Monday, April 9, 2012

April 9, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

Well, this letter is going to be a little bit short, because we had a zone activity in Viña today, and we spent two hours traveling there and back. I´m also going to leave you with the tempting little tidbit that I have amazing pictures of Quintero, but the computer doesn´t like me so you are going to have to wait another week to see those. But anyway, onto business.

I think we ended this week a lot better than we started it, we now are teaching a lot of great people, and we know our way around town. A few of these great people:

J and T, his mom. T is about 70, but the past 14 years of her life have been a gift from God, since she had a deadly cancer. She now takes care of her son, J, who works in the city government. More new farther along with them, amazing people.

L R and family. An older daughter, who is married, was sharing with missionaries about a year ago. The whole family is now sharing together, and the mother told us the last time we were there she wants a closer relationship to God.

E B. He lived in a monastary for 8 years, and now writes for the city newspaper. He has an amazing understanding of the scriptures and life, and almost got mad at us when he thought we weren´t going to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon.

I have to say, working with a new missionary, "fresh from the MTC," is quite a fun experience. He has so much animo, excitement for the work and for everything we are doing, and he has a great vision for what his mission will be like. Being a trainer is also a very humbling experience--it shows me all day every day how little I really know, and how much I rely on the Lord for absolutely everything. But, I can also see that it is helping me to become a better person, little by little.

I wanted to close today--Easter Weekend--with my testimony of Christ. One of the big reasons that I came on my mission was for love of Christ and appreciation for his sacrifice. I think that testimony has deepend and gotten stronger, and continues doing so every day. I know that Christ lives. I know that he gave everything he had for us, out of his great love, and that he has prepared the way for all of us to return to live with Him and with his Father, and to live in celestial glory. I know that He knows each and every one of us, our sorrows, our needs, our pains and joys and difficulties and questions and everything. And I know that, through faith in Him, faith enough to put our own will aside and follow him with a repentant heart, follow him into baptism, follow him through his holy spirit, He will pull us out of the deepest holes, out of the farthest paths, into where He is; He will comfort us and succor us, and make us into more than we all.

He Lives.

Elder Jason Ray

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