This week flew by! I swear the weeks go so much faster in the mission than they do in the MTC cause I thought the MTC was like the full 2 years...anyway, we had a good week, still haven’t received referrals from the referral center...SUPER LAME...there are only 12 online and they are all the people that didn’t come, so it really does us no good. We taught a new family last night, we got them off of a referral from one of the members. I think they'll be GREAT!! They have 8 daughters!! Some are older so they don’t live there. We went and visited them on Monday and they were about to leave to get supplies for the week (they are mechanics) but we convinced them that our message would only take about 10 minutes (the shortened version) and they were fine with that. It ended up going for about 20 but that’s alright. It was great though, my companion talked a lot but I got to introduce the Book of Mormon and testify about it and I took like 5 minutes to do that. It was SUPER awesome and I gave them a Book of Mormon, which we usually don’t do on the first time, but I really thought that they would read it, and I think they will :) I gave them the introduction and 3 Nephi 11 to read. It was so awesome, the spirit was there and I could tell that they were really paying attention and everything; we're going to see them this week :) They said they would pray also and said if they come to know that our message is true they will be baptized. They are great people and I think they WILL be great members :) This week we also called the lawyer about getting the divorce of the parents of Alejandro so they can get married and get baptized. We talked to the first counselor of the Bishopric cause he had the number and pretty much ripped on the lawyer cause she’s lazy and said she would have it done the beginning of DECEMBER, but never comes here, her number doesn’t work, and she’s not doing anything...AND the guy just paid her 1,000 dollars AGAIN and she’s still not doing anything, and he picked her solely cause she is a member hah...not good. So we told the counselor everything and I think he called her and got on her for being like that cause when we talked to her she said she was going to come today to see them so I hope she comes. If she doesn’t get this done and the hermana can never be baptized it will be on that lawyer’s head.
We tracted in Dom Arenas again but nothing happened; nobody wants to listen to us there. We did give one Book of Mormon out to someone which was good, but couldn’t get his address or anything before he got on the bus. :\ I jumped off Alejandros roof...it was sick, it was like a 12 foot drop prob and I landed on this slope in a bunch of soft dirt and took this sick face shot like I was skiing when I landed and it didn’t even hurt at all...it’s in the pictures :) That’s Alejandro, who needs to get baptized, pointing to where I landed...and I am SO bummed I did not get a pic cause that would’ve been sick. I also used Alice’s investigator Amy in one of my lessons this week hah! The parents of one of the members aren’t members and we were teaching them and they had a problem with the whole "change" thing from Catholicism to Mormonism, cause their whole family is catholic, except their son that went on a mission, and it’s hard cause if they were members it would be weird to go to all the parties and the kids things for the catholic church. I used Amy, saying how she came from that anti-mormon family but she knew it was true and wanted to be baptized even though it would change her ENTIRE life and her relationship with her parents and all, but she KNEW it was true, so she was willing to change, which is SUCH a cool story by the way, and I told them that I knew it was hard, and that sometimes change IS hard, but if what we're teaching is REALLY the true gospel of Jesus Christ, wouldn’t you want to change, and wouldn’t you want to accept something that would change your life for the better and ETERNITY?
I finished D&C (Doctrine and Covenants) in 2 weeks. I learned SO MUCH!!! Seriously I didn’t realized how packed full of info that was. I found so many amazing passages and great scriptures that I wrote down and everything! I learned so much about the second coming and revelation and one of the favorite things I learned was about baptisms for the dead, section 128. I'll share a little of some of the stuff I liked, and I’m totally bummed I can’t share it all with you, cause it is just SO good!!! So you'll just have to read it :) I love section 88! It was super long but it’s just packed with good stuff. I read in the morning that day about the 7 angels and trumps when the lord will come again and then that SAME day one of the menos activos was reading in Revelation and asked us a question about the "7 gospels...or churches" The 7 angels popped into my head! I had learned it that morning! So I told her what it was and what it signified and I checked the reference to make sure I was rightJ It was awesome, a miracle...count it!
I love verse 112 in that chapter, it’s just sick, Michael, the archangel, gathering together his armies, the hosts of heaven. It’s a sweet one :) I found that verse that I was trying to remember last time...it’s in D&C 100: 5-6..."speak the thoughts he shall put in your head." Again, this verse is so true and I see it in me every week :) 101 is super long but SUPER good and I loved it. Same with 121. Section 128 I found super interesting and I studied it for a while. It talked about baptisms for the dead. I remember reading in a marvelous work and a wonder about the coming of Elijah and bringing the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children, and it talked about the bringing back of baptisms for the dead, but it never really got into much detail, and this chapter did. I didn’t really realize how IMPORTANT it is. It says in v. 15 "for their salvation is necessary and essential for our salvation." hah I did not know that, so now I’m just thinking, wow we need to do ALOT of work cause there are ALOT of dead people. [We do baptisms and other ordinances in the temple by proxy for those who have passed on who have not accepted the gospel. They can choose on the other side whether to except or reject the work. Every man that has ever lived on the earth will have the opportunity to hear of Christ’s gospel and will be able to accept or reject the message and ordinances. It is critical for all the work to be done on earth.]
