This week we have been on the bikes every day and they have real issues! It is nice though to be able to get around more and be able to fit in a lot more visits.
There has been a sickness that has been going around our district. It started with the district leader then my companion Elder Jones got sick and then I got sick because I accidently drank out of his water bottle. So, needless to say it has been fun. There seems to be a lot of sicknesses out here! Anyway, we have been sweating it out on the bikes and yesterday we ended up riding 21 miles, so we are pretty exhausted, especially since there are a lot of good sized hills here.
I am still in Bridgeport and have not been transferred. Alma is still not baptized. It will happen, I am pretty sure, but things just keep coming up. Her husband is in the hospital still and probably won't be able to go to her baptism, but she still knows the experience she had and we are keeping in touch with her. Because of this whole ordeal though we started to teach her son Camillo again and we got his interest. We stopped by trying to meet with Alma and she wasn't there, but Camillo was. We met with him and got to know his beliefs more and then asked him some questions that got him thinking. He expressed how since there are so many different religions it is hard to know what is real and what isn't. We then asked him a question and taught him and bore testimony that he could find out for himself by praying and asking God. We showed him how to pray, and some ways that the Holy Ghost could manifest the truth to him. We then shared part of the restoration about Joseph Smith and how the Book of Mormon came to be. We invited him to accept the Book of Mormon and pray about it. We got down on our knees right then and there and he asked God if he should read it. The thought, "give it a shot" kept coming to his mind and we then explained to him that is one of the ways that the Holy Ghost can tell us what we need to do. He is reading it and we are going to meet with him tomorrow.
We got another investigator who is a girlfriend of one of the youth in out branch, her name is Kayla. Our district does a prayer list for a week until our meetings and so each companionship chooses one person they feel that we all should pray about and come up with some specific things to pray about for that specific person. It is amazing to see the results. All the people we have prayed about have progressed as everyone does their part.
The Lord truly does hear and answer our faithful prayers especially when we are all united in purpose. I decided to read the Book of Mormon in 50 days in Spanish and so a lot of my free time goes to that, which honestly isn't much free time. So my guitar learning will have to wait a little longer.
Everything is going really good. I am getting to know my companion more and we are starting to be able to work a little better together. On Saturday we went to a baptism for the Sullivan family. A family I have really only had the chance to meet with and teach twice, but have become really close to them. They are such a wonderful family and it was an amazing experience to see all of them get baptized together! The spirit that was in the room was incredible and then that same day they were all confirmed members in the church. All the missionaries were invited to confirm the mother and her daughter as members and that was a pretty unique experience. Every time I hear the words "Receive the Holy Ghost" I feel the Spirit so strongly and my love increases along with greater gratitude for the Priesthood.
I would like to bear my testimony today to all of you on
prayer and how beautiful it truly is. I know that prayer truly is direct
communication with our loving Heavenly Father, and that through it all we can
come to know for ourselves that we are the sons and daughter of God and that we
can turn to him always for our support. I know that it is through our sincere,
faithful prayers that miracles happen and that we come closer to our Father in
Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ. Some of the most precious experiences in my
life have been though truly praying to my Father in Heaven and how grateful I
am for this. When we truly "Pray as if everything depended on God and
work as if everything depended on you.." miracles happen.
I know that this
church is true and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that we have a prophet on the earth today
who is Thomas S. Monson. I know that all those who desire to know these things
for themselves can ask God in prayer and receive that witness for
themselves. I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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