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| President Montoya with missionaries in Potosi after Stake Conference. |
Sooo, martes/Tuesday we were going to go out to Lagunillas,
but the family called us and said most of them weren´t home so we didn´t go. We
did go visit with Max and Remedios and Virigilio. They still struggle to come
to church Sundays. I was reading in Preach My Gospel and there was a part that
said the Book of Mormon with the Holy Ghost are the most powerful and effective
tools we have as missionaries. So we had the idea to help all the people we
visit to gain their own testimony or at least feel the Spirit stronger through
their reading of the Book of Mormon. A lot of our investigators right now don’t
have enough faith or desires to leave selling on Sundays and to come to church.
So hopefully the power of the Book of Mormon will help them. So with Virgilio
and Remedios and Max we gave them a little paper to track their reading and
started with them in 1 Nephi chapter 1. Later that night, I realized (or
noticed) that my comp has never read the whole Book of Mormon (in Spanish), and
I haven’t either (in Spanish) so we started martes in the night and plan to
finish it before June 16 (cambios/the next transfer).
Mièrcoles/Wednesday we had a great day. We had a day full of
citas and most of them actually happened (and didn’t fall through). First we
met with Elisa (a contact from last week). She knows a lot about the Bible and didn’t
really believe the Book of Mormon is good. She was saying there is one Bible
and why don’t other churches have the Book of Mormon, why only our church (The Church
of Jesus Christ). So we read 1 Nephi chapter 13 with her and explained how the
Book of Mormon helps the Bible and about the Restoration. Later we visited with
Juana, the sister-in-law of Jimena. She is very humble and doesn’t know a lot
about the Bible and churches and such but has faith in God and wants to learn
more and come closer to Him. Later we visited with Julia and also read 1 Nephi
chapter 13 and explained why the Book of Mormon is so important and invited her
to read it every single day and pray about it, and really grow a testimony of
the Book of Mormon--the same as the one she has about the Bible. Later we
visited with Hermana Daría and helped her clean up her kitchen and restaurant
area.
Jueves/Thursday we went out to Tecoya and visited with the
members who didn’t come to church (to tell them about the stake conference the
coming Sabado y Domingo). We also took my comps bike tire to a guy and got it
fixed. Later we visited with the Flia Estrada (Estrada family) and we read Mark
4:1-20. I really love this parable of the planter who went and some seeds fell
on the street and didn’t grow, some in the rocks and grow a bit fast and then
died, and then those that fell in good ground and grew great. It is super easy
for the people here to understand because they are mostly all farmers. We
helped them recognize how to apply this parable to our lives. We need to
determine where our hearts are and how we receive God and His gospel in our
lives. Are our hearts hard, and we don’t let that seed grow? (Pride in Quechua
is said ´heart of rock´.) Are our hearts quick to accept but also to give up?
Or do we open our hearts and really truly receive God and continue to grow and
follow His teachings? (Humble in Quechua is `soft heart`.) I think it’s super
important because God´s looks at our hearts and not very much at our worldly
status and such.
Viernes/Friday we were busy. We had another awesome lesson
with Juana. It was cool to me to see her faith (even though she doesn’t know
much about church and such). She believes in God and is willing to learn. I
thought that is really all God wants. Someone with faith in Him and willing to
learn and do the things He commands us. We also visited with Jernardo. We
finally learned that he is meeting with the Jehovah’s Witnesses (which explains
a lot of his questions). We taught him about the Restoration of the gospel and
how the Book of Mormon is the key to everything. We gave him a few parts to
read and invited him to gain a testimony of the truth of that book. We also
visited Hermana Daría and her grandkids; we read Moroni chapter 7.
Sabado/Saturday after lunch we went to Potosi for stake
conference. In the Saturday night session, we sang (the Betanzos ward) two
songs in Quechua which was pretty fun.
Domingo/Sunday was good too and most of the members from
Betanzos were all there. We spent the day in Potosi. We visited my old pensionista
in San Clemente, Hermana Maria and her mom and sister. Later we went to a Noche
de Hogar (Family Night) with some other elders, and we read Mosiah 2:21-25,
which are awesome verses to learn from. I love the talk of King Benjamin in
Mosiah 2-5.
Today was fun. We played soccer, and then I wrestled with
another elder a bit (which is awesome). I love the Book of Mormon and the
teachings and spirit I feel whenever we read it. I really know it is truly a testimony
of Jesus Christ and that if we read and apply the teachings to our lives, we
can come unto Him. I know this is very important because without Him we will
never receive salvation and true happiness forever. I know this is His church,
and He is leading it. I love being a representative of Him and testifying of
Him every day.
Les amo
tambien :) Que tengan una semana genial. (Have a great week.)
Elder Sorensen