Week 52 - August 6 - The Work Goes On

We´re a little pressed for time this week, the haircut guy wanted to chitchat. Which would be great, but as soon as I started to ask him about the church he clammed up. We made a goal this week to speak up more about the gospel in quick, awkward situations - at the grocery store, at a stoplight, in the haircut place, and as I tried to fulfill my goal he just kinda stopped talking to me. Oh well, we´ll be back in a month to get haircuts again. 

It was a really great week! The zone leader got a debilitating ingrown toenail (he can´t even walk straight) and his companion was puking, so we´ve planned some intercambios to help them not get depressed. We´ll see how that goes. 

Our sacrament meeting yesterday was a total home run. We were able to participate in a baby blessing, which was really nice. The baby cried the whole meeting EXCEPT those 3 minutes when the ward mission leader gave the blessing. (The dad is a recent convert and we´re preparing him to get the Melchizidek Priesthood). The youth returned from FSY with testimonies on fire and brightened up the whole meeting with stories about how their prayers had been answered and they had felt the spirit - two very simple parts of the gospel that sometimes we forget about. it was great to hear their testimonies because it was exactly what our investigators needed - a simple testimony.

That´s always an interesting thought for me, teaching to what the investigators need. Because we come out here armed with the scriptures and a good knowledge of doctrine, with PME and knowing just how to explain why a restauration was necessary and not a reformation and why Adam had to fall and the five steps of repentance. But not all of that is always necessary. The other day, we had an interesting thing happen when we taught a recently converted family. We were planning on teaching about the priesthood - but as we sat down and started to chat we realized that they needed something much more simple, applicable, and that would help them immediately. So, we explained and invited them to have FHE every Monday night. A primer vista, I know some people might get all up in a fit because that´s not really something we can check off our teaching record etc. But, I know that in that moment, they needed us to help them re-evaluate their priorities and testify that modern prophets had consecrated monday night to help them with edifying their family. And I felt the spirit, so I know they´ll do it. (But in all forms, we´ll be back on Tuesday to make sure they actually did do it).

In other news, I had an intercambio last week with Elder Malolo (new missionary with 3 weeks in Spain, waited for a visa 3 months in Utah). And he wasn´t doing too hot, so I wanted to really pump him up with excitement. Wednesday morning we forgot to set the alarm... and woke up at 11. Our room is really dark. Boy oh boy we felt like sinners. And then we called the district to let them know the meeting was going to be at12:30. Incidentally enough, I had given an assignment to read a Neal A. Maxwell talk on patience hahahahahahaha. And as I called the district n a partail panic, I called Elder Saltzman the zone leader who was with my companion and he said, "well, uh... we just got up too." So there was sinning all around. But that´s ok, the work still goes on. Even if I screw up He doesn´t!

Elder Stew.

Oviedo at Night