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| Eddy's Baptism: Elder Puma & I with Eddy, his mom, and brother. |
HOLA, HOLA!! This week went by pretty fast. It’s getting
really cold, we woke up one morning to find the pipes frozen which was a first
for me. Hahaha.
Ok so, martes/Tuesday was a pretty good day. We had our
district meetings in the morning, which are always awesome. Somebody made the
comment that if we really love God and want to serve Him diligently we have to
keep our minds in the work. So that’s something I´ve tried to do this week,
keep my mind focused on the work we are doing. In the afternoon, we went out to
Lagunillas and had a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening). We read Matthew 13
about the parable of the farmer (not sure the words in ingles, hahaha). I love
reading and discussing the parables that Christ taught because I always learn
something new. With the Flia Huallpa (Huallpa family) in Lagunillas somehow we
got to talking about how we need to have a solid foundation. We discussed how
to make a foundation. They said first you have to dig down and find the rock
and then pour cement and rebar and such. We shared how important it is that
first we find the rock (Christ). Then we talked about how it’s important to use
wisely the tools we are given. It wouldn´t make sense to dig down to the rock
but then just throw in a few bags of cement and then dump a truck load of rocks
and then a load of sand and then let the hose run for a little while. That’s
just silly. We have to mix the cement and rock and sand and water all right so
it will create a strong solid foundation on top of the rock. It’s the same with
our testimonies. We can’t just find Christ and learn about Him but then not
read the scriptures or only go to church every now and then and then sprinkle
in a few prayers when we feel like it. That’s just silly. It has to be a
constant mix. Daily scripture study, weekly church attendance, and prayers
morning, night and every day are the tools we have been given to build our own
testimonies.
Mièrcoles/Wednesday we had a super awesome day. We received
a contact a few weeks ago, but when we called her, she seemed super nice but
said she would call us when she has time (which is normally just a nice way of
saying I don’t want to talk with you guys). Hahaha. So we were a little
surprised when she called us and asked if we could meet with her that
afternoon. She has had some experience with the Church and several good friends
who are members, so it was awesome to answer some of her questions and teach
her a bit about our faith. Later we visited with Virgilio and Remedios and Max.
We were super happy to see that Virgilio had actually read a chapter a day from
the Book of Mormon (he says because he didn’t have megas/internet on his phone,
hahaha). Then we visited Hermana Daría and read 3 Nephi chapter 18 and talked a
little about the Sacrament.
Jueves/Thursday was kind of crazy. We biked out to Tecoya
and looked for a few past investigators that weren´t really progressing. At
some point while contacting, my comp turned the corner behind me with his bike
pedal in hand. Haha. Fortunately the way to our other citas/appointments was
mostly downhill. Hahaha. Later we had a good Noche de Hogar with the Flia
Estrada and we read Matthew 18 and the story about the two servants. I thought
it was super interesting and true how much God forgives and helps us, and how
it really doesn´t make sense if we don’t forgive and help those around us.
Viernes/Friday was a good day too. We had a good lesson with
Felicia, the wife of Roman (a contact from like a week ago). It was interesting
because she said she wanted to learn more and find God in her life and such,
but then she wasn´t really willing to not sell Sunday and come to church
instead. It’s a problem we have a lot here in Betanzos that really is sad. But it’s
also super awesome to see the members that do have enough faith to come to
church instead of selling and making money. Later we visited with Juana, who is
very humble and quiet but wants to learn. We also visited with Hermana Daría
and my comp made some Peruvian food (for us—me, Hna Daría and her grandkids).
Sabado/Saturday was awesome. We had a few citas in the
morning and then we cleaned the baptismal font. After lunch we went back to the
church and got the water heating up. We played soccer with a few contacts that
came and then around 5p we had the baptism of Eddy. We were super happy,
especially my comp because it was his first time baptizing someone. :) The
Spirit is always super strong. It was an awesome day.
Domingo/Sunday we visited Virgilio and Max and Remedios to
bring them to church, but they had gone to Potosi....dang. At church my comp
and I gave talks about service and I shared about King Benjamin, and how he (as
a king) was always focused on helping others and how we should do the same. In
the jovenes/youth class there were 13 youth there!! which was awesome. We talked
about the Book of Mormon and started them on a plan to read the whole Book of
Mormon (kind of how we did as youth in Wickenburg). In the afternoon we taught
the institute class and then came to Potosi.
Today is Mother’s Day here. So
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY again. Hahaha.
Today we played futsal at the stake center, and that’s about
all for this week. Funny part, like a week ago Tobie told me that if you hold a
chicken down and draw a line in the dirt in front of it, the chicken gets
knocked out. Well of course we tried it, and it worked. Hahaha. It was pretty
funny. That’s about all for us out here! Tomorrow we have zone conference,
which is always super awesome. Love you all!
Elder
Sorensen