COME UNTO CHRIST - JULY 11, 2016

Carolina and Tony at church in Ticul

Buenas tardes a todos mis queridos hermanos y hermanas! I love you all and am super happy for the opportunity I have to write you guys today! This was a super good week. My companion and I have been trying really hard to set and achieve goals that are SMART as we put it. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Time-Bound. They have really been helping us! We are achieving more and more every week and I love it! We had a lot of success this week and it was one of the first weeks together we had the whole week in our area and we weren't out in Merida or other places. We could truly focus more on our area. Let me tell you all about our week!

So on Tuesday we had zone conference! It was super successful and we talked about why we make goals, how we can achieve goals, and how we can baptize converts every single week. It lasted about 4.5 hours and now being my 3rd zone conference i really really love giving them. I love how much I learn as I teach.

Having the whole week in our area to work, we saw so many miracles! My testimony just keeps growing about the way that the Lord guides us in this work. As I always say here, si trabajamos con todo nuestro corazón, las cosas se dan. Which is basically to say if we work with all our heart as hard as we can, the Lord does his part and everything just falls in to place. A lot of time right after a baptism, missionaries can feel like they have to restart again and find new people to baptize. Sometimes it takes a long time but this week was full of miracles. 

On Saturday, we met an inactive family who has 2 kids who aren't baptized and one of them actually has a tumor in his rib. He asked us for a blessing. I gave him the blessing and wow did the Lord guide me in every word i needed to say. He is a little 9 year old boy and the blessing consisted of him being able to be a full time missionary one day. Sometimes the things are crazy but if the words truly come from the spirit, it means they come directly from God. We invited their whole family to church, and the parents couldn't go but the kids went! One of them is named Carolina and she is 11 and she has a baptism date to be baptized in August! Also, in the picture below, there is an old man with a mental disorder and he only understands Mayan, he is called Tony. He is a neighbor of this same family. We invited him to church and on Sunday we showed up to wake them up and my companion and I gave him church clothes to go and he totally went! It was the coolest thing ever to see him there with his huge smile.

So the other day we met a man named Juan Pablo, he is a new investigator of us now. Turns out he lived in Plano, Texas for like 10 years forever ago so he is definitely the first person I have met here who knows where I live! He is a super great new investigator the only problem is that he works in Merida like the whole week. 

On Sunday, I gave a talk in church with the topic Come Unto Christ. Something the mission has definitely helped me with is learning how to give talks more efficiently. When I look at the fact that now I can give 20 minute talks in Spanish with ease, i just think about how far I have come. Literally 1 year ago I knew nothing of Spanish and was nervous to give a talk in English, I love how the Savior helps me grow and become a better person and make weak things become strong. 

So this next thing was the highlight of my week. Honestly, Sunday afternoons are the hardest time to work in the week. Church just ended, the next day is Pday, and Satan works really hard to tempt us to not work, or to just slack off on Sundays. I always try to work my hardest on Sundays, and yesterday we saw literally a miracle. Our 4pm visit fell, so we had nothing to do. Nowhere to go. We prayed to be lead where we needed to go. We walked super far in the dirt paths where we had never gone before and found a family of 5. Marlene and her kids, Alba, Lily, David, and Ulesys. It was definitely what turned out to be one of the best lessons of my mission. We taught the whole lesson of The Restoration. They all understood and ALL accepted baptism dates for August 20th! Literally in 1 hour, 5 new investigators and 5 baptism dates. Never have I taught a whole family where everyone understands so clearly and everyone accepts. Moments like that just make the whole mission so worth it. Realizing the way the Lord prepares people. 

Something I remember my brother telling me when he was on his mission was this... repent a little everyday, for the small things. I love that idea and want to invite you guys to do the same! 

Titul Xiu - Restaurant and Cenote with members

I heard something happened in Dallas, my home city. I am truly praying for Dallas and those effected by it. 

God loves everyone of you so much! 

Elder Plowman 

Omni 1 26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.