Hello everyone,
Elder Lopez and I had a fantastic week where we saw a lot of miracles. I think difference was when we had divisions this past Tuesday with our district leader Elder Long and a returned missionary who served in Las Vegas. A few small things we changed was praying with the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood stated in the prayer. Also, using representatives of Jesus Christ in place of Missionaries.
The biggest thing, however, that made this week so successful was starting the 40 day fast of anything we could think of in our current actions that wouldn't invite the Spirit to testify of our words. We each wrote down our own lists and ended together the 24 hour fast with a prayer and asked Heavenly Father how many of His children He had prepared for us to be baptized this week. This is how I really believe prayer is meant to be a communication between Him and His children. We received an answer of one for this past week when we prayed on Wednesday which meant someone already had to have been to church a few times. I realized that our neighbor, Juan, had already been to church with past missionaires and was also going through some trials with learning English, trials with his family as well as with his job. After realizing he could be baptized this week if we were inspired to do so, we did EVERYTHING within our power to make it possible, which is when Elder Lopez and I really understood faith on a much more profound level. Peter said even the demons believe in Jesus and the Son of God, but the difference between belief and faith is similar to the difference between knowledge and wisdom (there's a T.S. Eliot quote that I really like similar to this concept). We talked to Juan right then and answered a question he had about a chapter in the Book of Mormon and felt the Spirit very strong. We were inspired to put the baptismal date for the 11th, just two days later and he accepted! After his fair share of trials and a guiding hand from us, we were able to have a baptism just as planned two days later. One of the most special lessons I've learned on my mission so far.
Tonight we find out if one of us is leaving Salinas Victoria and I'm thinking I'll have a 50 50 chance of taking on a new area. I've really learned a lot here and a lot with Elder Lopez and my companion. As an invitation, I would like to recommend studying on the topic of faith and answering the question that I will also try to answer better this week. How can we exercise faith in Jesus Christ? A few chapters can be James chapter 3 and Alma 32. Feel free to use the footnotes. Also, why did Jesus Christ say that Peter had little faith. Thanks for everything, love you all!
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