This past week was wild because with Father´s Day yesterday, everyone had the day off, and with it being the quinceña (pay-day) here in Mexico, almost everyone was having a wild party this weekend! This made the work here a little difficult because a lot of appointments fell through and it was difficult to contact people because of the many things they had to do, but there is a notable experience that I just wanted to share!
Yesterday around 4 o'clock, we were walking down a very public avenue in our area when a man that was staggering towards us yelled out ¨Hey Brothers, stop right there!¨ and with this experience I looked at Elder Chavez and told him to stop for a second and see how we could help this man. He then started talking to me and said, Hey, you´re not from here right? and then asked me If I played in a Mariachi Band, and all sorts of strange questions to which I politely responded and then he asked me if we could start teaching him, and so I gave him a folleto of the restoration and from there left the man in peace, but it was a really cool experience because even though this brother was really high, a nearby neighbor saw our interaction and began asking us why we didn´t condemn the man for his rudeness or craziness, by which we responded that we are here to serve the people and not condemn them, which led her to wish to learn more, and from that we have been teaching the Hermana Seda who is a really receptive investigator and has decided to really search and find out if our church is true! And all of these strange experiences brought to my mind a scripture from the Book of Mormon from
Alma 37 that states
6 Now ye may suppose that this is afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
7 And the Lord God doth work by ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very bsmall means the Lord doth cconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.
I can truly testify that there are divine elements even to the strange and seemingly insignificant daily events! Often times I have felt that maybe I place too much trust in my capabilities as a missionary instead of relying more fully upon the Lord´s power in bringing about his grand designs! I can truly testify that the key to be able to make these small and simple things become great is through the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost! I have sincerely begun a search for all the little things I do that might be hindering the Spirit from teaching me in the daily events and searching for ways to really become more Spiritually in tune! In doing this exercise frequently I have come to better understand the ways in which God wishes to communicate with me, and also how others can be edified and purified through the Spirit´s gentle whisperings! I know that spiritual gifts exist and that as we purify our lives, we will come to know the mysteries that God wishes to reveal to us in our personal struggles and battles here in mortality! (DC 76:114, 116) I know that God lives and loves us and has given us a Comforter and a Purifier to help us overcome our natural man or woman, and become purified even as our loving Heavenly Father is pure! And if right now you don´t feel worthy of that love, I testify that he is there for you offering you a second chance, and a way up and out, and that He has a plan to make a masterpiece out of the ashes of our mistakes!
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| An Elder Burning his pants for his year mark! :) |
Hope you all have a phenomenal week!
Love Elder Raven
PS Aunt Barbara called Grandma Sue and told her that she was so touched by this email, that she made copies of it and took it to the inmates at the Prison, who are doing the 12 step addiction program. I thought I would just add that you are serving the people in Mexico but your emails are helping so many people here in the USA. A lot of our neighbors come and tell me how much they love to read your emails. Many people tell me that they are so amazing that the things you write are exactly what they needed to read that day! You are a talented writer and full of the spirit. We are so proud of you Elder Raven! We love you and we pray for you! Love, Mom
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