On Saturday, something amazing went down in the ward. A 55 year old couple got sealed!!! The Cabanilla´s. They have been members for about 3 or 4 years, and have about 10 kids, most of which are married, and all except 2 are inactive. They got sealed to the one of the two active kids (this son´s 12). They brought an amazing spirit to church the next day and bore powerful testimonies. It was really awesome to see. And what´s more, they are from Empalme, not Villa! So we have this awesome spirit in the little tiny town. I have definitely felt a change in spirit in these streets (call me crazy, but, it´s true), and people have been more willing to meet and talk with us.
I am also learning a lot about marraige. About the way I act when I am under a lot of stress and the person I am living with is also under a lot of stress. I am learning that just loving the other person really helps, and yeilding makes them like you more, makes you less prideful, and makes you feel better. I am certainly glad I am learning this on the mission with someone I´ll only be with for a few months, and not with my wife who I will be with forever. Never imagined I would learn lessons like this.
Also learning a little bit about parenting/ raising kids. Elder Dale G. Renlund said in his most recent conference talk that to effectively love and teach, we gotta look at people through a parents eyes. That is exactly what I have done with Juan José, and it has caused a lot of heartache, migraines, and taken up many, many study hours on both my and Elder Ostler´s part. I love that man. The third day I was here, Elder Bednar visited Buenos Aires and held a huge conference for all the missionaries in the area. During that, the spirit told me many, many times that Juan José is ready to get baptized. So we have worked super hard to make that happen. He was on date for the 5th of March, but, for reasons of life, it fell through. We kept working though. Later, he read some things on Google about Joseph Smith, and, one thing led to another, and now, he wants nothing to do with the Book of Mormon and will not listen to a single word we say about Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. He is, however, still reading the book Teachings of the President´s of the Church: Howard W. Hunter, so we hope he reads something in there that gets him going again. I really hope none of my kids ever stress me out like this guy does.
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| Painting Bishop´s roof |
As is custom in Empalme, about 97% of our plans failed, this last week, and, so, on Friday morning, instead of walking around aimlessly knocking on doors or street contacting, we went to Bishop´s house to try to get a referral. We showed up, and he was painting his roof. We helped out, and, as a result, he is gonna cook us up some asado on Tuesday for Elder Ostler´s birthday (apparently, his asado is to die for). So we are pretty excited for that.
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| Our dog Spot |
We went to visit a less active lady the other day, and her dog hasn´t stopped following us since. We call him Spot. Not sure why, it was just kind of an unspoken thought that we both had, that his name was to be Spot. Most dogs down here are super annoying and make me want to kick them, but, this dog is pretty cool. I like him.
The Jehova´s Witness´s contacted our pensh this week during weekly studies. The surprise on their faces was priceless when they discovered that they had contacted the Mormon missionaries. They quickly handed us a pamphlet and took off, a move I am all too familiar with.
Happy late Easter and don´t forget that conference is this weekend! Take advantage of being able to watch it literally with the mere push of a button! In many other parts of the world, that luxury does not exist.
Elder Brown
John 13:34-35
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