Week 81 Buena Vista

 

This week went by fast and was extremely interesting. First, I conducted my first ever Zone Conference. I was super nervous, but there were friends all over the zone, so I was alright. There were about 60 missionaries in the room. It went well, and President seemed pretty merciful about it being my first time. We went by Freddy and he basically said that he would be unable to give up wine. But we talked with Samantha a little, and we invited her to church, but she said that she couldn't make it last minute. That was a heart breaker. We did find a family who also would be baptized in the blink of an eye, but can't because of marriage problems.

   We saw quite a few miracles for other people: for example, we were on exchanges, and we were walking, and I really felt like there was something better we could be doing, so as we walked, I decided to try to find out what that was. I told Elder Tigrett what I felt, and I felt we shoukd turn the corner onto a fairly loud and busy road. We knocked a few doors there, and with one, a man opened up and we started teaching. When we told him that the Book of Mormon was written here, and that Jesus Christ came and visited, he stopped me and said "Wait, repeat that." I did and he said "I've got some reading to do." He took a Book of Mormon and said he'd read it. He thanked us for coming and told us to come back as soon as possible. 

   There was a referral that we received from the hermanas that sounds pretty legit. It's a part member family. 

   In my studies, I have been trying to get closer to my Savior. A thought occurred to me, that Jesus Christ suffered so much to know me personally. What am I doing to come to know Him? I take upon me His life as I take the sacrament, I become one with Him, and therefore I am worthy of the Holy Ghost because He is one with me. As I develop His attributes I come to know Him as well. He is there, and He reaches out to us, and we can apply His grace as we put His Name upon us. And the Holy Ghost is one of His biggest blessings He can bestow upon us. It is what makes us different than any other church.

   And, one more thing: from 3 Nephi 20:8-9 

   Eat of body to soul, drink of blood to soul.

 Soul= body & spirit combined. 

Blood in old testament was a symbol of life source or the spirit(BD). You're taking His soul upon you, becoking more like Him. He was the only one worthy of the Holy Ghost, so when we take Him upon us we become worthy. That's why the sacrament, in my opinion, allows the Spirit to sanctify you and be with you always. The sanctification comes as you, through the week, becoke a little better by a little better. That's why we take a small peice of bread and a small bit of water. It's a continual process God is willing to recognize. We thus grow grace by grace. 

   I hope your week is filled with miracles!!!

 Love Elder Sant

Week 80 - Buena Vista

 

Hello everyone, this week was a long but good week. We were able to work with our investigators. We came by Freddy, and his 14 year old cousin came in and said she wanted to get baptized before May. We were like "We can do it by the end of March." We taught her the Gospel and explained all the steps for before baptism, about the Sacrament for after and such, and then watched "My Words Never Cease" by Jeffrey R. Holland. She said it all made sense and that she'd come to church, but then she went and stayed the night at Wasco.

   We are both doing well. In my studies I was thinking about how the only filters on our phone are the Holy Ghost and our missionary purpose. We are free to use them, and we do not have enormous blocking and restricting rules, but as long as it's the desires of God we can. On the contrary, if we are to have many rules that restrict what we can do, the Spirit cannot tell you fully what to do and you cannot fully fulfill your purpose in the most effective ways. I was reading in Alma 61:15, which says "according to the Spirit of God, which is also the spirit of freedom which is in them". 

The book of Alma is full of people who try to take away agency, and they were always put to death. The Spirit of Freedom is the Spirit of God. When we deny ourselves or others their agency, we deny the Spirit of God. When Satan was cast out of heaven for trying to take away agency, he was denying the Holy Ghost. Without liberty and agency, we cannot follow the Spirit.

   The church could have put a bunch of filters on our phones so we don't act against the rules, but the freedom allows us to act according to God's will more freely. 

    We went by la familia Delgado, and their children are pretty cool, and we'll be working with them. When we taught Freddy on Tuesday, he said "When I draw, I am able to be patient because I can see the end product. I have hope for the end and how good it will turn out". 

