So, Sister Maqueda told my zone leader and me that Said and Carlos are going to go to her sister´s church and refused to hear any other options. We are not sure if we can continue visiting. Said promised to be baptized when he turns 18. I hope he remembers that promise.
Our Zone Leaders had interchanges with us so that they could explain the new way we are going to contact now. We have a whole bunch of cards left over from Christmas (ÉlEsLaDádiva), so we have to start every conversation by offering the contact a card. If they say no, we leave. If they say yes, we talk to them. (The idea is, if they will not accept a card, there is no way short of a miracle of getting them to accept any other invitation; we do not have time for that, plus faith based on miracles is worth nothing.) The next thing we do is invite them to baptism if they arrive at a knowledge that the things we teach are true. If they say yes, we teach them immediately and set a baptismal date with them. If they say no, we change the question to "Ok, I guess what we really wanted to ask was if god told you to, would you be baptized?" If they say yes, we set a lesson plan with them. If they say no, we leave. This is a plan given to us to help us figure out who is wheat and who is chaff. It works pretty well. You do not waste time with people who do not want anything to do with you but are too polite to tell you so.
Juana is now our best investigator. When we visited her Thursday, she was in Alma 43. She started reading from the first page, and we have like a month teaching her. She told us she knows she is going to be baptized, dropped coffee, is changing her work schedule so that she doesn't work on Sunday, and is basically just an awesome person. Her goal right now is the 28th.
Thania also said she is going to be baptized (the 28th). The only problem is her work schedule, and we are trying to figure that one out. Did I mention she is a math teacher? We had a great discussion in which we were talking about calculus (we still remember it) and Elder Robertshaw got out a piece of paper and drew a graph which was an infinite integral from which, through some strange machination or magic of math, you can receive a finite volume. I said something very profound about that, which we do not remember, relating to how god, being infinite, is able to give us a finite answer when we pray with faith. It was awesome.
We found a drunk catholic who was super interested in the message we share. He doesn´t live in our area, but he has lots of questions and likes us because we answer him every time he asks.
Changes were supposed to be Saturday, but only 8 missionaries in the entire mission had transfers, which is strange--2 sisters and 6 elders, and they just traded spots. With that being 5.25% (more or less) of the number of total missionaries, we are expecting special transfers about halfway through this transfer.
More than that, I want you to know that the message we bring is true. As a missionary, I represent the only true and authorized church of God here on Earth. I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet, through whom God restored the fullness of the gospel and the Priesthood to the earth. And that the only way we humans will return to be with him is if we first take upon ourselves baptism, by an authorized Priesthood holder, in the way that God has defined. So, if there is, on the off chance, someone reading this who has not yet listened to the missionaries, I invite you to do so. The message is true, and God loves you. If you do not act upon this message, you will never understand just how much.
Have a great week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Our Zone Leaders had interchanges with us so that they could explain the new way we are going to contact now. We have a whole bunch of cards left over from Christmas (ÉlEsLaDádiva), so we have to start every conversation by offering the contact a card. If they say no, we leave. If they say yes, we talk to them. (The idea is, if they will not accept a card, there is no way short of a miracle of getting them to accept any other invitation; we do not have time for that, plus faith based on miracles is worth nothing.) The next thing we do is invite them to baptism if they arrive at a knowledge that the things we teach are true. If they say yes, we teach them immediately and set a baptismal date with them. If they say no, we change the question to "Ok, I guess what we really wanted to ask was if god told you to, would you be baptized?" If they say yes, we set a lesson plan with them. If they say no, we leave. This is a plan given to us to help us figure out who is wheat and who is chaff. It works pretty well. You do not waste time with people who do not want anything to do with you but are too polite to tell you so.
Juana is now our best investigator. When we visited her Thursday, she was in Alma 43. She started reading from the first page, and we have like a month teaching her. She told us she knows she is going to be baptized, dropped coffee, is changing her work schedule so that she doesn't work on Sunday, and is basically just an awesome person. Her goal right now is the 28th.
Thania also said she is going to be baptized (the 28th). The only problem is her work schedule, and we are trying to figure that one out. Did I mention she is a math teacher? We had a great discussion in which we were talking about calculus (we still remember it) and Elder Robertshaw got out a piece of paper and drew a graph which was an infinite integral from which, through some strange machination or magic of math, you can receive a finite volume. I said something very profound about that, which we do not remember, relating to how god, being infinite, is able to give us a finite answer when we pray with faith. It was awesome.
We found a drunk catholic who was super interested in the message we share. He doesn´t live in our area, but he has lots of questions and likes us because we answer him every time he asks.
Changes were supposed to be Saturday, but only 8 missionaries in the entire mission had transfers, which is strange--2 sisters and 6 elders, and they just traded spots. With that being 5.25% (more or less) of the number of total missionaries, we are expecting special transfers about halfway through this transfer.
More than that, I want you to know that the message we bring is true. As a missionary, I represent the only true and authorized church of God here on Earth. I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet, through whom God restored the fullness of the gospel and the Priesthood to the earth. And that the only way we humans will return to be with him is if we first take upon ourselves baptism, by an authorized Priesthood holder, in the way that God has defined. So, if there is, on the off chance, someone reading this who has not yet listened to the missionaries, I invite you to do so. The message is true, and God loves you. If you do not act upon this message, you will never understand just how much.
Have a great week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
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