(saw Jorje and Elder hair this week)
Hello!
Changes happened this week....
Staying in Los Robles! Training again, an Elder from Peru named Elder Araujo. He seems like a nice guy, I´m excited to get to know him a little bit better through these next 3 months. We had a lot of people come to church on Sunday! Lots. On our part, we brought 9 people. 6 less actives, and 3 investigators. Pretty sweeeeet. Elder Barfuss was super great, a bit like Elder Jenks. We were both able to work hard and try to do our best here in the ward. The change was a surprise for both of us...but we rolled with the punches and here we are now. Lots of future progress here,super excited.
I suppose my only thoughts are these:
1) in contacts yesterday, I was giving my companion some suggestions for things to include in the contact (questions about their name, family, religious beliefs). After a few door door-shuts, I explained something found in Preach My Gospel. Jeffery R Holland says that we have to teach right away, that if we ask "do you have 5 minutes in which we can share with you?" nobody will ever hear the Gospel. I tried by best to set the example at the next door, and nothing really fruited. The next door was my companion´s turn. The contact went something like this:
"Hello, we´re the missionaries. My name is Elder Araujo. As missionaries, we believe that God sent to earth our first parents: Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, which gave us all the opportunity to come to earth...but also, as a result, we are all going to die. For this reason, God sent us another person: His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ came and died for our sins, giving us all the opportunity to come unto Him and repent, which allows us the opportunity to be made clean again and someday live with our Heavenly Father once again. I have repented, I am clean, and I am here sharing and teaching others how they can do the same."
The old man looked at us for a second, and asked, "Where is your church? and when do you guys meet?"
The contact ended in a man named Manuel promising to come to church and a future appointment on Sunday. Once again, in an attempt to teach my companion something new, he taught me way more in return.
Maybe that´s one of the reasons why we are commanded to love and help and care for our neighbors....not to be the good people, rather to open up opportunities for our own selves to learn more the Gospel of Jesus Christ and, as a result, become more like Him.
Other quick thought. Reading in 3rd Nephi, 8-12 this week. I find it cool that EVERYONE experienced the earthquakes, storms, thunder, fire, everything. There were no exceptions. Everybody "went through hell", both the faithful and unfaithful. The difference between them was that the faithful survived, and afterwards had a personal and intimate experience with the Savior. The wicked, well, they just died. Their story ending in suffering and darkness....no personal experience, or at least, not that specific experience with the Savior.
Trials come to all,good and bad. The faithful receive personal experiences with the Savior as they endure and wait upon Him.
Okay! Love you!
-Elder Hixon
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