Week 22

Hello all!

This week has been so awesome! a roller coaster per usual. but still great. Well to start off... ALFREDO GOT BAPTIZED!!!! :) Seriously. I cannot even tell you how happy I felt even though I wasnt physically there. I called him on saturday night to tell him how happy I was and before I even said who I was he said, "a la gran hermana california bontia mortensen! Te extrano un monton!" we continued to say that the starts to come out to shine at night and that the sun is sad and doesnt shine and all is dark since i left hahaha it was so great. He was really so excited to be baptized. He made me promise that I will be there when he goes through the temple since I couldnt be at his baptism and so i said okay and then he said okay perfect I will be going through the guatmalan temple... yikes. I gotta start saving up I guess hahaha. I dont have pics of the baptism yet but hermana detrinidad is going to email me some soon.

So, our baptism here in Newark with Marisol got postponed until next sundaybecause your health is still pretty bad. But she still came to church! :) She passed her interview and everything is ready to go for next week :) The members here are so amazing with the investigadores. We have had a baptism here every week since ive been here and seriously the ward comes out and supports so strong for these baptisms. like im not kidding. comida for days. Also here in the ward, the fourth sunday is all about missionary work. so the missionaries are to address the ward. and do a musical number and what not. So being the newbies here in the ward, sister philbrick and I gave a talk. Sister philbrick went up first and oh my word is was so amazing. I sat there just smiling so big. It is amazing to see her progress. She and I are so different but it just works! and I know we got put together so I can learn from her. She got up and start saying that she has always wanted to serve a missionary and know that she is finally here, she is really to give her whole heart to the Lord. I just teared up as soon as she said that! Shes truly so awesome. She gave her talk and then two elders sang and then it was my turn. The counseler to the bishop said that I would need to take what ever time was left over and finish up the meeting. So I got up there, look at the clock and and saw that there was about 17 minutes that I would need to fill. and I had up there was my pmg, and my scriptures and I felt so calm! I got up there, start talked, and it all just flowed out! I talked about the difference between a testimony and conversion. I shared about my own background and my own conversion story. I then talked about Alma the younger and the sons of mosiah and how they were the vilest of sinners. but when they decided to change, and truly had become converted by the power of the angel they saw and through the remission of their sins, there desire was to go out and share the gospel! So if we, as members, really are converted, that means that we too should be trembling at the thought of people we love not having a knowledge of the gospel.

We had a former investigador that we just picked up this week at church and after all three hours (first time at church for the whole time) and seeing his first baptism, he came up to us and asked, what do i have to do to get baptized? The same thing happened with this less active mother we have been working with a lot. during gospel principles, she leaned over and asked me, "what do i have to do to make more covenants in the temple. I want it." THIS is the power of the spirit. it becomes less of us pushing people to do these things or trying to convince them of what they need, and turns into a desire that they truly want for themselves.

okay one more story. so there is this less active family that as REALLY been through it this past year. The husband and two of the three sons were put to jail about a year ago because the oldest son was doing illegal things with his business and the father and other son got put to jail unjustly. When the husband got released because they realized he was without fault, he got super super sick. and now he has to get blood transfusions every other day. He is really dizzy all the time because of his medication and doesnt want to sit in a wheelchair or use a cane because it shows weakness. and he has to eat every 3 hours and they dont have a car so its hard to find a ride to church. those were his reasons for why he hasnt been coming to church. He has kinda of given up and is just waiting to die, since people on the blood donor list have been there for at least like 10 years and they cant find a match for him. his wife on the other hand goes every sunday and is taking the temple prep classes. During the lesson we were having with him, I felt really prompted to promise him that if he stopped excusing himself from the commandments of god and did all he could to prepare himself to go to the temple, Heavenly father would bless him so that the doctors would find a donor for him so that he could live to be sealed to his wife. I felt the spirit so strong. I know everyone in that room did too. He committed to come to church and for the first time in a long time, he came to church. I have such a testimony that the Lord is with me, working right along side me. I know it and its the best feeling ever! I love this gospel and this time i have to be a missionary. asi en serio

member who seriously LOVES dad and remembers him from when he served in peurto rico. she says that everything i do reminds her of him hahaha this was at the thanksgiving party we had. it was crazy! these ecuadorians got all decked out and danced. seriously. sometime i forget im still in the US and i love all the different cultures!

okay so its like little peru over here and the peruvians drink inca kola like its water. the first time i had it i thought it was gross but now i love it. so anywho, it was a walking day and a member gave a this gaint think of inca kola just in case we got hungry hahah classic.