Hola Familia!!!!
Happy Monday to you all. I love starting a new week sometimes. It always brings new possibilities and new opportunities for us all. It sounds like all is well on the homefront. That is what I like to hear as well. It sure beats all the craziness that this spring turned out to be for you all. Your work looks amazing mom. It all is so good. I have such an amazing mom. Rilo, it looks like you are having lots of fun. Baseball is awesome. We played softball with the branch here a couple times and I actually played really well!!! (I know it's hard to imagine). I love you guys and think of each of you often.
There have been many amazing experiences to share this week. The Lord is truly truly blessing us so much here. I sometimes stand all amazed at how the Lord uses us to accomplish this great work.
Our mission had a finding day on Wed. where we focused on finding. Elder G and I decided to contact former investigators. No joke the first 4 places we went to people were home and we began teaching them again. In the afternoon that never happens. We were blown away. There are many people that have investigated the church before, but it wasn't the right timing for them. So when we go back many times it is a really good thing. Many times they look at this gospel differently than when they first investigated.
On Thur. the by far highlight of the day was teaching this guy named I. I told you guys about him on skype about how his friend referred him through mormon.org and he had a dream about coming to the church and all these other amazing miracles. Well we finally had a lesson with him on Thur. It was amazing. I cannot even describe it. He is truly the elect of God. I have never in my life met someone who has more desires to know the truth. It was almost straight out of a movie. He basically told us that he has been searching his whole life for the truth. He has investigated many different churches, but he is never satisfied. He said that there is an undeniable urge to continue on in his search. The spirit was so powerful there as we taught him. He has true faith and desires. I am so grateful for testimonies. Our testimonies are literally everything we rely on in the mission field. It is impossible to serve the Lord the way we can without a testimony. We bore our testimonies to him, and taught alot about how it is through the Book of Mormon that we can know if all of these things are true. It was awesome. We have been in touch alot with his friend who told us that he has been texting her scriptures from the book of mormon that he likes as he is reading. Elder G and I have been astonished by the miracle that Ivan is. I wish you guys could meet him. I talked to him about your conversion Dad. It had a big effect on him. His friend in florida texted us and told us that he loved hearing about that, and that he felt the spirit when I shared it. You are out here on a mission as well. There is no way that I would be here if you had never followed the promptings of the spirit in your life. I love you Dad, I am so grateful for you.
There was a big funeral here that I told you about last week. We have been really busy this week helping the Branch with that. Because there are 9 missionaries here (a small army) we get called upon to help alot. It was a very very sad funeral. Unfortunately there was alcohol involved in the accident, and so it was a very emotional and very dramatic funeral. It made me reflect alot about how our choices really do matter. They have eternal effects on us and on others. The missionaries sang a song during the funeral as well.
We also had some amazing lessons with our investigator R this week. He has had some really tough concerns. I am so grateful for the spirit that guides us to really know what to say, and puts words in our mouth. I used to not see the fruits of that promise, sometimes I would doubt. Usually it is afterward as I look back that I see the guidance and support of the Holy Ghost. I really needed it with R this week. He had some really hard concerns about his own Baptism and our doctrine of being baptized by the proper authority. We had an amazing lesson with him on Sat. We taught about the gift of the Holy Ghost. That was the key. His eyes lit up and he said that he would do anything to recieve that gift. Well those are pretty much the best words in the world for us to hear. The spirit was strong then as well. We gave him a blessing as well that day, and then quickly left. That is one secret about missionary work. You can't stay too long. We have to leave people with the spirit and with alot to think about :)
The last amazing teaching experience we had this week was yesterday. There could not have been a better end to the week. There is this guy named J who plays basketball with us every thur. He has played basketball with the missionaries for years, and no one has ever invited him to take the lessons. On Sunday we went over to his house and taught him the whole first lesson. The spirit was amazing. Elder G stopped us toward the end and asked J how he was feeeling. J then described the spirit perfectly. Let me tell you that there is almost no other experience as amazing as that. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted a date for the 15 of June. It was awesome. I could tell that his mom was listening in from the other part of the house as well. Then as we went to leave we talked to his mom on the porch. She thanked us for coming and for teaching her son. She said that she wants him to have the same blessings that we have. I was amazed. The Lord is truly preparing people for us to lead to him. We are hopefully going to teach his mom as well when we go back.
There are many many many other amazing things happening here. We are very busy teaching lots. I love this work. There is literally no other place in the whole world that I would rather be than right here in Nogales doing what we get to do every day.
Elder G is doing great. I forget that he is a greenie all the time because he teaches me way more than I can teach him. I am so excited for what the future has in store for us here. The Lord just asks us to keep pressing on. We have zone conference this week as well, which I am excited about.
If you want a spiritual explosion of awesome. Go look up "Missionary work and the Atonement"
I love you guys so much. I miss you and love you all. Remember to always have eyes and hearts open to helping those around us. That is when we see miracles.
Until next monday
LOVE
Elder Hughes
No comments:
Post a Comment