First off, happy father´s day! I hope it was a wonderful day.
This last weekend, we started off with the first of what should be a never-ending series of ward activities on Saturday afternoon. Not a lot of people showed up, but we sure had a blast with those who came. First off we had a wonderful lesson talking about God and his love, then we played games (pictionary, telephone, sharades) for a good hour. One of the sisters who came brought home-made little cakes called calzones rotos (broken underwear). We all ate way too many. We´re hoping that more people will start coming to this activity in the future, and that it can help bring the ward together, creating more unity and fellowship for everyone.
We had an amazing lesson with E talking about baptism. He goes down in my books as the most interested investigator I have ever taught, not only did he ask good questions, but he wrote down every single scripture we shared, including page number, on a little pad of paper to study later. When we finished, he said, "that really makes a lot of sense. I had never understood these verses before, but they are really clear to me now!"
Early in the week, we talked to an older man out in the street--he let us go by and see him in his house a few days later. And so we met P, 73 years old, who was a trucker (and heavy smoker) for over 40 years and now, as a result, can hardly walk. But, he wants to follow Jesus Christ, and apart from his great sense of humor, understands the scriptures marvelously.
We´ve been visiting A and Y these past few weeks, Y was baptized in October after attending church for 5 years (the time it took for A´s divorce to go through so that they could get married). We went by this week to teach about tithing, but I think they taught us--Y said that they had trouble paying tithing when her husband lost his job (a few months ago), but that they repented and were paying it now; she said that they have felt a huge peace and tranquility and have felt sure that A would find a new job, and that blessings have come from unexpected places to help them get along--a friend who works picking tomatoes gave them so many that they had to give some away to other family members, Y´s father got a job in a bread store and brings home bread, etc. After leaving their house, I wanted to go out and get a job right then and there so that I could pay tithing!
Pa, who we have taught for almost 5 months, who last week surprised me by how changed he was, was pretty down when we went by to see him yesterday. He had a fight with his brothers (about money), and felt like, in spite of how hard he has been working to help his family and keep them going along, nobody appreciates his efforts or even understands how hard he has been working. We talked to him about the wise man and the foolish man, how he had tried to build a 2 story house on a foundation of sand, and how it came down on top of him. After he realized that he needed to change his life, really change it, and start following God, he said one of the sweetest, most honest prayers I´ve ever heard in my life. After he finished he was almost crying.
I sure do love this work.
Viviendo el sueño,
Elder Jason Ray
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