December 4, 2012

Baptism Day

Dear Mom and Dad,

What a week. J was baptized, and it was amazing, and Elder G and I are staying together again for 6 weeks more (making him my companion for the longest amount of time so far). But we are excited to keep on working together, there is a lot to be done in these next 6 weeks!

First off--J. On Monday of last week, we had a fun Family Home Evening with An and A, one of my favorite families in the ward. We watched a little video called "Treasure in Heaven" about John Tanner, a man who sacrificed a lot in the early history of the church. While we were commenting about the movie afterward, J said at one point, "I think I need to keep the commandments even if God doesn´t bless me right away, because that´s not always how it works." It was amazing to see this kind of faith in someone who so recently is coming into the gospel. Then we laughed a lot while trading stories about who was clumsier in his mission, An or I.

Her baptism on Saturday was such a beautiful moment... I asked her several times how she felt, and she always said, "I don´t really know how to describe it." But I could definitely see her excitement. When she was baptized, when she came back up out of the water again, she gave out a little gasp, like she was really surprised about something. There was a new light in her eyes, as well, that hadn´t been there before. I would say that, on a scale of one to ten of how happy she is, she probably hit an 11 the days of her baptism and confirmation.

That same weekend, we got to know her family. Her dad is hilarious, in a really sarcastic kind of way. Her mom is really nice, and her cousin (who also lives with them) is quite, and runs marathons. They aren´t quite as ready to receive the gospel as J was, but the mom still said, 2 or 3 times, "we´ll see if we end up joining too..."

Another highlight of this week were interchanges with Elder Y, one of the assistants to the mission president. It was really neat how, during the course of the day together, every single one of the things that had been bothering me was resolved, from my questions about my own ability to do certain things to my doubts about receiving revelation. The other highlight was doing missionary work with a car--like a taste of a mission in NC.

We had a really fantastic lesson with Y this week. We had noticed that, even though she always goes to church, she usually left before the 3rd hour, Relief Society (and Primary for her kids). We wanted to talk about the Restoration and invite her to stay for all three hours, but when we got into her house the lesson took a completely different track. We started talking about families, and about preparing N and G for baptism and missions, and how happy she has been to see her kids fight over who gets to say the prayer at lunch. At last, she decided that she needed to stay all 3 hours so that her kids could learn more in primary. It was amazing how the spirit guided us away from the lesson that we had planned out to the lesson that we really needed to teach.

In other news, M is still doing great, going to church and every other activity he possibly can. We introduced him to the G, a great family in the ward who has kids his age, and he had a blast with them as well!

Viviendo el sueño,

Elder Jason Ray

November 26, 2012

Jason's doing some cooking and the Thanksgiving Feast

Dear Mom and Dad,

The best part of this week was definitely that I scored about 15 goals in our Saturday Morning soccer game. OK not really, but I´m still really excited for that--I can actually play soccer now, and the combination of my really good day and the other elders having a really bad day was quite pleasing.

The best part of this week was working with J. This week we talked a lot about how our faith in Jesus Christ and his promises to bless us motivate us to keep the commandments. We also talked about the commandments, about how God expects us to live. I had the absolute privilege to see as J changed her life in really meaningful ways, and in a really short amount of time, to put it in line with the Lord´s will. What bravery, courage, and faith, what strength! I remember one lesson in particular when we explained a commandment that would require her to leave behind a lot of her past. She listened and asked questions as we explained the commandment, shared from the scriptures to show that it was God´s will, and asked he if she was willing to live it for the rest of her life. Even though her eyes were filled with tears her voice never hesitated: "Yes." Her smile when she stepped out of her baptismal interview stretched from ear to ear.

Another fantastic part of this week--and still better than playing soccer--was working with M. When we went by his house to get to know his family earlier this week, he surprised us with a homemade badge that he had pinned to his chest: Elder M, La Iglesia de Jesucristo (the church of Jesus Christ). Another day when we were sharing in the church, he talked about how, usually, he gets bored and restless in church and just wants it to end so that he can go home, but here, he keeps wishing it could just last longer. Him and me both!

