OKay..... so everything like EXPLODED this week. I don't even know
how, or why. But we are exhausted. It is like we have worked so hard for
so long in this area and been really obedient and all the blessings of
that came THIS WEEK. It has been insane. We literally did not physically
have enough time to teach all the people who wanted to be taught or we
needed to teach. We are now having to drop investigators just because
they are not progressing as much as other investigators and we
physically don't have time to teach them. But it's just weird because we
didn't do anything different it seems like this week that would have
given us so many blessings. It is just like literally people are walking
into us who want to be taught.
One guy, Manny, contacted us at a bus stop, came to a tour that
night and accepted a baptismal invite. Stayed for ward volleyball, came
to church the next morning, told us that he wants us to come over two or
three times a week to teach him, nearly fainted after he said a prayer
because he felt the spirit so strong. We were just like.... WHERE DO
INVESTIGATORS LIKE THIS COME FROM??!!! And then in gospel principles we
were teaching the lesson and it was on eternal families, and we asked
something about what our purpose is here on earth and he raised his hand
and was like "well we came to this earth so that we could get physical
bodies so that we can be tested because our flesh is weak, and so that
we could have to learn and progress through those tests to become more
like God". We, and everyone else in the class, almost broke out in a fit
of laughter because his answer was SO doctrinally spot on, and yet he
had never been to one of our churches before or been taught by
missionaries. The elders mouthed to us "where did you find this guy?!"
and we were like "the street" haha. I don't know how. He is the funniest
guy and SO cool.
My poor companion though, she got the flu like Wednesday night, and
then Thursday through Saturday we had lessons scheduled all day every
day. She was like dripping snot every where we went and just feeling
awful but we just literally did not even have the time to stop to let
her sleep. So then when Sunday came we both just like crashed. Sunday
after Church we came home and she pretty much slept for the rest of the
day. The poor thing. I'm listening to her cough even as I type this
email. But then in the evening we went out and she was like "I think we
should go to the neighboor of Hna. Montes de Oca". Who we had met but
never taught and they hadn't been interested in being taught, but we
went over there, and coincidentally hna montes de Oca was at their house
when we knocked, and we went in and taught the restoration and won
their hearts and got 4 new investigators. Basically, the moral of the
story is, my companion, Hna. Stohlton is pretty cool. She's been sick
pretty much the entire transfer though.
Oh, so another cool thing that would only happen on a mission. That
one really dangerous neighborhood I once mentioned over in Pomona. So
everyone in that neighborhood is a borracho "drunk" of some sort. There
are the borrachos, the super borrachos, and then the people who stopped
drinking because they used to be so borracho that they almost died and
stopped. But anyways, we are teaching the borracho of all borrachos in
the neighborhood. And so everyone loves us. The whole neighborhood comes
up to us and wants to tell us how they support what we are doing and
through Jesus Christ they believe that even Juan (that's his name) can
quit. It is pretty funny. We are like public heros in the neighborhood
for trying to sober up Juan. Haven't had much success yet, but I've
never had an entire neighborhood who just LOVES the missionaries so
much. And so we are like kind of teaching this entire neighborhood of
borrachos. And we just go in like "okay, where's your beer, we are
throwing this away right now. You over there, put down that bottle and
say a prayer" and everyone respects us haha. It is a heartbreaking place
though, because alcohol has ruined pretty much all of their lives. And
they all want to quit but theyve all been drinking since they were like 5
years old and literally have to be drinking at every moment of the day
or their body shuts down. One time we were teaching Juan and he was just
shaking uncontrollably because his body needed alchohol but he knew he
couldn't drink any while we were there (until we said the opening
prayer, then he stopped shaking. Funny, how that works.) I just wonder
what they think, two 20 year old white girls walking in there and
telling the to sober up and throwing away their beer haha. Basically,
the word of wisdom is true. Modern day prophets do recieve revelation
from God. And to not drink alchohol was one of those revelations.
Well, anyways, keep up the good work
Love,
Hermana Bardsley
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