We have seen lots of success this week... I finally feel like the Lord is blessing us for all our hard work! First of all, we have several new investigators that seem pretty solid - Giovanni, Cesar, and Jose. We have actually been teaching Jose for about 3 weeks now, and he has been reading the Book of Mormon in every spare minute he has had... He's in mid-Alma right now! Crazy! Now we just have to get him to come to church. He is afraid of making commitments he can't keep - including coming to church if he has to work, or being baptized if he can't keep all of the commandments. We're trying to help him understand that no one is perfect - that is what the Atonement is for. Church is like a hospital, and we all come in "sick" from our faults and errors needing to be "healed" by the gospel.
Several of the investigators we've had for a while have also been moving forward. We have been teaching two children, Edith and Alonso (11 and 9) for about a month - their mom is a member, dad is not. They are so excited to get baptized, but their dad, Jose, does not think they are quite ready. Yesterday we had the kids teach their parents the plan of salvation, and it was awesome! They used our visual aids, and explained to their father why it is so important to be baptized. It was so adorable (and inspiring) to see their pure desires to follow the example of their Savior Jesus Christ, become clean, and live with their Heavenly Father again. We have a tentative baptism date for them, and Jose has said that if they keep reading in the Book of Mormon and going to church, maybe they will be ready.
A few of our other progressing investigators are starting to understand the importance of sacrifice to receive the blessings. Yes, it can be hard to come to church every Sunday, or read the scriptures, etc, but it is always worth it. Hermana Wilkins and I were talking about that this week, and compared it to an experience we had:
We have been riding our bikes a lot more recently, and my bike is the only one that has a light on it. So when we ride at night (rarely, don't worry mom) she has to follow me closely to be able to see. I like to ride a lot faster than she does, so she has to pedal harder and faster than may be comfortable to stay within the light. However, to stay safe and to be able to see she has to put forth the effort. The same is true for our lives... the light of truth.. Christ... will always keep us safe from the perils of the dark that surrounds us, but as we give all our energy to follow and stay within the light, we will be protected. The light, or the gospel, will keep moving forward - make sure you are focused on the things that are important, and remember that even though it isn't alway easy, it is ALWAYS worth it.
Love you all,
Hermana Richelle Ouellette
Several of the investigators we've had for a while have also been moving forward. We have been teaching two children, Edith and Alonso (11 and 9) for about a month - their mom is a member, dad is not. They are so excited to get baptized, but their dad, Jose, does not think they are quite ready. Yesterday we had the kids teach their parents the plan of salvation, and it was awesome! They used our visual aids, and explained to their father why it is so important to be baptized. It was so adorable (and inspiring) to see their pure desires to follow the example of their Savior Jesus Christ, become clean, and live with their Heavenly Father again. We have a tentative baptism date for them, and Jose has said that if they keep reading in the Book of Mormon and going to church, maybe they will be ready.
A few of our other progressing investigators are starting to understand the importance of sacrifice to receive the blessings. Yes, it can be hard to come to church every Sunday, or read the scriptures, etc, but it is always worth it. Hermana Wilkins and I were talking about that this week, and compared it to an experience we had:
We have been riding our bikes a lot more recently, and my bike is the only one that has a light on it. So when we ride at night (rarely, don't worry mom) she has to follow me closely to be able to see. I like to ride a lot faster than she does, so she has to pedal harder and faster than may be comfortable to stay within the light. However, to stay safe and to be able to see she has to put forth the effort. The same is true for our lives... the light of truth.. Christ... will always keep us safe from the perils of the dark that surrounds us, but as we give all our energy to follow and stay within the light, we will be protected. The light, or the gospel, will keep moving forward - make sure you are focused on the things that are important, and remember that even though it isn't alway easy, it is ALWAYS worth it.
Love you all,
Hermana Richelle Ouellette
That was beautiful. Thank you for all your hard work and your example little sister.
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