We are trying to work with Y´s husband D now (they were separated before, but since she got baptized they´ve gotten back together again. Yay for the family-oriented Gospel!) She is really excited for him to be coming to church and sharing with us, and wants to be a good example for him, reading the scriptures and praying with the family. I hope to bring good news from this corner in the near future--Y is great, and it would be just fantastic for her if D got baptized as well.

This week we also met JR, who is friends with a couple of people in the ward, including J. He has a pretty great story--a few years back he decided he wanted to know a little more about our church, and some missionaries gave him a booklet about Joseph Smith. Since then he has found evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true everywhere he has looked, from archaeological reports to other religion´s sacred texts. He has studied everything except for the Book of Mormon itself, but now he has a copy and is pretty excited to read it!

So, those are a few more reasons why this week was so great.

Viviendo el sueño,

Elder Jason Ray

November 19, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

Really a miraculous week. For about a month and a half we had been having trouble helping people come to church, but these last two weeks have been really incredible, and I´m sure that it´s all thanks to God´s power. Here are a few stories of people who came this week.

First off, the A family. They were baptized a little over a year ago, right when I got here to Chile. When I got here to the ward, they hadn´t been going to church for about 5-6 months. We started working with them and teaching them, and this week, for the first time in 8 months, J. A. came to church--and stayed all 3 hours! He also came with his son, J. I., who had been a little bit active, and with his daughter S. His wife was sick, but I´m sure she´ll come the next week.

I think two things really made the difference here. First off, in one lesson that we had several weeks ago, they talked about how they didn´t feel worthy to go to church because they weren´t perfect, because they messed up in this and that. We shared a passage from the Book of Mormon which says, basically, "God doesn´t ever kick anybody out of His church, all are welcome." Then this last week, we had a Family Home Evening with the S family, recent converts that live nearby. They shared their conversion story, and then talked about all the different ways that the gospel has helped them since they found the church. Hearing this message from other "normal people" who, like them, had jobs and kids and normal lives, really made a big impact. It was a cool moment when the two families said hi to each other at church.

Next, Y. We met her when she came to English classes with her friend A, who is friends with J.  Last Sunday, we left her with a copy of the Book of Mormon and a chapter to read. By Tuesday, she had already read, prayed, and knew that it was true. On Thursday, she said that she wanted to be baptized. It was really an amazing experience, being able to be a part in her conversion. She is a very special person, and I am absolutely sure that her life is going to change and improve now that she has found the church.
Quick note about J (remember her? The one who knows that the church is true, does everything like she is supposed to, but just doesn´t want to get baptized). This week her mom came down from C, a city to the north, and took her three kids back up there with her. We had a nice moment with the family before they left, and J´s mom thanked us for watching out for her daughter, and away they went.

Now for E. He came to church for the second time this week and loved it just as much as he did the first time. Somebody asked him if he came with somebody or if he was there alone, and he said "for now I´m coming here alone, but pretty soon I´ll convince the rest of my family to come with me." We also had a really powerful (powerful=something that leaves Elder Ray in tears at least three times) experience watching "The Testaments," a movie that talks about when Christ came to the Americas. Really, the only thing that E is missing right now is a testimony of the Book of Mormon. As soon as he reads it and prays about it, he will be absolutely ready for baptism.

M, the 13 year old grandson of M, came to church again. He is so cool, he also received an answer for the Holy Ghost when he asked to know if the Book of Mormon is true and got really excited when we talked about baptism, and how we can be baptized by someone that holds God´s authority. Our next goal is to help him to get to know the youth here in the ward better.