I love my investigators, and I really see a lot to come in the future.

Week 79 - Buena Vista

 

Hello everyone. This week was a pretty good week, stressful, but good. Elder Barney and I are the new zone leaders of the south bakersfield zone, and neither one of us have ever done it before. We had a meeting with President Layton on Tuesay where we learned the basics of being a zone leader and our responsibilities. We met with Gaby, a person we've been teaching for a while, and we set her on a baptismal date she set herself and after promising the blessings of the Holy Ghost. We also taught Brandon Arias about Jesus Christ. We read 3 Nephi 17 with him, and left an invitation to watch the bible video about Jesus Christ healing the man born blind and to see ways he would have to apply the Atonement, and we said we'd do the same and get back to him on that. In my studies I was reading for Brandon. Alma 33:1,22-23 you plant the seed by beginning to believe in Christ. You nourish it by acting on that hope(believing Christ). Alma 34:41 You don't need to know,  you need to have enough hope to try(firm hope). Enough hope to try=faith- Quote by President Layton. I love you all!

Elder Sant

Go and Do

Week 78 - Buena Vista

Hello all. This week was a very good week. We found out that I will be staying here in Buena Vista and Elder Fillmore will be leaving and heading to Palmdale, my last Zone. My companion will be Elder Barney. This week Elder Fillmore and I realized we were far too soft on our investigators when we were with Freddy and we watched a video by Elder Bednar about how only members of the church can enjoy the full companionship of the Holy Ghost. Freddy was like "I don't like that". Naturally we tried to make it sound better, and after the lesson, I realized that I was denying him true knowledge by making it sound different and less rude than how Elder Bednar clearly explained. We came by again and explained to him how we had been soft, and that even though it sounded unfair that was how it was and that we just wanted him to find for himself if it were true, that truth doesn't change because someone doesn't like it. He accepted it, and we both learned that it's easier to get the investigator to act when you don't beat around the bush at all and just tell people how it is. We did that with another investigator family just by reading Preach My Gospel on the Apostasy section and saying "That's how it is" and we invited them to be baptized. One of them said they were catholic and couldn't change, and we asked what they'd do if they found it were true and from God, and they said "Well, change." They accepted a date, so please pray for them. By being bold the Spirit can declare the true doctrine through us and when we're soft we're putting a plug on the power hose of revelation they could receive.I love you all!

Week 77 - Buena Vista

Hey everyone! This week was really good. We had a Family Home Evening with Freddy and the Urbina Family. We watched the Restoration Movie, and Freddy cried. The next day we had a church tour with him. We brought up a baptismal date, and he said he was already considering it, and that he wanted to do some service with us. We went back to Suzie, a woman we hadn't seen in a while, and she was doing pretty well.

   One day we were walking near the stake center, and there was this minivan, and a man was yelling at a woman in Spanish, and the man took off just as we came up. We started talking with the woman, named Jackie, and she explained to us basically the most terrible back story ever. To make it short, her kids were all almost baptized and her husband is atheist and is planning a lot of bad things against her. We had found her at just the right time. After talking with her for a little, we invited her to the baptisms we were going to have on Saturday. The baptisms for our ward happened, and she said she had just a half-hour, and after the baptisms in Spanish, the English elders were having one, and she said "There's one more baptism, right?" And when we said yes, she said "I'll stay". It was pretty fantastic! 

   In district meeting the APs came too. 

   I learned in my studies the following, from Mosiah 25:24, Mosiah 2:22 & 36, that the Promise that we will prosper in the land if we keep the commandments of God is that the Spirit will be able to prosper us if we keep the commandments so we can be guided in wisdom's paths. 

