Buenas Tardes,
Mostly I just have a few experiences to share from this week.
Recently
we have been trying to contact each of our investigators every day. So
far we've only been successful with one of them, but he is progressing
pretty well. We've been able to build up a good enough relationship with
him that we had a great experience on Sunday morning before church. He had committed to come to church with us on Sunday,
and we were going to get him a ride with one of our members, but the
night before he texted us and told us that he didn't want to come to
church and that maybe he should just stay catholic! We weren't sure what
had happened since he was reading and praying and seemed to really like
the Book of Mormon. We went over the next morning before church, and
asked him what had happened. Luckily he trusted us enough to tell us
that what was really going on was that he was afraid to go to church
when he didn't know anyone or what it would be like. We're going to work
on bringing more members with us so he can feel like he has friends,
and maybe we'll be able to give him a tour to help him feel more
comfortable.
On Wednesday
we went to contact a referral that we got from our branch president. He
is a less active member who was attending an English ward, but hasn't
been going for a few months. He actually speaks better Spanish, so
President Mendez had his records transferred to our branch, and then we
went to visit him. He is so sweet, and it turns out that he has a son
who is 7 and will turn 8 soon who wants to be baptized. We're going to
teach at least the two of them as he prepares to be baptized, and
hopefully we'll be able to get the whole family interested and coming to
church.
On Thursday
we talked with a 7th Day Adventist family who investigated the church
about a year ago, but came to a difference in doctrine so they stopped.
We talked a little bit about what the difference was, and I was shocked
to discover that they believe that we didn't exist before we were born! I
have never even questioned that in my life, and it was strange to try
to think about how life could have a purpose or what the purpose of
having children would be without the knowledge that God is our Heavenly
Father and we lived with him before this life. I am so grateful for the
knowledge that we have of the Plan of Salvation! We testified to them of
the importance of gaining spiritual knowledge from the Holy Ghost more
than just from what others tell us or what the Bible says. I know that
there are so many different ways of interpreting the word of God, and I
am so grateful that we have modern prophets who guide us, and the Holy
Ghost to testify to our hearts of the truth.
On Friday
we had an interesting experience doing some contacting for another set
of Hermanas in our district. It was a very white neighborhood, so we
didn't talk with any Hispanics, but we did talk to one very kind
Christian lady. She had crosses and quotes all over her house and front
yard, and as we walked up to talk with her at first she just said she
didn't want to talk with us. In the end she asked us what church we were
from, and when she found out we were 'Mormons' she told us in a very
hushed voice, "you do know that's a cult right." She spent the next 5 or
10 minutes trying to convince us to focus on Jesus and "weigh the
spirit" of our church because she didn't want us to be brainwashed or
confused. Hermana Ellingson was AMAZING and just testified of the truth
of the Book of Mormon and that she could know the truth for herself as
well if she would read and pray. In those situations I am always SO
grateful that I have been able to gain my own testimony of the things
that we teach! I am so grateful that we don't have to rely on the
testimony of anyone else.
I also have an interesting paradox (not sure if
that's the right word...) of missionary work to share. I was on an
exchange in Sylmar a couple of weeks ago, and as we were contacting on
the street after an appointment fell through I shook a man's hand, and
he tried to kiss mine! I pulled my hand away quickly, and told him it
was okay to just shake my hand. I think he was a little off though
because he just made a slightly crude comment, and then walked away. It
was interesting to compare with the woman we tried to contact this week
who refused to even shake our hands and walked away proclaiming that she
was "already Christian". What's the missionary paradox you may ask.
Some people want to kiss your hand and others think they'll die if they
even touch it. :)
Anyway, I need to end here, but I love you all! I
know that this gospel is true. I am so grateful for the opportunity God
has given me to serve a mission, and that I've been able to learn
Spanish and work with all of these wonderful people. I am so grateful
for my Savior Jesus Christ, and the grace that I can receive thanks to
his sacrifice. I hope that each of you will be able to feel that grace
more fully in your lives each day.
Love,
Hna Marin Hardy
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