Dear family, friends, peeps:
What up? How's everybody doing? You should all send me personal responses to that! =P You all know that dearelder still works here, which is pretty sweet and fun to receive. Wink wink.
Haha but yeah, life is good todavía. This last week was a lot of work, but very much worth it. I'm having to think about how I word things a little bit more than usual in this email, because I've gotten used to speaking straight Spanish with my comp., but voy a tratar a esforzarme en este correo, no se preocupe.
So anyway, to hop right in from where we left off last week, I got a cake on Monday night for my birthday. We ate some cake at a member's house and they sang happy birthday (except it's a different tune, with different words, and in Spanish of course) and they... Well, remember that picture I sent like 2 weeks back of that girl with cake all over her face? Yeah, apparently that's tradition at all birthday parties here for the birthday person. I didn't know, but yeah^^ I'll attach a picture.
Anyway, after that we had a good FHE that went a little late, so we had to cut out our other appointment to get home on time, but yeah, I had a great birthday. That package I mentioned had cookies, a football thingy, some american flag magnets, american flag taffee stuff, I don't know, I'd say it was very 'fourth of july'-ish. I liked it a lot. I think I got the right package then, it just had the wrong card in it.
Aaaand the next day we started work very early. Monday night at around 9:15 pm, the unique member in our ward with a car called us and told us that, no, she couldn't help us the following morning at 8 am to bring our investigators (Omar and Dalia, Omar is pretty much crippled, so can't take the bus) to Cardel (like 45 minutes away) to get married. Which, for those that have been or are missionaries now know, is bad when you have a date for them to be baptized that very Saturday and you have no idea if you'll still be in the area the next Saturday.
So anyway, we tried to find someone that night by calling around but got nobody. But then the following morning, the ZL's called us at 6:30 am-ish and told us that they had someone that could give us a ride. So we called Omar and Dalia, but they told us that they'd already told Dalia's mom that the getting married was off, so she was already off working. Which is a problem, because Dalia is a minor, and needs her mom's signature. So we called the ZL's, who told us to be persistent, so we got the mom's number aaaaand long story short, we got them married. There were lots more complications, but I won't go into it. Let's just say that I have a VERY strong testimony that when you try your hardest, God makes up the rest. I can't say logically how we got them to Cardel and got them married, what with the crippled, minor, no ride, wrong papers (yeah, wrong papers^^), etc. situations. But I know that it was all God and His hand was in it.
But anyway, after that we had a generally normal week, worked hard and found a kid that just moved here from California. He'd lived there his whole life, and although speaks Spanish a little better than me, and understands a little better, because he spoke it sometimes with his family in Cali, he speaks way more English. So that was interesting, because I'd been on a little 'fast' from English for like a week and a half and almost couldn't speak any English at all with this kid when we started talking.
But anyway, we've started to teach him, and I think we'll baptize him, especially since the new comp. I'm getting tomorrow, Elder Porter, is American. So we can both teach him in English, his preference. He's much more comfortable and relaxed with me because of the English, and we've already become good friends. Sometimes you have a to be a friend first (while still being a missionary), and bring in the Gospel later.
What I've learned to do really well is to talk about normal things that then lead them to ask the religious questions. Like, I'll say something casual about the church, but that has a little intrigue, and then they'll ask something like, ''what is your church like, anyway?'' or, ''what makes you guys different?'' or something along those lines and, bam! It's gospel sharing time. When they're the ones asking the questions, they're automatically more comfortable than when we're the ones saying, ''look, our church is different and better than the others, listen to some facts about it!'' not that we say that anyway, but you get what I mean^^
Soooo anyway, on Saturday we baptized Omar and Dalia, which was awesome, and difficult with his crippleness, which I might explain more later, but it all worked out just fine. I feel super blessed with those two. To look back on the start with them, I really can't explain how it worked out, other than God's hand in it all, it's the only logical way to think about it!
So yeah, things are going good you could say. I have been loving it, and I enjoyed my time a lot with Elder Sanchez. He's been a good example and it's been absolutely crazy good Spanish practice. I really am starting to forget English. When I say my personal prayer at night and in the morning, I really have to think about what the English words are, and half the time I end up just switching to Spanish anyway. I've also started to think in Spanish, without thinking about it, if that makes sense.
It's broken and incorrect Spanish still, but it's getting there.
