. When you leave,
you want to have helped and improved it in some way.
Anyway,
I am feeling old because I did have my birthday on Wednesday and it was
awesome. When we came back from working out we saw that the sisters had
decorated our door with streamers and fun sayings and things, and we went to a
breakfast with the Arce's (definitely one of my favorite families in the
spanish ward). We had waffles and omelets and even had dessert! It was sad
because I kept accidentally blowing out the candle but when the time came to
actually blow it out it took me two times! It was a blast, just because we
always have fun when we go over there. Later on, we went to dinner with the
Rappleye's and had some delicious ribs and corn on the cob, with cheesecake of
course for dessert. I definitely feel old now... my body pops in places it
didn't before, but I'm sure that's just from serving a mission in general. I
also got a sweet package from the fam and that was fun! So yeah, that's about
it on the birthday. We taught Milta and Ricardo that day, and I had the best
birthday you could ask for as a missionary :) I got to do lots of missionary
work...
That's
it for the week! It's been a good one for sure, and I'm going to make these
next two the best of my whole mission!
Thanks
for all the support! Love ya!
~ Elder Carlson
No comments:
Post a Comment