Lots happened this week. We had some people take us out to eat, like always. We had Andreas baptism. That was super cool. During the talks she would interrupt the speaker and give her thoughts. It totally disrupted their thoughts but you could tell and hear how passionate Andrea is about the church and the book of Mormon. We had to lift Andrea up out of her chair and into the water with a fabric sling, it was a super cool experience helping her into the water and seeing her be baptized. She always says bapticized. This week at sacrament she even interrupted the speaker in
sacrament and talked, super funny. It was awesome to be able to confirm her on Sunday. It was my first time ever confirming someone into the church and giving someone the gift of the holy ghost. The day after the baptism Andrea called us up at 8 am and thanked us again, and wished us a happy day. She is such a happy person and we have seen the light in her grow exponentially as she has read the scriptures and accepted the gospel in her life. This gospel really does bring happiness into every single person's life who sincerely seeks it's truth and accepts it.
She emailed us about a minute ago and wished us a happy pioneer day. She became a member yesterday and is already excited about the pioneers. Must have heard something about the pioneers at church or something, we only talked about pioneers for THREE hours...
We ate lunch at a less active home and she speaks mostly Spanish. The food was pretty good, it was el Salvadoran food, so it was cool to try that. Because she didn't speak much English she kept saying yes to questions. She obviously didn't grow anything herself, she was in an apartment, so we kept asking if she grew the cilantro herself, or grew the noodles herself. She kept saying "oh yeah, of course". We were laughing so hard. We asked her if she had chickens in her backyard and if she butchered them herself. She said oh yeah of course! It was such a funny lunch.
We got to go to lunch at Paul Heffron house like every Thursday, he is so passionate about the GOLD. Gospel of latter days. He made a "mission accomplished" cake for elder Judkins. Lunch at Paul's is always funny. He has such love for the missionaries, ask him anything and he throws the word no out the window. He is a man full of love and passion.
The cultural event was this week, since there are so many people from around the world they all made a dish and brought to the event, A cultural potluck. I got to eat some Pakistani food, Filipino, Ethiopian, Mexican, southern, native American, Ghanaian... too much to say. The most interesting thing was the balut. That is a duck egg that has been growing for 16 days and then boiled. I cracked one open with my companion and ate it. First I ate the bottom, then I ate the head. The worst part was the head because the beak of the duckling was like a toenail. It was a bit chewy and the feathers were like hair. This place is so culturally rich.
Last night we got to go to a new and returning member fireside where converts and less active share their testimony of their conversion. The spirit was so strong as I was listening to all of these conversion stories. People who once had the gospel in their lives, had forsaken it, and had come back. People who never had religion but found peace in the gospel. People who were anti social and "psychopath" who could feel the spirit for the first time in their lives and could not deny the power. It was such a humbling experience to listen and to relate my own conversion to each of theirs. The further you have fallen the more christ can pick you up. The atonement of jesus christ is real, we can be forgiven and have the burdens and pains taken off our backs. It was such a great experience being able to listen to these people and remember my own conversion, and rekindle my desire to share this great gospel with others. This gospel is for everyone and anyone willing to change. If you have a desire to be a better person or be more happy, you can find peace in the teachings of Jesus Christ and by reading the book of Mormon sincerely, and with true intent you can find lasting peace comfort and Joy!
Don't want to bore all of you with an extremely long email, so... love you all! Email me soon.
Calvin
Calvin
