Buenas Tardes,Hey hope everyone enjoyed their week. We had a pretty successful week this week of teaching and finding. Our two possible baptisms fell through but we are hoping for this next week they will be ready to make that life-changing decision. This past week, we focused a lot on families. We searched for families, we visited a lot of less-active families, and we prayed and fasted to find families and teach them. We found a very humble man this week that went to a baptism service of a family member in another ward. He was really touched by the experience and ask us to go to his house. We began talking with him and I have never talked to such an honest man. Within 5 minutes he told us his current life circumstances. His 16 year old daughter died a year ago in a car crash, his wife just got diagnosed with cancer and he got laid off of his job last week. This man was practically pleading for spiritual help because he felt so empty inside with all these trials. I could see the desperate feelings he had in his eyes and I know that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can help him regain his strength and find happiness amidst all these tribulations. So we are just starting to teach him and hopefully we can find the rest of his family this coming week. We are also teaching an awesome family right now that we found through a reference of our english class. They also have somewhat of a sad story. The mom has two kids of 15 and 12 years old and their dad left them about 11 years ago. She got together with another man named Juan and he has helped raise the kids and they just had a kid of their own that was born a week ago! They love what we teach, especially about eternal families and are preparing to be baptized at the end of the month. We also started teaching one of our neighbours and found out his wife is a member but hadnt gone to church for about 10 years. They got married about 2 years ago and have a little baby thats 1 years old. They are a great young couple and the husband is really interested in what his wife never wanted to share with him in the last couple years. He cooks us something every time we go visit him and also gives us rides when we need them in his car. He even took us and his family to church on Sunday and he really enjoyed it and has a lot of questions. His name is Hector and he is super cool, I feel like we would have been friends in high school or something haha.In our fast on Sunday, we were praying that our investigators could make it to church because we had invited all of them and assigned a member to give them rides or send them taxis. As my companion was playing the prelude on piano and I was outside greeting everyone, our prayer was answered. One by one, in walked 11 of the people that we are teaching and preparing to be baptized. Also a lot of the less actives that we had visited during the week made it to church and the Cultural Hall was almost full in sacrament meeting when it is usually only about half full. So that was a huge belssing and a lot of the members bore strong testimonies of the Savior and missionary work. We teach the Gospel Principles class every week and we had all 11 investigators there and the Spirit was so strong as they learned by asking questions and making comments. It looks like we will have quite a few baptisms this month and we are expecting 3-4 this week. So the work is moving right along here in Iguala and I am loving it. With all this work with the families, I have been thinking a lot about eternal families and the temple. Although we focus a lot on helping people be bapitzed, I realized that my ultimate goal out here should be to help families get to the temple so that they can be sealed for time and all eternity. As we find these families, they are in darkness with all the trials they have. We first teach them about the love of the Savior and our Heavenly Father and teach them how to pray to Him. As we do that and they accept, a new light enters into their lives and in their home. As they are baptized and recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost, the light of the Gospel shines in their eyes. But the real miracle occurs when they make that trip to the temple in Mexico City to be sealed as an eternal family. And as they make that step, their home becomes a celestial home and they can overcome any trial or problem that enters into their lives and live together happily forever and ever. As I have missed my family these past months, I have been frequently comforted by the knowledge and testimony that my family is sealed by the Holy Priesthood of God in His holy house, the temple. I know that we will live together as a family forever, even after death and that only through the true church of Jesus Christ it is possible. Love you lots and I love my family so much!!! Have a great week everyone!!!
Letters from Elder Stutz, called to Serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Cuernavaca, Mexico Mission. (all information posted by Tanners family)
Monday, March 5, 2012
Enséñame a Andar en la Luz
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What a fantastic letter today, Heidi!! Tearin' it up in Mexico ; )
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