Wow the 4th of July is already done and gone!!!! What an exciting 4th of july week it was, I hope that all of the celebrations and the fireworks were awesome! Here they obviously don't celebrate American holidays, so my comp and I decided that we were going to do something crazy............... we ordered pizza from the city to our little village up in the mountains!! Haha we feasted with dominos 5 meat pizza and cinnamon/icing sticks=) Probably the best dinner I've had in 9 months, so ya it was a great 4th of July! But besides the 4th of July, we had another great week up here in the mountains doing missionary stuff,
Pablo perez is doing well, this guy is a stud, 14 years old and he works 2 jobs, he works in the corn fields during the day, then repairing shirts and suits at night!! He is a stud, but he almost never has time which stinks, but he is reading and praying which is awesome=) He is in the stage now of where he needs to continue to pray and ask God and he will receive his answer, this guy is such a stud I know that it is gonna happen!!! The problem is that he didn't come to church this week because he had to work in the corn field, but this next week He is definitely coming to church with us!
Ok so some things have happened with Maryvella. She is ready to be baptized, she has a testimony, she wants to be baptized so bad, she is 19, BUT, her dad is super catholic and scares her to where she can't come to church. So, we need to figure out how to take out the dad........ naw just kidding=) We have tried talking with him but he doesn't want to talk, we also told Mary Ella that she can do what she wants, she is over age, but since she lives in the same house as her dad, she feels that she "has to" obey his rules. It's a tough situation, We have been praying for her a ton and fasting, It is tough because she is ready, just her dad is getting in the way 10 days before her baptism. We have hope and we will continue to pray, Miracles happen.
Caesar is progressing well, he just isn't coming to church!!! We keep having kick butt lessons with this guy, but he just always has a super tough excuse for why he can't come to church. He continues to read and learn, this week he read Lehi's vision and had a billion questions which was awesome, we also talked about how to recognize the spirit, he has been feeling things, he just doesn't understand that it's the spirit. I have a feeling that it is about to click soon, he is doing all the things that he needs to to receive an answer except go to church, we will continue to pray for this guy and fight to bring him to church!!
We had a breakthrough with Lucky this week! We just sat down and tried to find her needs.............. and we found her needs after about an hour! By the end, everyone was crying, we finally hit what we needed to hit so that she could understand, for 3 years the missionaries couldn't figure her out, until now!!! I know that now she will start to read and pray, because now she feels that it is a necessity, not just a good idea or something cool. I feel big things for her in the future, deep down she really just wants an eternal family=)
So we got a really crazy call this week, an investigator named Eveline has been praying and reading every night, and called us to tell us that she received her answer!!! She seemed excited over the phone so we were super stoked, but when we got to her house she completely killed our excitement. We asked her how her prayers went and what was the answer that she received. She told us that she read and prayed and felt good, but when she went to bed she had a dream. In her dream, her dead grandma visited her and told her that because she was considering being baptized into the mormon church, she was making fun of the catholic church, and committing a huge sin. Wow, what a crappy dream!!!!! So we talked the whole time about dreams and answers and the spirit, but she told us that she had received her answer. WE WILL KEEP FIGHTING!!! by the end of the lesson she told us that she would keep on reading and praying, but she seemed pretty unexcited........... Satan is fighting so hard to try and keep her bound!! I know that once she is a member, she will be one of the best members on the planet, that is why satan is trying so desperately to keep her in his grasp. We won't give up on her, she was super positive before, she will continue to progress as long as she reads and prays with real intent!
This week was a week of ups and downs and you can see, but really the mission is like that. I saw a taught from Jeffrey R Holland this week and he talked about why missionary work is so hard. He said something that really stuck with me, he said,,, Why is missionary work so hard?? why can't it just be easy, after all it is the lord's work? Well here's the answer, if it wasn't easy for Jesus Christ, how can it possibly be easier for us??? It is hard because salvation is not a cheap experience!! When I read that quote it really struck me, dang that is so true, this mission is easy..... haha it's not easy, but in comparison to the mission of Jesus Christ it's a piece of cake. That talk keeps me energized and excited to work hard every single day, I know that it is the Lord's work, and I love that it is a challenge.
This church is so true it's not even funny. And if you aren't so sure, read James 1. 5, follow the directions, and know for yourself. Love you guys, keep the faith, Have awesome weeks
Elder McLeod