Well, something cool happened yesterday too. Really a couple days back, and it all started a while ago. I'll try to tell it short, but you know how I am. Details, details.
So, to start from the start, so to speak... One day Elder Coffin and I were walking along the street about 2 weeks back when suddenly Elder Coffin veered off left and knocked a random door. We almost never knock doors, because it really isn't too effective here, what's more effective is member references and street contacts, but anyway... We knocked the door. A guy answered who looked tired and sad, but he smiled and invited us in, and told us that his mom had died a few days back and he'd been working on moving things out of the house or something like that, so he was tired and all. Well anyway, we ended up teaching him the Plan of Salvation, and told him exactly where his mom is, waiting for him, and being taught and accepting the exact same things that we were teaching him in that moment.
Well, he accepted it all well, and even accepted to come with us to church the next day with excitement. So, the next day we ran by, and... He wasn't home. Or he was sleeping, I don't know. But we continued to pass by in the week and he was never there. After some time, we just didn't drop by anymore, because he wasn't ever home and we thought maybe he was avoiding us and not answering the door or something.
So anyway, that was a few weeks back, then this last Friday, Elder Sanchez and I were walking by the same street, and I looked over at this man's house, and saw a light on inside. So I thought, 'somebody is home! Let's go!', but then I remembered that a few times before we'd passed with the light on and nobody answered, so I continued to walk for a second, and reasoned that we were already running late, and I'd drop by another day to see if he was home. But, I got the feeling to stop right there, pull a Coffin, turn and knock the door. So I did, and the man's wife answered smiling, and invited us in.
We hadn't met her before, and her husband wasn't home, but we taught her and she was even more accepting and happy than he was with all of it. She invited us to come by again the next day, and that was that.
So we came by the next day, and nobody was home. Then Sunday in the morning, and we ran into her husband, who had been working up until about 4 in the morning, so couldn't come, and his wife was gone with her mom. Sooo a little sad. But we didn't give up. We stopped by later Sunday night, and she was home. We taught her, and she had read the book of Mormon, more than we'd asked her to, and couldn't sleep the night she read it. She felt happy and peaceful, but also she felt like she should do something. She didn't know what, and I guess she'd forgotten our invitation to pray. So our whole lesson with her on Sunday night was The Book of Mormon and prayer.
I can't describe it, but the lesson was awesome. She had lots of good questions, which showed us that she was really interested, and at the end, before we left, she had to stop us and tell us something.
She started to tell us that years ago some missionaries had come by, like us, and she'd told them she had no time. But she thought, 'someday when I have time, I'll listen to them'. Well, she said, with tears in her eyes at this point, that the night before while she was pondering the book of mormon and everything, the thought came, and she says it wasn't her thought, but that it was like a thought was put into her head (which we know to be the Holy Ghost, and afterward explained), 'here they are, it's time to listen'. So she told us she would do her best to listen to everything we had to tell her, that she'd read, and that she'd pray, and that eventually she would, if everything went as she thought it would, be baptized. We still hadn't even invited her to be baptized, so with that you can see how prepared this person is for us.
We were told all in the MTC that there are people prepared for us, but I hadn't felt like I'd really seen it that powerfully up until this woman, Maria.
That was a powerful experience for me, and we're going back tonight to teach her about the Plan of Salvation, where we will also invite her to be baptized. I have no doubt that if we continue to follow the Spirit and teach the person, and not the lesson, we will be able to be tools in the Lord's hands, and bring her to the waters of baptism. Where, I'm sure, and I know for a fact, she will find more happiness than she's ever felt in her life before.
I have a strong testimony of this work, and I must be short now so that I can go and get to this work. I love you all, I know the church is true, I know the Book of Mormon is true, I am starting to love the Bible too, read Acts, cool stuff. Aaaand I'll talk to you all next week!
Elder DeFreese
p.s. I'll send fotos in another email
1. Mmm, cake in the face.
2. The wedding bells are ringing!
3. Sunrise out our window.
4. I just had to laugh at ''grrrriquisimas!''. We have 'grrreeat'. And riquisima means 'really rich' as far as food goes. Haha
5. Baptism of Omar and Dalia, the married couple!
6. An apple with chamoya (some sweet paste thingy) and this chili sugar powder stuff on it. It's... Good? Haha
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