I loved in 18 when they used "welding link" to describe the ordinance. 19-24 are just AWESOME, I don’t even know why I like them so much, you just have to read it. It’s like suuuper happy and it’s like a huge thank you to the Lord. Just read it, those versus are great. But ya, baptisms for the dead are SO important I learned, and I wish I would’ve done them more in college, cause I don’t think I ever did :( so I’ll have to make up for that when I get back. Not only for their salvation but for ours TOO!!! So we need to get out there and go do some, for the sake of OUR OWN salvation, and also those who have passed. I really loved learning about all this! 130 is super interesting too. Cool how it says that those who will rise to the Celestial kingdom will receive a white stone and stuff...and there’s more too it but you should read it :) 132 - temple marriage. v. 8. talks about its importance and there is no way in the world I would marry outside the temple. It is such a blessing that we have that opportunity and I can’t wait to receive the temporally and eternal blessings that you receive from a temple marriage, there are so many blessings, but just the blessing of being able to live in the presence of God and BE gods with the one you love and have that ability to create worlds and ahhh yup...I’m gonna go there. Gotta. I feel so blessed I have this knowledge through the scriptures and everything, the knowledge of the possibilities that we as people living on this earth are able to obtain if we just live righteously and follow the path that Jesus Christ has set for us. We have SO much to learn! Scriptures, words of the prophets, personal revelation about things that we don’t understand, it’s like we don’t have enough time in this life to get everything done, but I know that if we try our hardest and ALWAYS are trying to become better and FOLLOW his example, and MAKE those covenants with God, and do everything we can to just be like him, we will someday be able to live with him again. and I know this is true, and I know that we can be like God someday.
I loved in section 133 when it talks about the tribe of Ephraim and the blessings that will come to those in it... the "rich treasures” and all. My comp said that most missionaries are of the tribe of Ephraim, which I found very interesting, cause he said that in his family, there are 4 DIFFERENT tribes, which I thought was really weird cause I didn’t think it was like that hah...but the promises to those in the tribe of Ephraim are great, and I know if we are siempre mejorando vamos a recibir estos bendiciones. v. 23-34 GREAT too. Joseph Smith is the MAN! He is my hero, next to my father and grandpa dick~...I LOVED this verse in 135:5 Joseph Smith "has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world than any other man that lived in it." THAT is a strong claim, and I believe it is TOTALLY true, without him, who knows what would have happened, maybe God would have called another to restore his gospel, but maybe it would’ve been in our time, and we would’ve had to be those pioneers and go though all the pain and suffering the saints went through in those days. He is the man, and we were so blessed to have someone like him in this world for us. 135:5 I found really interesting cause I never knew this. That Hyrum read this verse in Ether right before he went to Carthage where he died...that’s so cool...we have such great men in the history of this church. I learned a lot in the Pearl of Great Price too, which I read in whole this week in Spanish. So interesting!
I heard a great story this week, one that changed my outlook on everything pretty much. Hermano Rafa told it to us; he heard it in a stake meeting. And I know I’m not the best at telling stories, but I’ll try :) So there were two BEST friends in the premortal existence, who were waiting for the angel to come around and tell them their callings and what their "status" I guess you could say, would be on earth. So they are talking and waiting and the angel came to give them their callings. He said to the first “You will be born in a time and a place of religious freedom on the earth, in the covenant and receive all the blessings that come with the gospel. You will be raised in the gospel and receive all those blessings and will also have the opportunity to serve the Lord in his work on the earth." The one friend was very happy. Then the angel turned to the other man and said "you will be born in a place far from where the gospel is prosperous on earth, and will be born into darkness, not knowing or being raised in the gospel of Jesus Christ" Then the angel left. The second man was very saddened by these words. He sat there for a while just thinking, then turned to his friend begging and said "find me on earth, find me and bring to me what you are to be blessed with." I heard it in Spanish so I kinda had to translate a little but you get the basic idea, one friend is blessed with everything he will ever need and want in this life and the other with nothing... and after, it just hit me, and I started thinking a lot, how many of my friends in the pre-mortal existence probably said the same thing to me before they came to earth "find me and teach me and bring me back" how many? Nobody knows, but we all had friends there, and people we knew who are not blessed with this gospel in their lives, and when I look around now, I just think, maybe some of these people here were my friends in the pre-mortal existence, and asked me to find them here on earth, and it’s just this big motivator in my mission right now, FIND my friend and those I loved before I came to this earth and bring them in, help them know where they came from, and why they're here, and where they are going and ALLLL the blessings that come from this gospel and everything it teaches!!! I thought as I was listening to this story about Nick. I imagined in my head Nick and I in the pre-mortal existence...and him asking me to -find him- like in the story, and it was really powerful, and was cool to think that maybe we were friends before, and maybe I really did FIND him like in the story, and everything leading up to that, the years of friendship, tennis, moving to California, all in the effort to get me closer to one of my best friends from before so that over time, he could come to know the gospel of jess Christ, and get those blessings. It’s like I found buried treasure!! Not just me but my family and everyone that helped him come closer to the gospel and get baptized. It’s SO cool to think about!! and I love picturing us up there and putting us in that story, that story really hit me hard, and now I see everyone as friends that had asked me before this life to find them, and I’m trying to bring them back :) Nick is awesome, he’s my best friend and I’m SO glad he’s on a mission right now and is coming to teach the Laminites with me :) He is going to be a great missionary. I absolutely love my mission. It’s the best. I feel the spirit every day working through us and I love teaching and learning more about the scriptures, they are truly AMAZING and a blessing in our lives. I know the Book of Mormon contains the palabras de dios and I Know that if we study that book and follow its teachings, we have nothing to fear in these last days. I'm so grateful for this wonderful opportunity in my life and all the blessings and amazing experiences that come from it. I love you all. Happy Valentines Day :)
Elder Bertha
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| Pictures with my two best buds in my zone. Elder Wennerholm and Elder Tingpin. Tingpin is the zone leader and is going home next transfer |
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| Pictures from the pyramid P-day excusion. It was believed to be the largest pyramid in the WORLD when it was...not in ruins. Cholula - my zone, is the oldest city in the world where people are still living. |
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| That dirt hill below the bot boy is where I flipped down to from that rooftop. |