We had a couple moments that made us think a lot about God´s power to soften people´s hearts, too. A few weeks ago we got to know the A family and had a fun Family Home Evening with all of them. The highlight of the whole night were the games that G (5) and AL (3) taught us to play. Sadly, their father didn´t really want to participate, and stayed in his bedroom the whole time we were there. This week we went by to say hi again, and it was a totally different story. He said that he wanted to go back to church and prepare himself to be sealed in the temple with his family, his two daughters and his newborn son (he still hasn´t been born yet, but it should be this week). He said that he realized what the important things in life are, and he is ready to do things right. 180 change! It was great.

I know that this work is true. I know that God and Jesus Christ really showed themselves to Joseph Smith, called him to be a prophet, and gave him the priesthood, the power to act in God´s name on the earth. And I have been called to be a part in this great work, too!

Viviendo el sueño,
Elder Jason Ray

November 12, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

Miraculous week that ended with a ton of people going to church, here´s a couple stories.
E: We had some really powerful lesson this week with him. On Monday we talked about why it is important to know the Book of Mormon is true, making a chain between the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, Thomas S. Monson, and the truth of the church. The spirit was powerful, it was an incredible thing! Then on Friday, one of E´s neighbor´s who is a member of the church went with us. He told his conversion story, talked about how he came to know that it was all true, and offered to stop by and pick him up on the way to church. He went, and loved it! (This week was the primary program, and who couldn´t love the primary program?)

We had a few more lessons with M this week. During one of them, out of the blue her grandson M2 showed up--he´s 13, and just as interested in religion as his grandma. We talked for about 40 minutes, and he decided he wanted to go to church. He went, hit it off amazingly with the youth group there, and is all excited to come play soccer during the week!

During English classes, we always start and end with a prayer in English. Usually I write up an English prayer on the white board taking suggestions from the class, and either me or the teacher, C, help one of the students to pronounce it. C speaks English almost perfectly, but when we had asked her to pray in the past she said that she wasn´t religious and didn´t want to. This week, while we were asking for suggestions for what to ask for in the prayer, she said that she would like us to ask for her mom, who was sick. My companion immediately said, "do you want to say the prayer?" She said sure, and then started. "Hey God, it´s been a while..." She then proceeded to give a really beautiful prayer in English. It was great!

Several weeks ago, J, the investigator who knows the church is true but has never decided to be baptized, brought a friend to English classes--A. A has been a member since she was a little kid, but hadn´t gone to church in quite a long time. When she set foot in the chapel, she felt something special, and knew that it was time to come back. Now she is going to church and wants to prepare herself to serve a mission. This week, she brought another friend, Y, to English classes. Y also came to church on Sunday, and when we met later in the afternoon to teach her, she said that she could feel that this was what she needed to fill all the emptiness she felt in her life. What a miracle!

Several other people went to church as well, but those are the stories I don't have time for. Basically, my whole life is a miracle.

Viviendo el sueño,
Elder Jason Ray

PS--a private message from Elder Ray to Alyssa, who didn't give me her email address:

Congratulations Debbie! I am so proud of you, and so excited for all of the experiences you are going to have in your mission. I know that you were called to Michigan by a prophet of God, and there are specific people waiting there for you. Make these months you have left count, studying and preparing!

 

Elder Jason Ray

November 5, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

I´m just going to write a few stories, but try to give them a bit more detail.

We had a great lesson with Edison, his wife Claudia, and their 10 year old son Martin. We watched "Together Forever," an older church movie that talks about how the Gospel blesses families, and about how families can be eternal. It was an interesting lesson because of how close we got, so many times, to a really powerful spiritual breakthrough, but that every time, right when we were almost there, the phone rang, or someone knocked on the door, or Claudia had to leave to go help out her sister. It´s an interesting pattern that is actually quite common--whenever we are getting to a really spiritually powerful moment in a lesson, distractions start to pop up on all sides. But I think they still felt the Spirit quite strongly, and we´ll keep helping them to see through the mists of darkness to see the truth.

