Feliz Día de Madre, espero que todas las madres hayan disfrutado su día :)
Skype was sweeet! But I must admit, even though Skype was great, my week was greater. We were able to work and find miracles in our sector this week, and we really saw The Lord´s Hand guiding us to those who are prepared to hear our message. 2 small experiences that I want to share :)
1) Saturday. Rain. So much rain :) Rainy days are a lot less hectic in Chile...the dogs stop barking, less cars in the road, less people in the streets, everything just seems to be put on pause when it rains. That is, everything but the work of salvation. No pauses :) Elder Canaán and I went out to work, decided that it would be a good opportunity to find some less active families in their houses and share with them 5-minute messages and leave them with a prayer and blessing. So we visited a few less actives and shared. This is a system that President Gwilliam has set up, it´s like mini home teaching. We´ve been doing it for a while now, so we have already visited some of these families. One of them is La Familia Toro.
A week or two ago we had visited the Familia Toro and shared a small message with them. Befrore leaving them with a prayer, we asked if there was anybody for whom we could pray. They gave us the name of a cousin of theirs. Leslie. They told us that she was involved with drugs and with bad influences and they desired that The Lord could intervene and help her get out of the situation. So we prayed, and by the authority of our Priesthood we blessed that Leslie could receive an extra help from The Lord, that she could have the opportunity to feel His love and choose to accept it.
As we visited this family again on Saturday, the door knocked.
Yep! Leslie. Out of the blue, she decided to come visit the family. We were so excited as we shared The Plan of Salvation with her and the family, and as we all felt The Spirit testify and teach us. What a great opportunity for all of us to remember and rejoice in The Savior of the world and His Plan for us.
Leslie didn´t come to church the next day...but La Familia Toro sure did! The Lord works in mysterious ways.
2) Sunday morning. My companion and another missionary had contacted a girl in divisions, and they set up a lesson for Sunday morning, 10 o´ clock. Same time as church. Surely the Lord would understand...haha.
We knock the door, she answers and lets us in. In the short time we taught, we got to know Angie. She is 20 years old and from Colombia. For a lot of reasons, she feels that God is angry with her and is punishing her for choices she has made. Not too long ago she was baptized and practicing with Jehovah´s Witnesses...but has stopped participating for the guilt and shame of continuing in her sins, even after being baptized. I felt a great love for Angie as she expressed, through tears, her desire to be reconciled with God. I know EXACTLY what that feels like. We were able to teach her about The Book of Mormon and about Jesus Christ and His ability to restore what has been lost. We left her with the invitation to read Alma 36 and pray every day this week. Angie gratefully accepted the book and the invitation, and we have another appointment for Saturday in the afternoon. I am so excited to see how doing those small things will have helped her feel The Lord´s love.
It´s wild...before coming to Chile, I had a vision of many people who were being prepared for me to teach them The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I tried to be worthy and willing to learn all that I needed, so that I would be able to teach those people who have been chosen for me to teach. As time has gone on, and as I have come to know and love the people of Chile, I have really started to realize that things aren´t how I thought they would be. While I definitely have found people who The Lord has placed in my path...I feel like they are the ones who teach me the Gospel. I feel like less of a teacher and more like a learner.
I am grateful for The Lord and His willingness to continually teach me The Gospel as I continue to try my best here in Chile to do what He wants.
Love you all!
-Elder Hixon
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