Oh my family,Thank you as always for the letters! I received Olivia's and Papá's today. Perfect timing. :)
I've always thought the more centered I am on the work, the less I think about the mail. And not only that, when a letter comes, it's even more of a pleasant surprise! The letters i've been getting lately have been most enjoyable. Therefore, I'm on the right track. :D
The past week has been great. The transfer is winding down and there's been a relief of pressure. We've still been working hard and this past Sunday it really payed off! We had 4 Spanish-speaking investigators at the Spanish ward!
Sunday morning was particularly stressful. We drove from house to house, making the final follow-up on those who had committed to church. (The "Sunday Morning Roundup", as its sometimes called.)
The biggest challenge we have when it comes to Spanish investigators is getting them to the Spanish ward 20 min. away. Just imagine finding and teaching people in Provo, but having them attend church in American Fork. On top of that, not many are able to spend the money on gas so we usually set up rides for them with members.
One of the great Spanish ward members, Hno. Sotello lives here in Monroe, so usually we ask him to give rides. The problem is he likes to be at church about 15 minutes early and those who need a ride have to be ready early too.
Well, Sunday morning at 10:20, we stopped by a potential investigator's house to see if he was planning on coming. The week before we'd stopped by at the same time and he wasn't there, but he said later that he was planning on us coming at 10:30. "Ri-i-i-ight," we'd thought.
So we stopped by and knocked on his door at 10:20 last Sunday to find that again he had ditched us. We decided to wait and see if he'd be there at 10:30, but in the meantime, Hno Sotello was leaving so the investigator (José) wouldn't have a ride anyway!
I started stressing out when an older woman came out of José's apartment telling us she had him on the phone and he said he'd be there (to his apt.) in 10 minutes! Where were we going to find a ride for him now?
In that situation, some would say, "well, throw him in the back of your car and get him to church! You tried to get him a ride but it didn't work out. It's for the greater good!"
Suddenly it became a huge trial of my faith. Could the Lord provide a way for us to obey the rule of not providing non-member rides and still get José to church?
I've always maintained the belief that there is always a way to accomplish what we've been commanded to do (help people repent by coming to church for example.) And still keep the rules that have been given to us by prophets and apostles. Now, it seemed, I was being proven to see if I practice what I preach.
From certain other experiences I've had throughout my mission, I'd witnessed this principle in action, and seen the Lord pull through every time. But of course, we must do everything we can first. "Have I done everything I can to find him a ride?" It thought, "No."
I was praying hard as I called an RM form our English ward, making a last-ditch effort to get the ride. I had to promise him blessings, but he eventually agreed to leave Sunday School and help us out.
It was a tense moment waiting for the both of them to show up, but at almost the same time, they both pulled in and I knew that we were home-free. I knew, and so did my companions, that the Lord helped us out. Calling the RM was totally a shot in the dark, but it all worked out way too well to have not been divinely prepared. José even brought a friend!
In retelling the story, it seems a lot less cool than it really was, but in the moment, it felt like taking a step onto water trying to be fully confident you would not fall in. It's one of the coolest feelings I've had out here, but takes a lot of work. It's in those moments that I've learned what faith really is.
And speaking of cool feelings, another awesome experience happened on Tuesday. A 10 yr old girl named Raeven was baptized! The coolest part was that I played a crucial role in the process, even though she was taught and baptized in the Zone Leader's area.
(Okay, let's see if I can make this short...)
My comps and I were playing soccer with some Hispanic kids on a field right by the ZL's apartment. While kicking the ball around I was talking to Chris, a boy the ZLs were teaching who was going to be baptized soon.
Raeven was standing nearby and heard us talking about the baptism. "What's baptism?" she asked. I took the advantage of the teaching opportunity and told her about how baptism was something Jesus Christ told us we needed to do. It was something that could make us happier! We could have all the bad things we've done washed away because Jesus Christ died for us.
I basically taught her a really simple 3rd lesson when I could have just answered her question. Honestly, I was surprised by her interest and excited to tell her about that oh-so important aspect of the Gospel.
After a minute of my explanation she said, "I want to be baptized!" It was so cool! Whether she ended up actually being baptized or not, I thought it was the coolest thing that she would be so teachable and willing.
After talking a little more I pretty much handed her over to the Zone Leaders.
I was sitting there at her baptism that night when an intense feeling of gratitude came over me. It was such a great blessing to me to have been able to see the fruit come of the seed that was planted. I can't really say I planted the seed--it's the Spirit that does the real teaching, right? :)
So the moral of the story is, it doesn't take much! Who knows how many people we know that are "only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." Or how many people we don't know, like neighbors, etc. ;)
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Hey, now it's Saturday, and time to get this in the mail. I'm at the church, waiting for the font to fill! melody's baptism is in an hour! it's a great day. I hope life is not too crazy managing school/work schedules back home and that you still have time for "good times" moments!
LOVE, ELDER SEAN
P.S. So there are lots of cool web-spinning spiders this time of year in Washington. And lots of these dinosaur-sized mosquitoes that are actually "Mosquito-Hawks" because they eat mosquitoes. Anyway, I've had lots of fun catching the Mosquito-Hawks and watching the spiders do their thing: Bite it, wrap it, and wait for its innards to dissolve! So cool!
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