Last week we started teaching a lady named Miriam. She is a wonderfully interesting lady--she is about 75 years old, and has literally investigated every church there is except for ours, looking for the truth. A year and a half ago, she left a church that she had been a part of for 25 years when she found something in the Bible that wasn´t in agreement with what the church taught. The first time we visited her, she gave it to us really plainly: "I´m looking for Christ´s church, the holy, true church of God, for His chosen people, and if you are that people the I want to be baptized in your church!" Last week we printed off a chapter of the Book of Mormon in large print so that she could read it. This week we did three more and ordered a largeprint copy of the entire book. I´m excited!

Irene and Evelyn: I think I´ve written about them before, but here´s a brief summary. When I was in La Ligua, a sister and her young adult daughter showed up out of the blue at church one day. The daughter is heavily handicapped as a result of a car accident several years ago, but even so she got up to bear a powerful testimony about the scriptures. When I got here to El Mirador, I realized that this was their home ward, where they were baptized and where they go to church as often as they can.

This Sunday we went by to visit them, and caught them right as they were on the way out the door. Evelyn, the daughter, was having trouble breathing (she had a breathing stem for 31 months, it was taken out towards the beginning of October, and she just never adjusted to not having it). We helped to get her down to the car--then, while Irene went back up to bring the clothes, we sang hymns with her for 15 minutes. It was a beautiful moment, in a way, even though it was a bit unusual. In between hymns, Evelyn would ask us questions to make sure that she was really understanding the scriptures that she was reading in that moment. I am praying now that everything goes well in the hospital in Santiago!

We were out on the street one day when Matias Rojo (18), who I have written about before--a recent convert who has been inactive but went to General Conference with us--walked up. We started talking, and within 2 minutes Maria Paz (15), another recent convert whose family we had been trying to get to know, walked up and joined the conversation. She said that her mom, Pamela, was at home because she broke her finger in a car accident, and that if Matias would come with us we could go by and see her. He agreed, and so we all went together. They all hit it off wonderfully, Matias, Maria Paz, Pamela, Pamela´s daughter Pamela, and they are all planning on going to church together now. It was a very beautifully orchestrated miracle. There was no doubt it was God´s hand.

I absolutely love my mission. I hope that I am able to convey a part of that love and excitement through these letters. Thank you for all the support and love that you give me to help me here.

Viviendo el sueño,

Elder Jason Ray

October 29, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

Fun week (as usual), I´ll try to fit in as many stories as possible.

We watched the short video of the Restoration with Edison and Claudia this week. The spirit was pretty powerful there when Joseph related the first vision, it was a very moving moment. Edison was quite touched, and said that he would be baptized once he learned that the Book of Mormon was true. That was a very incredible moment!

We met two kids, Marcelo (13) and Marcela (9, don´t ask me what their parents were thinking) who had met with missionaries before, about a year ago. Marcelo read the entire Book of Mormon in a month. Marcela was just learning to read, so she only made it through the first book, but they both said that they were sure it was true. They are really quite delightful kids, we´ll see if they mother lets them keep sharing with us.

We found Luis and Beatriz again after about two weeks without seeing them (either they weren´t there when we went by, or we couldn´t go by the days they were free). They said they noticed the difference when we weren´t there, that their lives seemed less peaceful and more stressful. Now they started reading the Book of Mormon and praying together again. I love this family so much, I really hope they keep turning to God, because He could bless them in incredible ways.

Last week, we went by Yessica to teach a lesson, but she was really sick. We taught a little bit about blessings, how Christ and His apostles healed people and how that power and authority can still be used today, and gave her a blessing. This week she told us the story of what happened later. She said that after we left, she felt a heat starting in her head and then trickling through her whole body--when it finished, she got up off the couch, good as new, and then couldn´t stop moving until 3 in the morning she was so energized. What an incredible experience!

We had an interesting visit with Leonel, but I was really interested by something that he noticed from his Bible study. When Moses came and brought freedom from slavery, part of the price was the death of the firstborn sons in Egypt. When Christ was born and brought freedom from death and sin, part of the price was the death of the firstborn sons in Bethlehem (when Herod commanded his soldiers to kill the baby boys). My mind can´t quite grasp what significance that has, but it is an interesting type, how all things point to Christ.

