Hola mi familia y los demás jaja,
Well this week has just been awesome!! Full of just the best
miracles and crazy stories mixed with a little bit of shockers.
So to start off I actually have 8 months left in the mission
not 6 ha-ha some people are getting a little bit trunky I think.
But we have just the best miracles as a district we
had 4 baptisms this last Sunday whoo!!!! And another one today!!! Busy busy
busy lots of interviews. But it was great we have seen a lot of miracles as a
district.
I was though getting a little stressed out though in our
district we had been baptizing me and my companion and the other Elders but the
sisters just seemed to be having the hardest time and couldn’t seem to get it
down. And one of them finishes her mission this Wednesday it’s actually funny
she was in my first district and now I am in her last. but these sisters were
just suffering and suffering but they would work like animals and just show us
up when it came to the numbers but with baptisms nothing and I could tell it
was getting to them but I would try and animated them and help them so that
they could have success and the hope and faith that they could do it.
Well it came to the last week of changes for it to happen
but they baptized but oh man was it a miracle baptism. So they found a women
through knocking on door and turned out she was baptized like 4 months ago but
never confirmed because she moved away unexpectedly. And when we tried to find
her records of her baptism they were ever to be found so with that they received
permission to baptize her again!!
At first she was willing and excited but when it came to
interview time me and my companion began to go down to do this interview but
then the sisters called me and I could tell they were upset and crying (Like
sister missionaries do) And I was trying to ask what happened what’s wrong and
they explained to me that Hermana Concepcion is in the house but the family is
lying to us and saying that she isn’t and that she left and all of this stuff
pretty much in small words she was having cold feet.
So I told them to calm down try to talk to the family ask
where she is or if she can come out if she’s there and we are one our way. One
thing have learned in my mission is that we are really nothing and it is and
always be the lord that does everything we just have to be willing to obey.
When we were headed over there I didn’t know what we should do I felt like Nephi
when he entered the city to get the brass plates and that like him the (spirt
of the lord guided me) So we got there they let us in to sit down and no more
then than 2 minutes later Concepcion walks in, we invited her to sit down we
began with a prayer and the first things that she says is "I don’t want to
be baptized" The sisters looked upset but began to talk to her and figure
out why not turns out it was because of when she was baptized the first
time and didn’t understand why she had to do it again the sisters reminded her
why but she didn’t accept it well one of the kids in the house fell or something
so she says I’ll be right back then the sisters turn to me and say you can help
us now please ha-ha I said fine and when Hermana Concepcion came back I just
kept getting an impression to share a scripture we shared it and I began to
talk and like before I could feel the spirt begin to envelope the room and
cover us like a blanket and give power to my words to the point that she began
to cry and the sisters as well afterwards there was a pause of silence
and she said that she would be baptized and she was this last Sunday that was a
miracle and I know it was God that did it Sunday.
Its interesting that sister Toma is talking about conversion
and also you dad. Like it says in Preach my gospel in chapter 4 it is the spirt
that brings about conversion not us. We just have to create the environment to
invite the spirt to be able to convert the investigator that we have but we
also must be converted ourselves. The difference between conversion and just
simple knowledge is where it takes place like elder M Russell Ballard once said
"true conversion occurs through the spirt. When the spirt comes to the
heart, the heart changes. It’s in the heart where the spirt resides!! We just
have to transfer this knowledge and testimonies that we have and get it to our
hearts it’s a road of about 24 inches and it takes like dad says our FAITH, REPENTANCE,
and Consistent OBEDIENCE to be able to walk our own road to Damascus. The gospel
of Jesus Christ is not simply a check list of things we do the 5 points right
faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure
to the end. No the gospel of Jesus Christ is a way of living and behaving the
way we act and think we can always have more faith which gives us the power to
act we must always repent every day and make convents to God every morning and
at night not just in baptism and in the temple and then try to be worthy and
search for the gift of the holy ghost every moment and every day and that will
help us to be converted take upon us the name of Jesus Christ not on our foreheads
but in our hearts and then we can endure to the end in the covenants we have
made and will make.
And I saw and have seen this type of conversion in my
investigators but more in myself. And the moment that you begin to be
converted the better tool you will be for God but we have to make sure that we
are always sharpening ourselves so that we are more effective every time like
John the Baptist you will find yourself declaring repentance the moment you
open your mouth.
but hah well it looks like also that we have changes and the
next time I’ll be I another area again who knows where but not only m e but my
companion as well up that’s right they are closing our area!!! So there will
only be one group of elders in all of Barcenas pretty crazy.
But I love you all and I promise you I am going to be
working harder than ever before even though I feel more tired hah
Love,
Elder Toma
