This is definitely an interesting year. Dad mentioned that he got an iPad mini ... o.O And that he was dictating his message to it like on Star Trek... o.O ... O.o ?!? I feel old fashioned now... Mom talked about how she has been taking down the decorations early... !! GASP !! And about the tree... was it real or fake... ?
There were things that I missed but it was a rather fulfilling day. To end the day we spent some time with a family in the ward who also have a missionary out in the field, serving in Colombia. It was a real treat to be there, and I had fun playing with the younger kids while listening to their daughter sightread very well David Lanz's Christmas music. The younger ones have gotten to love me so much that when they saw me in church on Sunday, they ran to me to give me hugs. It was really nice. They also made us some treats... They have contributed to a slight loosening of my belt this Christmas season.
Elder Jackson and I have really been having a rough time in this area. Not because of not getting along, which we actually do quite well, but with the fact that some past Elders did some things that lost the trust of the ward and it's a little rough getting it back. But we've already won the confidence of the Bishop and most if not all of the organization leaders, mostly due to a new sense of optimism and focus that they didn't see before. We're struggling to get appointments each day, so we look at our lists of less actives and try to set appointments with them. But at this time of year, most of them are on vacations for the summer, visiting family or friends out in one of the other provinces. It is a little frustrating at times, and at others very discouraging, but we have the occasional miracles that keep us going.
One of those miracles was that a woman stopped us in the street yesterday and said that she was preparing herself to come to our church and wanted to get baptized. !!!!!!!!! The thing that makes it a little difficult to reach her now is that she also told us that she was going to visit her family in Tucuman for the next three weeks and that she'd already received some of the lessons there. She might get baptized there, but once she comes back here we'll be able to really include her in the fellowshipping and will try to help her share the gospel with her friends ASAP. She was really sweet about it, too, saying that she had been trying to look for us. The really cool part about it was that we almost didn't run into her. We had just left a house, and were heading back up the street when I...randomly...decided to turn left rather than go straight. At the end of the block, she stopped us. If we hadn't turned, we'd have missed her entirely. So my "randomness" was apparently a Spirit guided action. I just love those!
We're learning some interesting things about each other and about the Gospel as we keep studying and discussing things. The fact that he has a vocabulary very similar to mine makes the conversations really interesting and we actually understand each other too. We also recently played the communication game, which we soon will also be implementing with some of our lessons. It's really been helpful for several things in the past and I hope that it will be equally useful here.
I love you all with all my heart and I hope that you will have the opportunity to share the gospel with more people as you continue in your daily tasks. It's true. Jesus Christ lives and loves each and every one of us. "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God"
Elder Dewsnup
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