This week has probably been one of the best weeks in my mission in terms of success that we`ve had. We`ve got a lot going for us here; it took a little bit of time to get used to the area, but now we`ve got the hang of it, and we are loving it. Just to put it into perspective, we`ve got 10 baptismal fechas for the next coming weeks, and we are having a ton of people in church every week.
Thinking about it, I think that the Lord has saved this little part of the mission just for me to finish off. All my past areas are known for being really hard areas, with Momos and Quiche being especially hard. But I worked hard, and gave it all I got, and now I feel like I`m finally being able to see the success that I`ve been waiting for. Which is something that I really needed to learn on the mission, and something that I was praying to changea when I came. Anyways, the point is that we`ve just got to keep working hard, and give it all we`ve got, and the Lord will come through. Enduring to the End anyone? Yes sir.
So, this coming Saturday we are going to be baptizing Luis and Edwin. They are really stoked about it, we`ve become great friends with them, they love the church... And so on. They`re great, and I`m really trying to make sure that they are really converted, so that later on they will be able to serve missions. How great would that be? But now we are just focusing on the details of the baptism. Everything should turn out great. I`m stoked.
We`ve also got a family that we are working withaa that have a fecha for the 17th of May. Their names are Elena and Aroldo. They`re great. They`ve got some doubts and stuff, but they are asking a ton of great questions, and Elenaa is even asking on how she could be baptized. They came to church this past week, and absolutely loved it. We just need a little more time with them, but Elder Pagàn and I are sure that they will be baptized.
And then we`ve got María and her family. They are a more humble family, and they make and sell tortillas for a living. Their first language is Cojobal, which only a couple of small villages speak. But in spite of all of that, they love us and the church. They`ve come to church a handful of times, and we are trying to get them baptized on the 10th of May, but we are going to see how that goes.
Now, I`ve got two pieces of advice that I`ve learned here recently. One: Getting investigators to church in so important. I knew that before, but now I`m realizing how important it is. Once they go to church, they`ll love it. The Spirit there is so strong, and they just eat it all up. Once they get there, things are a lot easier.
The second piece of advice is a little strange, and something that I didn`t really realize until recently. To have success, we`ve got to love those who we teach. And the best way to do that is to just be their friend. I came into the mission with a really logical way of going at this. I was thinking, "If I can just get the doctrine across, they`ll know that this is the truth, and they`ll get baptized." Honestly, people could care less about that here. I`ve taught people that know this is the true church, but won`t get baptized because athey feel good in their church. But there is a way around that.
We`ve just got to be friends with them. It`s as simple as that. Before, I just wanted to teach the doctrine and just that, and hope they understood. I`ve completely changed now. We watch church movies with them, we help them cook/clean, we make jokes, we play games with them. Basically, we just make them love us. And when that happens, they accept our message so much eaiser. Love those who we teach. That is the key. (I hope that you all understood what I was trying to say here... It kind of seems jumbled. But you get the idea.)
So yeah, things are great here in this little part of land they call Huehue. I absolutely love it here. Things are so great. The mission is the life. The Lord is hastening the work, and I`m a part of it. What could be better? Until next time!
- Elder Stuart
P.S. Alma 7:11-13, my favorite scripture this week.