   Love Elder Sant

Week 76 - Buena Vista

 

This week was both a crazy week, a terrible week, and a great week. I am not even sure how to feel about it. So on Monday, long story short we helped someone in a kidnapping to recover after she had literally just escaped, and that just broke my heart (for those of you who don't know, that is like the worst to my heart), and then a member drove by and asked if we could help them move out, so we did service at 8 pm on Monday. He then took us to a legit Hispanic taco truck (the best thing in the world)! On Tuesday we went by this girl named Susie, and when we came in her cousin, who moved in with them, said he needed help. That night we taught him the Word of Wisdom and somehow that led to half of the Plan of Salvation, and had him make a game plan for his addictions. He said to come by the next day, and we did and he had finished the Plan of Salvation pamphlet and had made a game plan for any time he felt tempted to give in to his temptations. We finished the Plan of Salvation, and had him read Enos on his own.

   We came by the next day and he had done so, and we finished it up. We gave him a blessing and asked him to read Alma 36, and when we asked when we could come by, he said "as soon as possible". We said we couldn't until Sunday and he said "Then I'll see you at church!" as though it were nothing. Sadly, he was sick on Sunday, but he told the hermano who came to pick him up to have us come to him, so we did, and we brought two members, Vivian and Daniel Urbina. We taught the full restoration and he had read Alma 36 and he loved it. He said this was probably the right path for him. We're going to have a Family Home Evening with him tonight, and we'll watch the movie about Joseph Smith. 

   There is an investigator who was going to get baptized this week, and we had told the less active parents and they said "okay" like 4 times, but on Saturday we planned the baptism, and they walked in and said they had never heard anything of it, and that they wanted their father, who is totally anti, to baptize him. In the end, we decided that it would be Brandon's choice, and he would pray and decide. That was an extremely low blow.

   In my studies, I had learned the following: Since we're not perfect, we're going to have to rely on the Spirit in this life to do what's right. Even Jesus Christ hearkened to the promptings of the Spirit. He was growing from grace to grace. All that He knew was given by the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted. 

He was always in the right place at the right time. When we are resurrected and perfected and glorified, we shall know all things: where to be, what to do, etc. The Spirit shows us perfection, shows us our potential, and when we follow that Spirit, we achieve or reach that potential. He truly sanctifies, especially when we follow Him.

   It was definitely a difficult week, full of walking and biking. I love you all, and thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

Week 75 - Buena Vista

 

Hey everybody! This week was a pretty good one. We thought last week that Brandon hadn't come to church, but then it turned out that he did, and he just went to sacrament meeting and had to go after that! So he is on date  and we're working super hard with getting him to read, especially talks from modern prophets. So things are going well with him. We also went by Dino and Evelyn, and they are an awesome family. Evelyn loves reading, and likes reading with us. Dino is skeptical, but a cool person because he seems very open to the idea of finding the truth for himself. They are a family that will take small steps, but they are willing to take them. For a district activity we went to a store called El Mercado, which is basically like a hispanic mall, and thus the hat I tried on, and Elder Hanchett. Speaking of that, we had exchanges in the other elders' area, and they have it pretty rough. They once were finding a ton every week, but recently they haven't been. We went on exchanges and the people we talked to did not want to hear our message. It was pretty rough.My studies have also gone pretty well. We have been learning a lot, especially in comp study. I wanted to find all the doctrine of the Savior from the restoration, because too often the message of the Restoration is just a message about Joseph Smith, and not exactly centered on Jesus Christ, so that is my goal: making the messages about Him, because He is the one they need. I love you all and please keep us in our prayers.

Week 74 Buena Vista

 

This week was a pretty good week. This week was Brandon's birthday, which was awesome. He is now 15 years old. He got some nunchucks and he's learning to use them. Last Sunday we got a referral from a member, and she said he and his family were looking for a church to go to. We went by on Tuesday and taught about Families and temples with the restoration of the priesthood and the gospel tied in, and he, Luis, loved it. He said he wanted the rest of his family to also hear the message. We taught Gabby and her mom a little about the restoration. The first time we met Gabby's mom, she wasn't interested, but this time she was, and it was cool to see that. For finding this week, we didn't do too well until Sunday when we doubled what we had found through the whole week. It was cool to see the Spirit working in us. We went by a family who told us they wouldn't be able to visit us until after the holidays and they are pretty awesome. We read the introduction with Guillermo, and he loved it. We visited Amado and Laura, a family whom the English elders referred to us. We had taught Laura the restoration, and when we came by again we went over it with Amado. It was a good lesson, and they are a very cool family. 

