Hey fans.
I guess I owe you all an apology for the length of my last two letters... ha. We have been beyond busy! Even on P-Days we have a never ending to-do-list. But today, I promise to fill you in on anything and everything that comes to my mind about what went down this week. :)
Last Monday night after we finished talking to all of you, we went to Sombolo's (the first counselor in the branch presidency) for a Family Night with José and Rosaira (the Venezuelans that I told you about last week). We had planned to watch the Joseph Smith movie with them, but it rained... And the power went out... Classic. ha. So instead of watching a movie, we had an awesome discussion about the Great Apostasy, and the Restoration by candle light. Sometimes I think God plans power outages, because some of the best lessons in my mission have been taught in the dark. It's completely silent, and the Spirit is always SO strong! We explained in detail what happened with the fall of Christ's church, and the rise of the Catholic Empire, which led to Martin Luther and the Reformation, the Revolutionary War, the birth of the United States of America along with its Constitution and Bill of Rights, and finally, Joseph Smith's First Vision. Rosaira and José are both really intelligent people, and have both studied history and religion. Rosaira told us that this is what she's been searching for. She told us that when she read the Restoration pamphlet, she felt as if someone was looking her directly in the eyes, and she KNEW they were telling the truth. Both she and José expressed gratitude for the opportunity that they've had to come to this country and to find the Restored Gospel with the help of Sombolo and the missionaries. They told us that they almost decided not to come to the DR because of some travel problems and other set backs, but somehow everything fell into place with the plane tickets at the last minute. We testified that God prepares the way, and that just as he had done with the Restoration, He was/is doing so for José, Rosaira, and the whole Gutierrez family. After the lesson we asked them for their address and contact information in Venezuela so we can send the missionaries to meet their family, and to be there to keep teaching them when they arrive. We talked some more about a baptismal goal, and found out that Sombolo actually has plans to visit Venezuela for his work at the beginning of November. José and Rosaira both committed to be ready in white when he arrives so that he can be the one to baptize them! God really is in the details! I know His hand has been in the conversion process of the Gutierrez siblings from the very beginning. He loves each and every one of us more than we can imagine, and He cares enough about each of us to worry about the details, and to do everything in His power to come into His fold. :)
Tuesday afternoon we had some decent lessons, and gave Altagracia a blessing. :) That's always the coolest feeling in the world. The priesthood rocks!
 |
| Belmon, Daisy and Vanessa with a big ol fish that Belmon caught that morning. 8/14/2013 |
Wednesday we spent the morning running errands, and making plans for the our Zone's Temple Trip at the end of this month. In the afternoon we met with Magalis. She's an investigator that we've been teaching since I got here. She's an older lady, and has a son that's serving as a bishop in the Capital. She's been Catholic her whole life, but now feels like it's time to join the true church. Her son has been sharing his testimony with her, and she believed it was all true even before we started teaching her. The only problem... She has Alzheimer's... Ha. We'd been teaching her for 2 weeks when we realized that she really wasn't remembering anything we had been telling her... She forgot about church, and couldn't even remember who Joseph Smith was... ha. We've been trying to help her understand, and remember stuff, but it's tough. We had her write down the time and place of our Sunday meetings, and she actually came! We were thrilled! So the current plan is to buy her a notebook and have her take notes in all our lessons. ha. Maybe something will stick.
Then in the evening, the Clawsons came! They are the new couple missionaries that are in charge of house inspections and helping us out here in the south. They are AWESOME! They're from Lousiana, and have served THREE missions already! That's right Nana and Grandad, you've got some competition!! haha. They came to our house and dropped off some desks and dressers, then we helped them find their way to the hotel we had scouted out for them (that's why I had no time to write you all last week; we were checking out all the hotels in our area so the Clawsons could come visit us). ha. We really like the Clawsons. They bring us mail, and check our houses, and nag Hermana Rodriguez to make our living conditions better. :) They are like mission Grandparents. :) I'm sure the Elders in Poland feel the same way about my Nana and Grandad.
