It's been a good week of pretty much complete rejection! Tue-Fri was basically the same day x4. Got up, got ready, studied, had lunch, and proselytized until 10, with little to no success. But that's just the missionary life, and as Sister Nelson said to the missionaries last week, it'll just prepare us for the rejection of dating when we get home! But in reality, the week wasn't as bad as that makes it sound, Saturday made it all better.
But first, my unimportant remarks of the week! First of all, it drives me crazy that people think that there is a difference between American and British English. Every time I try to talk to anyone they say they only know British English...it's kind of funny really. They think it's like them and Spain with their weird vosotros form jajaja.
But yeah, Saturday was great. One of the first days I've really felt like what I was doing was making a difference. First of all, I had splits with Elder Jones for the Morning hours. He's a gringo with the same time as me, and he's not super confident in his Spanish abilities, so it was fun to take the lead in teaching and contacting for once. Then the afternoon was the best part of the week. We didn't have much else planned other than contacting and finding, because we didn't have a ton of people we could visit. The first miracle of the day was Family Gonsales.
We contacted Jose outside his house, shared a quick message with him, and asked if we could come in and share more with his family, and he willingly let us in. We were expecting him and his wife and maybe a kid or something, but soon enough the whole family was gathered. Jose, his Wife, and 2 kids, 14&18. Iris, the sister of Jose. And Teodora, the mother of Jose. Plus a great-grandmother that couldn't hear a thing (And was probably very confused on why there was a gringo and an Uruguayan in her house) and like five other kids, not at baptism age. Their Father, Husband, and Grandfather had just passed away 5 months ago, and you could feel how much they needed this message, and how much hope they had by the end of it.
Miracle #2 was Family Huancari. This story is awesome. The other day we were knocking doors and started talking to a woman, who seemed to know an awful lot of what we were talking about, turns out she's a super inactive member and her husband and kids aren't members. So we set up a time we could come back and teach the whole family. The day and time come, we ring the doorbell (Surprisingly it actually works) And a man looks down on us from his 3rd-floor porch. It was the husband, and he wasn't having it. Oh well, we were used to rejection. During the interaction with the husband, I see his neighbor, also on his 3rd-floor porch. He watched the whole thing go down. When the husband left, I just looked up at this other guy and basically just say hey, do you want to hear this message? And he says yeah sure and comes downstairs. I didn't think it would actually work haha. But yeah, his name is Walter, and we talk for a minute and find out he has been having a kind of rough patch with his marriage. We ask if we can come in and share with his family, and he said yeah! We taught lesson 1 to him, his wife, and daughter. At the end of the lesson, we ask him to say the closing prayer and pray for his wife in specific. You could feel the joy, forgiveness, and love that was in the room. It rocked.
And this is a lesson on the timing of the Lord. Practically nothing for a week, and then 9 Souls in one day. If you just trust in the Lord, keep pushing on in faith, the blessings He has promised you will come forth. They always will.
So yeah, the Week was great! And to top it off, yesterday our best friend here in Mi Peru, Devie, and recent convert age 25 opened his mission call! He's going to Mexico! The mission right under Arizona. I'm so happy for him, he's going to be a great missionary.
As always, I like to finish with a spiritual thought. For district meeting this week we talked about the Atonement. We looked at the classic painting of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. What a great love our Savior has for us. How much he suffered for me, "a soul so rebellious and proud as mine". Don't let that gift go unused. Repent, learn to rely on our Savior and Redeemer. Everything is easier after that. Homework- look at that painting, ponder it, and read Alma 7:11-13. And remember that the Savior loves you. Chao! Remember to pay your tithing! Love you all!
Elder Allen
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