   We were going through our area book, and we found a record for a deaf woman, where they had taught the family, but couldn't do anything with her. We will try by and see if I can't brush up on my sign language. 

   Again with church we tried everyone we could, but one person came, and that was good. 

   I love you all, and thanks for all of your prayers in my behalf. 

   In my studies, I have learned from 3 Nephi 19:13, 21-24, 27, 33 that when we have the Spirit with us, our desires are His desires. In prayer we speak from our heart, and if the Spirit can guide us in our prayers and we can feel the Spirit in your prayers, our desires become His desires. "Filled with desire", and then our hearts are open and we can learn the hidden things He wants us to know. That's just part of the process of becoming more like Him. 

I love you all, and thank you for your support and love. 

Love,

  Elder Sant 

Week 73 Buena Vista

This week was pretty good. On Monday I skyped my mother and father and much more of the family. It was a very powerful experience. This week we invited EVERYONE we talked to to church, and saw some blessings from that. It was a long week and required a lot of walking. We went biking and someone slashed our tires, so we got the tires fixed, and someone slashed our tires, stole our air pump and all of our lights and tried to take the bikes out of the locks. Luckily they were not successful. I finished the Book of Mormon again, and I have learned a lot about how the Spirit works. We are figuring out how to use our lessons to bring true conversion. We as missionaries invite others to come unto Christ. How do they do that? By having faith unto repentance, which causes a change in their lives. How do they gain that faith? By learning the restored Gospel and by accepting and acting on invitations and commitments we give them. And this prepares them for the Covenant of Baptism, which is a physical cleansing that prepares us for the spiritual purification of the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost will guide us and allow us to become more like our Savior. And by continually following this path we become ready for judgement.

   We went by one of our investigators, Brandon and we see that his less-active family can be holding him back from becoming a member. We will do all we can to still get him there though. 

   I love you all, and thanks for everything!

Week 72 Buena Vista

Hey everyone!!!! This week was great for Christmas. We were able to teach Brandon the 10 commandments and the Sabbath day. We got someone to take him to church far in advance, but he said he'd be fine, that he didn't need any ride. We came by the morning of Sacrament meeting, and he wasn't home, and didn't answer the phone. But we came by that night, and the whole family wanted us to stay. They set up a time to feed us dinner. I think the hermano didn't want us to come, because he left like two seconds after entering, but the family liked us. On Christmas eve we made a few brownies and gave them to our investigators. There was one person who we saw on the street, and gave a pamphlet to them, and the next day we came by. We had to walk, and it rained, and she said "you're here in the rain?" and we explained that that was how big the message we had was. We taught the restoration, and when we got to the scene in the sacred grove, her eyes got really big and she was amazed. Even after that, she said "I'm fine". We asked if she wanted to learn more about Jesus and grow faith in Him, she said she was fine where she was at. We left into the rain and later, the English elders came by to the same house. The woman's brother answered and in broken english said he wanted us to come by. We came by and the sister answered, and said that was indeed her brother and we could come by. Christmas eve we found awesome people.

   Christmas is great, and in my studies, I learned the following throughout the week.

    It was all about the Spirit, learned from 3rd Nephi. Like the people often speak with one voice, glorifying God, and they become one, as Christ is one in the Father and the Father in Him. And that happened after they received the Spirit. We "walk with God." so that's why the promise of the sacrament prayers is "that they may have His spirit to be with them. Even when they prayed, it said that they were filled with desire and that the Spirit told them all things they should say, so their mind became God's mind. When we act on the Spirit, our mind become His, we become one with Him an His purpose of Glory.

I hope that made sense. 

I love you all!!!!!!!!