Then I finished off the night with a speedy bowl of Ramen for dinner, cuz I had to take the Number Reports from our Zone. That's always a chore... ha. It takes at least 45 minutes to get everyone's reports, and then call the APs. But someone's gotta do it, right?
On Thursday morning the Clawsons came back over and inspected our house, and then we went with them to do the inspections of the other houses in the Zone. :) Don't worry, we passed our inspection. :) And our Zone didn't do so bad either. But there's always room for improvement, so we're gonna keep it on the list of Zone Goals.
In the afternoon we had a super funny lesson with the lawyer that we're working with to get Carlos and Karen's papers worked out for marriage. He is an interesting fellow. ha. He has ZERO religious background (besides the water the Catholic Priest splashed on his head shortly after birth), so he spent the lesson asking funny questions and randomly yelling "Amen" and Hallelujah" haha. I don't really know if he'll progress, but we're gonna keep trying. I don't know if I've told you all, but he's a miracle lawyer. Carlos is legally married to another woman, so he needs to get divorced before he can marry Karen. As I've mentioned before, Divorce is EXPENSIVE! But this small town lawyer here in Barahona has agreed to take care of the divorce process for a third of the normal price! Thanks to him, Carlos and Karen (with some support from the Branch) can afford to make the divorce and the marriage happen without having to wait and save their pennies for a year or two. :) God is good. :)
That same evening we went over to Carlos and Karen's house to talk about the divorce progress, and also to talk about Enduring to the End. We explained that Baptism was a contract with the Lord, and that only lame people break it. ha. They both promised to stay true to their contract to the end of time. Even when I asked "what if a Hurricane knocks over your house?" They said they'd be faithful. :) Their family is SO solid! I'm so blessed to be a part of their conversion process. :)
Friday morning we had a meeting with the District President, and with all the Branch Presidents and other leadership from all the branches in our district. We were in charge of creating a Model Ward Mission Plan as an example for the branches. We presented it, and talked about the support we need from the members here in Barahona, and then had a question/suggestion session with them on what we as missionaries can do better to help them in their branches. We got a lot of great suggestions and were able to clear up some doubts and confusion. :) I'd say the Church has got things pretty well figured out. The organization must be inspired or something. ;)
In the afternoon, we had an Exchange with the other two Elders in our Branch (the ones that live with us). One of our duties as ZLs is to go on exchanges with all the District Leaders in the Zone each transfer. Ha. It's a good deal. It's always fun to teach with different Elders and get suggestions on how to be better or what we can change. This week it was my turn to stay in our area... ha. It was the test to see how well I know our area, and whether or not I could find my way around to all our investigators' houses. ha. I spent the day with Elder Alvarado, and we only got lost in my area once. :)
 |
| Me and a cool little house in our area. 8/16/2013 |
On Saturday we had a legit visit with the Medina Family. They are a family of four (mom, dad, and two 20ish year old sons along with one daughter-in-law, and a grand baby) and all but Davis are members; but none of them are active. So we've been repassing the discussions with them, and it's been really cool to see the light come back on in their eyes! They all have testimonies, they've just gotten a little cold. Even Davis believes it's true!
 |
From Left: Me, Rosaira, Our Branch Relief Society President, Sombolo,
Elder Mendoza, and José 8/18/2013 |
Yesterday was BUSY! We had our meetings in the morning, then I made some pasta while running back and forth from the kitchen to my desk cuz not only was it my turn to cook but it was also my turn to take number reports. ha. After that was all said and done, we went out to work and had some good lessons. In the evening we were teaching a new investigator and one of her neighbors, and while we were praying a mentally handicapped lady came into the house and sat down next to me (they don't have asylums or anything like that here... the crazy people just run loose in the streets). ha. It's actually not all that uncommon to have them come in on lessons, but the lady stole my pen! ha. She swiped it from my shirt pocket while I was reading a scripture, and then she wouldn't give it back. ha. I was peeved. I had a goal to keep that pen clear til the ink ran out, and I was almost half way there. haha. But don't worry, I bought a new pen this morning, and made a new goal. So all is well. lol.
I love being a missionary. And I love all of you. This church is true. I'm sure of it!
Love,
Elder Cade Mooney
No comments:
Post a Comment