CHANGING LIVES - SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

Zone on a bus to leadership conference

So this week was super awesome! ! I feel like i say that every week, but it is because it is true! On Tuesday I had the amazing opportunity to go back to Kukulcán! My area in November 2015! It is crazy to think how much has changed. When I showed up in Kukulcan i only had 1.5 months here in the field and had no idea what I was doing and was learning so much. And now almost a year later I had the chance to go back as a Zone Leader to help the district leader there, Elder Roa from The Dominican Republic. When I showed up at the house I was just hit with a TON of nostalgia. It hit me so hard honestly.

Kukulcan House

Thinking of all the growth I did in that house and that area. It was the first time in my mission I had the chance to return to an area that I had already been in. In the house there were still signs of my living in there almost a year ago. Things i left behind, teaching records with my name on it that i filled out, baptism records, etc etc etc. I knew leaving to work again that day, in that area was going to hit me with a ton of nostalgia, even more than I already felt! As I left to work, we went to go visit Gloria. An older lady that I spent Christmas with last year. As I was walking to her house, she saw me from a far and by the time I showed up she was already crying. The feeling I felt to know I am changing lives, changed my life. That I made my mark on that area.

Gloria

Nayeli and her Mom

As I kept working that day, I was filled with happiness seeing the people that I had given my heart too. The whole day, I was so excited to go visit Nayeli and Abraham, the first person I personally baptized here in the mission. I made the appointment with her mom and as we went at 7pm to visit her, we showed up and only her mom was there. Her mom is a little slower than most, but the most amazing person ever. She told me that Nayeli and Abraham had to go to a job interview super far away and they wouldn't be back in time. My heart was broken. We waited there about 30 minutes and I just felt so sad that my opportunity was lost. We then worked in that area for about 45 minutes when we finally decided to go to the other side of the area. As we arrived, we got a phone call from Nayeli!! She called us saying that she was in the house the whole time asleep, and that she didn't feel very well so she didn't go to the job interview with her husband. I was so happy and we ran all the way to the other side of the area to go to her house!! I was laughing so hard that she was in the house the whole time and her mom didn't even know...   Lets just say God totally answered my prayers and made a miracle happen that day. As I talked to Nayeli, she was crying so hard. She felt the spirit and told me how much I mean to her as a missionary and for showing her the truth. She said she has been a little down lately and asked me for a blessing and I gave her one. Truly through this experience I have realized how this mission is so worth it. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Seeing a convert 8 months after her baptism was amazing. Seeing how much she has changed. Literally it was one of the happiest experiences of my life. I told her my goal as a missionary isn't just go baptize her and leave, my goal is to see her with her eternal family in the temple. Wow what an experience. I am truly changing lives, MY life.

Okay, so back to the work here in Arboleda. What a great week! Elder Luna and I work super great together. We have found a funny new way to get people to leave their house to talk to us. Whenever we go to a house and they don't wanna come out, I just start yelling stuff in English and they come out 100% of the time out of curiosity. It may not be the best way to get people to talk to, but it sure is efficient! My companion laughs so hard every time I do it haha. But I wanna share a small miracle I have noticed in my mission. A lot of times we go into little stores and talk to the worker there and a lot of times they aren't interested and it is super hard because people are buying and they can't be focused. But every time we find someone who is interested, we talk to them for like 30 minutes and teach them and literally the whole time not one person enters the store. The minute we are finishing and about to leave, someone enters. Every time. Those are small miracles.

Arboleda Area divided by a highway. City on Right, jungle on left

Okay let me share with you about our ward mission leader Hermano Quiroz. He is AMAZING!! I have never had so much support from a ward mission leader. He works with us all the time. Literally almost every day he is leaving with us to go work and visit people. He has a fruteria here (he sells fruit) so whenever we go and ask him to leave with us he can come and leaves his wife at the store! He has a car and takes us to San Pedro Chimay and everything. The thing is that most of the time the members leave with us they don't talk at all, but Hermano Quiroz talks with EVERYONE. And I mean EVERYONE. If someone is walking down the street in a hurry, he doesn't care, he just talks to them! Hermano Quiroz is a convert of 8 years and has such a strong testimony. He has become like our best friend. Whenever we are looking for a family we are like, hey do you know the family Chi Moo? And the people usually tell us where they live, but this time was different. Hermano Quiroz asked the most amazing question I had never thought to ask in my time here, he goes, Do you know Jesus Christ? And BOOM the people are open to talk to us. Haha it has been so fun to be able to work with him. He is a miracle to us and every missionaries dream. When we work with the members we have such a stronger chance of having success. 

Gerardo y Ardeo from the ward in Arboleda

One thing I have noticed in my time here is how blessed I have been with my health. So many missionaries get hit with terrible illnesses from mosquito's, the food, etc. This week a sister in our zone had Zeka ( a mosquito disease) and has seizures from it and stuff. We helped her a ton. But it just made me realize how lucky i have been to literally have never gotten sick. 

When we were walking one day, my comp goes, hey you really get along with like all of your companions, right? He then proceeded to tell me that he could tell because I am best friends with all my past companions. This isn't to boast or anything, it just helped me realize that I really do a great job in the mission of getting along with all my companions and loving them no matter what and making them my best friends, even if they are the exact opposite.  I have really learned to love unselfishly in the mission. 

We are working hard and trying to get people to go to church. We are seeing miracles, maybe just not all the miracles we are looking for. The whole ward is helping Wilberth with his addiction and visiting him a ton. He is slowly letting his addiction go away. He is such an amazing guy. I love this mission so much! I really know that I am not here to baptize, I am here to preach. Baptizing is the goal, but preaching is the call. I love this work and know I am becoming a successful missionary as laid out in page 10 of Preach My Gospel. I love this work. I know that God loves you guys so much!! You are His son or daughter, and He never forgets about you. 

Elder Plowman

 22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall begiven unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.