Week 103 - Palmdale

 

This week has been glorious so far. I said goodbye to Elder Hanchett, and received Elder Simpson. He is an awesome elder, and I have a lot of respect for him. The first day together we went with the youth to visit people we're teaching. They did a really good job. We taught Remundo the Plan of Salvation. The youth did a good job explaining things as well. We also talked with one man who has a cousin who served his mission in New York. He also gave us a referral to go by.

We went by a man named George on Wednesday and taught the Plan of Salvation, and we invited him to be baptized. He was very cool. On the mission, I have learned a lot about moving furniture. We did a ton of service this week. We helped a family move out and we cleaned out a garage.

We had a Plan to go by Patricia, and we weren't sure what we would do. We decided we would go by to find her need. We just went by, and she totally just started telling us all her needs. We immediately taught according to her needs.

We had a lesson with Carlos, and he had a question: Why does God let bad things happen to good people? We read Mosiah 23:21-24, how the Lord wants us to gain patience and faith. We then read from chapter 24:13-17. We said that God doesn't always free us FROM our afflictions, but that He visits us IN them. And then He strengthens us, lightens the loads upon our shoulders until we carry them with patience and joy, and then frees us. He was on the verge of tears. It was good. We invited him to baptism, and he said he would read the Book of Mormón to find out.

Irma was baptized last week. The promises we made to Irma have come true. She had someone that had totally been evil to her almost al her life. She could not forgive him, and we asked President if she could still get baptized with the grudge. He said that the ordinances would give her power to allow the Savior to forgive him through her. This week we came by and she said she had a dream where she just let the evil man go. She just forgave and forgot. She explained how this man had raped her and her brother, and that her brother commited suicide after that happened. She couldn't do it. It wasn't possible. But the ordinances unlocked the power of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

I know that the Covenants we make with God are not just light promises, but vows that when honored, open the blessings and powers of God. It was awesome to learn this.

I love you all, love Elder Sant