Family!
This week was UNREAL!!!!
I am way too excited to tell you all the great things that have
transpired; therefore, I will skip the chronological play by play of
my week, and get right to the good stuff!
DIONI AND ADRIANA ARE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER
DAY SAINTS!!! After all the blood, the sweat and the tears, they are
officially new people, free from sin! I honestly don't think I could
be happier!
The preparation and cleansing process went as follows:
On Friday, we spent the morning baking... Ha. We made chocolate fudge,
peanut butter brownies (courtesy of my birthday package), chocolate
chip cookies, and banana bread! It took ALL day! Ha. Elder Fassett and
I both came away from the experience with a new found gratitude for
electric mixers, electronic ovens, cookie sheets, and other such
kitchen utensils. Elder Fassett started out mixing the cookie dough
with a fork, and after about 5 minutes of that, he gave up and just
used his hands. haha.
After all our goodies were out of the oven and cooling on the counter,
we changed our clothes, and headed over to the Judicial office
building to meet up with the happy couple. We waited like half an hour
for our appointment (we were scared of Satan's meddling, so we decided
to be super early just in case), and then went in to the Judges
Chambers and had a little ceremony. The judge lady was super serious.
ha. Hard core. She had us sign papers, and then said her little piece,
told them to kiss, and then sent us on our way. No bulto, no wiri
wiri.
Then we went over to the church for their baptismal interviews, which
they passed with all the colors of the wind, and then we made our way
back down to their house for the reception/after party. :) We had a
little vow/ring ceremony with all the kids present, and then we pigged
out of sweet things and rice and beans. Best. Wedding Reception. Ever.
Then on Saturday afternoon we had the greatest baptism one could wish
for. We spent the morning and afternoon trying to get the pump to work
(obviously Satan couldn't make it that easy...), and with a little
help from a church maintenance man, we got the font filled ALL the way
up with plenty of time to spare! :) I baptized Adriana, and
immediately following, Elder Fassett baptized Dioni. :) Everyone was
all smiles, and change in the countenance of both Adriana and Dioni
was vivid. :)
Yesterday morning they were confirmed members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, and were promised the blessing of the
constant company of the Holy Ghost in accordance with their obedience.
:)
To say the least. I am one happy, little missionary.
On top of the Baptism of the Century, we received some more great news
last night in the form of transfer calls! ELDER FASSETT IS STAYING
HERE WITH ME FOR ANOTHER WHOLE TRANSFER!! Seeing that he has already
been in this area for 6 months, our hopes of him staying weren't very
high, but it seems that God heard more than just our prayers
concerning the Montero Family, because we get 6 more glorious weeks to
work our tails off and to have all kinds of (missionary appropriate)
fun! :) We couldn't be more pleased. :) Nor could our beloved
investigators. :) I don't think any of us were quite ready to say
goodbye. And thanks to many prayers of faith, we don't have to just
quite yet. :) We are blessed.
As for our beloved investigators:
Yoel (son of Dioni and Adriana) has accepted a baptismal date for the
end of April. We had a good talk with him, and he explained to us that
he doesn't quite feel ready to be baptized, because he struggles with
Profanity; an understandable and oh so pardonable struggle. But he is
set on bettering himself in that sense before his baptism. So we've
been brainstorming some ideas to help him stop swearing. Ha. For some
reason, the thought of helping someone quit smoking sounds so much
simpler than helping someone quit swearing. Our best idea so far is to
give him a rubber wrist band to wear, and then every time he swears,
have him snap himself with it. ha. I'll keep you updated.
Anni is still doing well. She is happy, and still loves our visits.
We've basically been adopted into their family, and always enjoy our
time over there. We've talked about the Word of Wisdom, and the Law of
Chasity in depth with Anni and her boyfriend Rafael. We bore lots and
lots of testimony, and they both committed to live according to said
commandments, so now we will continue in fervent prayer and
encouragement as they attempt to make these big changes in their
lives.
This last week we found a solid new investigator. His name is Victor
and he is a boss. He's a stay at home dad (due to being laid off) with
two little boys, the 6 year old is named Coby and the 3 year old is
named Bryant. haha. Brilliant. He is a Christian man, that is not
currently attending a religious sect, but he has a firm desire to get
to know God a little bit better, and his eyes lit up like sparklers on
the Fourth of July as we explained the promised blessings of living
the Gospel. We have another appointment to meet with him on Wednesday
afternoon. So I will let you know how that goes.
Also, we started teaching a rough looking, young man called Randol. We
met him like 3 weeks ago while we were sitting on some steps in front
of a Colmado drinking some Coco Rico (a delectable carbonated coconut
beverage). He walked up to us and just started talking to us. So we
had a nice conversation just to pass the time, and then he walked
away. Since then, every time we see him in the streets we go over and
say hi, and see how things are going. Anyway, at the beginning of this
week he asked us what we do as missionaries, and after a brief
explanation he asked us when we could stop by. So we set up an
appointment, and stopped by a couple days later. Randol is in his
early twenties, he's covered from head to toe in tattoos and body
piercings, and he works as a motor cycle taxi driver. He lost his
parents as a toddler, and was raised by his aunt and grandmother. He
seems to be a God fearing man, and he seems really interested in what
we have to share with him. So, at this point, we are going full speed
ahead. Wish us luck! :)
Wascar is still meeting with us twice a week, and is always a pleasure
to talk to. He's good at studying, and loves to read, but he didn't
come to church with us this week, and it really doesn't seem like he's
in this 100%, so we will see where things go from here.
Anyway. I hope you are all doing as well as I am. :) I know this
church is true, and I feel so blessed to be a part of God's army. I am
a personal witness to the changes that the Gospel brings about in
peoples lives. :) It is so real! And so great!
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Cade Mooney
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