This week has been SO busy, but somehow it still feels like I just blinked and it was over!
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| My new companion Elder Maner and I 10/9/12 |
Tuesday morning we got up and headed to the transfer chapel to pick up our new companions. Elder Alba’s phonics was spot on… My new companion's name is indeed Elder Maner (pronounced May-ner), Jacob Tyler Maner to be more specific. He is 6’3”, 180 lbs, from Heber, Arizona, SUPER chill, and speaks Spanish like a Dominican. Ha. He has 14 months in the mission, and he’s ON FIRE! We have seen SO MANY MIRACLES in this first week together, and we’ve had SO MUCH FUN! And I highly doubt things can go anywhere but up from here!
On Tuesday afternoon when we got home, Elder Maner didn’t even take the time to unpack. He found his scriptures in his suitcase, and then was ready to go! Talk about hitting the ground running! We started the day off with a ridiculous amount of contacts, cuz we ended up on the east side of the area, and we only have a couple progressing investigators over here (cuz we were focusing more on the Barrio of Café).
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| The car our deaf friend painted |
Anyway, while we were contacting we walked up to this guy that was prepping a car to be painted (i.e. he was taping the lights and mirrors, and covering the windows in newspaper), and said “Buenas” ha… He must have seen our feet out of the corner of his eye, cuz he stood up and said in AMERICAN sign language “I’m deaf.” Ha. It was SO unexpected. So we talked a little bit with what sign language I could remember (side note; he finger spells in Spanish. Ha. So the things I was saying I had to translate from Spanish to sign instead of from English to sign… It was SO cool!). We found out that he lives in the apartment complex we were contacting, and that he is a Jehovah’s Witness, because they have a deaf church in our area. We couldn’t really make an appointment with him, because teaching would just be ineffective, but now every time we see him in the street he smiles really big and waves, and usually gives us candy! Lol. Also, he is a legitimate car painter. He finished the car he was prepping that same day, and we got to see the whole process as we walked passed various times throughout the day. Ha.
On Wednesday we had a day full of first appointments and contacts, and then in the evening we met up with Victor at the church for his baptismal interview. When we walked into the church he greeted us, and he told us that he wanted to move his baptismal date… to JANUARY! I don’t know if you guys remember Victor from back in July, but he had his first baptismal interview with Elder Brezack, but he failed it and had to wait three months for his baptism… We have been teaching him twice a week for the last three months, full speed ahead to have him ready for the 13th of October. So when he said he wanted to postpone it THREE more months, you can only imagine how I felt. Anyway, the bishop was still in an interview, and our district leader hadn’t shown up yet, so we called an audible, grabbed the nearest return missionary, and headed into the nursery room for an emergency, resolve some doubts lesson. Turns out, he was worried about not being able to be at church EVERY Sunday, cuz of his work schedule, and he wanted to wait until work slowed down so he could be 100% devoted. So we shared with him 1 Nephi 3:7 and talked about how if he will pray with real intent, and if it truly is his desire to be at church every Sunday, God will prepare him the way to be there EVERY Sunday. Then we wrapped it up real quick cuz the Bishop was ready to interview him. We still didn’t know how he felt about actually going through with his baptism, but I said a quick prayer that the bishop would know how to help him, and he did just that! Victor came out of his interview and said that he knew he needed to have faith and that he just needed to take that step and be baptized! So Elder Ramos did a quick interview, which he passed with flying colors, and then we planned a baptism!
Then on Thursday night, the Zone Leaders called us and told us that we needed to be at the temple at 8:30 Friday morning for our Zone Temple trip. Yeah, we were pretty stoked! A little surprised, but SO excited! So Friday morning we got up, got ready, and took a public car to the WAS, then walked up through campus to the temple! It was INCREDIBLE! I had NO idea how much I was missing the temple! I can't even explain the amount of energy and the sense of renovation and rejuvenation I felt from that session! I LOVE THE TEMPLE! I hope each and every one of you are grateful for and taking advantage of the ease of your temple access! Keep going every week! It is literally the most holy place on the entire earth! It is the House of our Heavenly Father, and you have the chance to visit anytime you want! GO!
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| Our zone at the temple! 10/12/12 |
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| Our beautiful temple! |
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| Elder Chlarson, a missionary that I can never remember his name, and I |
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| Elder Zorn, My Companion, Elder Reidhead, and I 10/12/12 |
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| My comp and I 10/12/12 |
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| Elder Chlarson chillin on a bench 10/12/12 |
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| The crew at McDonald's afterwards 10/12/12 |
After the temple trip, a group of us from La Zona Independencia went to McDonald's. Ha. It was SO good! It’s strange, but American fast food here is a delicacy. Ha. And I swear they do something different to the food here, because it was SO good!
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| Elder Zorn and I at Micky-D's |
After we came home from our temple trip we went back out to work. The first place we stopped at was Joel’s house. We had had an appointment with him in the morning, but because of the surprise temple trip, we had to fail him. I was worried about it in the morning cuz he said that he wouldn’t be there in the afternoon… But thanks to the tender mercies of the Lord, he was at home when we passed by. We went in, sat down, and proceeded to have the best lesson that either I or Elder Maner have ever had. Joel opened up to us and expressed his situation. He is a recently divorced, single father, raising 3 kids. He is working as a police officer, but doesn’t make nearly enough money to provide for his family. He is an alcoholic and he is addicted to cigarettes. He went on to express to us that he invited us back because he knows he needs God in his life right now. He NEVER thought about God when he and his wife were together, because everything was good. But now that he’s hit rock bottom, he has turned to the Lord and is completely ready to turn his life around. He is SO humble and teachable, and is willing to do anything and everything we ask him to, cuz he knows it will bless his life. I can't even tell you how I felt after that lesson! It was INCREDIBLE! The Spirit was SO strong! And I don’t think I have ever heard the kind of sincerity that he expressed when he said the final kneeling prayer to finish our lesson. I know that the Lord has been preparing Joel to receive the Gospel, and I know that the Gospel will truly be the thing that helps him rise above all that he is experiencing right now! I feel so blessed, and am SO excited to watch him progress! Missionary work is the greatest!!!
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| Victor's baptism 10/13/12 |
Then on Saturday we had Victor’s baptism! It was awesome! We had some great talks from a couple members, and a special musical number by the missionaries (we sang Joseph Smith’s First Prayer to the tune of Come Thou Fount. It was SO cool!), and then Raul Sandoval did the baptizing! And to top it all off Victor got up in testimony meeting yesterday and bore an amazing testimony! He will definitely be an incredible leader and testimony builder for all the saints wherever he is!
Anyway. I feel like I could tell you all a GAZILLION things more, but I have again ran out of time… I apologize. I hope this email finds you all well and happy! I know without a doubt that this is the one and only true Church of Jesus Christ, and that if we live according to the will of our Father in Heaven, we will be happy, and will be able to live with our families for time and all eternity!
I love you all! Keep the faith!
Love,
Elder Mooney
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Our "P-Day's Eve" party 10/14/12
 
Fishermen 10/13/12
 
Fisher of Men 10/13/12
More pretty pictures 10/13/12
   
Cool 10/13/12
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P.S. My companion and I have started a "P-Day's Eve" (as in the night before P-Day) tradition. We eat dinner and drink banana batidas on the roof of our house! Ha! SO tight! I can't wait to see what this transfer has to bring!
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