We are still working with Javiera, who really wants to get baptized but just doesn´t ever make the decision and do it. In one of our lessons this week, we were talking about the courage it takes to make the right decisions, and she said that she is really good at standing up for what she believes in at school, even though nobody else thinks that her opinion is right or respects what she decides to do. She really is a very strong person, I hope we can help her reach her goal to be baptized soon.

Last night we had a nice visit with Carlos and Katalyna, a young couple that we started teaching a few weeks ago, and Angel and Andrea, a young couple from the ward (he is the elders quorum president, she directs the music, they both sing in the ward choir every week. Cool people). We had a great time talking about how much the gospel helps us in our daily lives, it was a nice visit. Carlos said that he Katalyna had been talking earlier on about how much peace and happiness they felt when we were around--we got to explain that those feelings come from the Holy Ghost, which comes from living the gospel.

Loving life, Viviendo el sueño.

Elder Jason Ray

October 22, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

I´ll start out with a couple of big fail stories, just so you know that I´m still your slightly clumsy son. On Monday, we decided we wanted to make completos--like hot dogs but with tomato and avocado as well. We prepared 6 delicious looking completos, 3 each... which were completely ruined because I put way too much salt in the avocado. Don´t ask me how it happened, but it was pretty intense.

Second story--the mission nurse gave me some antibiotics for a sore throat at the beginning of the week, with the instructions to eat them with food and at the same time each day. Of course I thought, "I can take one every day after lunch, which is when we eat the most, and I´ll always remember it!" I took the first pill, and promptly fell asleep in our next lesson--I guess I missed the drowsiness warning :P. Luckily I´m feeling better now!

This week we had the great privilege to hear Elder Dallin H. Oaks. He came on Saturday morning to speak to the entire mission. He talked about dedication, about giving ourselves completely and totally over to the work, and about how to listen to the spirit--he told several stories about times when he has noticed the spirit, and how it has affected his life. One of the things that most impacted me was his smile. I had never noticed this before about Elder Oaks--he always struck me as being a bit more serious--but he always has a huge, happy smile on. And President Arnold, the area president of South America South (Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay), reminds me a lot of my Uncle Larry. Just a fun note.

Because of some really unfortunate national planning, I can´t get baptized this next weekend--this Sunday is voting day, and we can´t do any other meetings apart from Sacrament meeting. But he is still doing great, we had a Family Home Evening last night with him and the Smiths (J´s family). I looked a lot more excited to share the gospel with his family after learning that J´s mom didn´t want anything to do with the missionaries to start with, but that J ended up baptizing her.

Ja still doesn´t want to get baptized, but, she is doing a great job to help other members become stronger in the gospel. One of her friends, Aa, said that she might have gone inactive for loneliness if it hadn´t been for her friend Ja. Then, this weekend, she invited two friends--An and Vr--to come to one of her lessons. They are both members and have been for quite a long time, but they haven´t gone to church in quite a while. We taught about what it means that we are sons and daughters of God, everybody felt the spirit strongly, and the next day An and Vr showed up to church with Ja.

We had a great moment with Ya talking about the Resurrection. I don´t know if we hadn´t covered it very thoroughly, or if she just didn´t understand, but when we talked about the fact that the resurrection means a restoration of our body to our spirit, in a perfect, flawless way, it really hit her. I could see the spirit working in her to teach her and bring this truth home to her heart. It was pretty fantastic.

Remember En? I met him my first week here in the ward, he is the son-in-law of the second counselor. We started teaching him again, and this week we went by and read the Book of Mormon with him, from the introduction. When we got the the invitation--to read, meditate, and then pray to know if it is the truth--we all took turns sharing our testimonies of how we learned that the Book of Mormon was true. The spirit was strong, En seemed pretty touched.

Viviendo el sueño,

Elder Jason Ray