Hey Everyone!
This past week has been absolutely difficult to describe and so that´s the whole reason for the title of this week´s letter which comes from Zapoteco (the native dialect of Southern Mexico that my companion, Elder Santiago, speaks fluenty!)
We have been progressing really well with the Lopez Santos family and they are going to be baptized next Saturday! Which is way awesome! The Hermana Juanita is slowly progressing but she accepted the Word of Wisdom in such a drastic way! She has always been a huge coffee drinker and it has been her way of functioning but after teaching her on Friday about the blessings and consequences of disobedience to this commandment, she immediately said, that´s it, I am not having coffee ever again, and she´s stuck to it!! It is one of the coolest miracles of the mission I have seen! The husband, Nicolas, is still struggling with this a little bit, but we will see what miracles God has in store for him!
Spiritual Thought:
We have been working with a less active family that has been deeply offended by some members of the church who a long time ago unwittingly did some fairly offensive acts that are quite personal but suffice it to say that this family, which has been sealed for time and eternity in God´s temple has permited these harsh feelings to reside in their hearts for several years of inactivity! This is truly saddening and as I was reading the words of Spencer W. Kimball I came across this poem he quoted I would like to reiterateit!
- My heart was heavy, for its trust had been
- Abused, its kindness answered with foul wrong;
- So, turning gloomily from my fellow-men,
- One summer Sabbath day I strolled among
- The green mounds of the village burial-place;
- Where, pondering how all human love and hate
- Find one sad level; and how, soon or late,
- Wronged and wrongdoer, each with meekened face,
- And cold hands folded over a still heart,
- Pass the green threshold of our common grave,
- Whither all footsteps tend, whence none depart,
- Awed for myself, and pitying my race,
- Our common sorrow, like a mighty wave,
- Swept all my pride away, and trembling I forgave!
- Although this is a kind of morbid tone to the poem, I think it is important to recognize how truly short his lifetime is and we have the two options of liberation or captivity, so let us please choose the former because the power of forgiveness is truly existant and can liberate us not only from the great weight of a grudge but also it permits the full powers of the Atonement to have a grander effect in our lives. Until we can fully forgive others for their actions, we will be placed in a spiritual neutral that is where none of us should desire to be! Let us forgive our debtors as we plead for the grace of God to eradicate our debts and that we may be more fully dedicated to the causes of love, joy, and peace that come from aligning ourselves with the desires of Christ! So no matter how long a problem has been going on, please turn the other cheek, and permit God to take over his responsibilities of judgement is the message that I hope that we can apply in order to be truly happy!
Highlights from the past week:
Divisions with the Priests!
Since we have a really strong priest quorum in the branch of Alianza Real, we have really tried to help them become prepared for their missions! We were thinking and planning, and we came up with the idea to have the priests acompany us for a full day! So starting last saturday we gave Luis Ramirez and Kevin Ornelas a crash course in the missionary life, where they spent an entire day in divisiones with us so that we could get twice the work done, and to motivate these priests to make the decision to serve and this was approved by President Maucotel, the parents of the youths, and the Branch President so don´t worry, even though afterwards we learned about a very recent change in church policy that made this the first and last time that we will be able to do this activity, oops! But on the flipside, we had some wonderful contacting moments and I was with Luis for the day and he taught with such power and testimony that I know he will be a phenomenal missionary in two years! We had a lot of funny experiences that I would wish to relate but I am kinda low on time but until next week!
Interviews with President
We received the news on Saturday that we had interviews with president yesterday(monday) so that is why pday was today and I am sending this letter late. It was a great experience to learn more about leadership and resolve some concerns and I feel that God truly does call his servants to bring their experiences and individual gifts to bless the lives of those they preside over!
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