Hey erreybudy
Well, we enjoyed quite an excellent week here in Iguala. We started off with some family home evenings that we did with the members of the ward and their friends. We played a fun new game that we had never tried before in a family night. It is the game of telephone when a phrase gets passed around a circle of people through whispering and by the end, its a completely different phrase. So we played that and had a lot of fun. But at the end, we played a special round with a new rule. If you didnt know what the phrase was (if you didnt hear it or understand it) you could go back to the person who started the phrase and ask them what it is. Every person had to do it and we finished with the correct phrase at the end. We related this game to repentance, or having a change of heart to obey the commandments of God. When we wait to repent or get baptized, the phrase (or our lives) gets worse. But we always have the option to start over, go back to the beginning and start to obey the commandements again. TODAY is our day to repent, not tomorrow. So we really enjoy it and I think the members did too. We also had a special mission conference on Tuesday in Acapulco. So i saw the beach for the first time on the mission!!!! The conference was pretty amazing because we had three members of the quorom of the 70 there to speak to us. They gave us great counsel and we felt the Spirit strong. One of the best parts for me was seeing my old companions. It was great to see Elder Oswald and Elder Bangerter. They both look great and are having success. I also talked with Elder Smith a lot and he gave me a sweet tie with a really nice note on the back. That guy is the man! I love those 3 guys so much! Elder Pearson and I really enjoyed a great week of working with the members. Everything we do everyday is based around the members. Everyone we are teaching are friends with members, every lesson we teach we bring a member, and every person that gets baptized, gets baptized by a member. We are trying to keep this ward excited and I think it is working. This past week we tried something new with a lot of families in the ward that we hadnt worked with so much yet. With those people we would usually invite them to invite their friends to do a family home evening with us but most of them would express doubts. Doubts of lack of time, lack of friends, lack of interest of their friends. Once they would do that, we would just simply ask them, Would it be alright if we sung you guys a hymn? We prepared a few special numbers for the week and sung for all those members with doubts, right there in their home. It brought the Spirit so strong and so fast every time. After the hymn we would just wait in silence for the members to say something. Almost everytime, the member would say, actually elder I think it would be good if we did a family home evening with you guys, or, you know what elder I actually do know someone that I could invite to the family night. It went really well and I am super grateful for the spirit that singing brings so strong and so fast.
Today, I would like to share something with you guys that happened to me this past week. It changed my life. We went with the sister in our ward that always shares the Gospel, one night. She expressed many trials that she is going through right now and they are really tough trials. Afterwards, I asked her, Sister, if you have so many trials in your personal life, why do you participate in missionary work so much? Her answer was beautiful. I cant share everything she said but I left with three main points that she mentioned. I think these 3 points are the key to developing the desires to share the Gospel.
1. Her understanding of the doctrine of Christ. She understands that Christ paid for our sins and that we can recieve a remission of our sins by being baptized by someone having the authority of God. If someone is not baptized that way, or does complete with their covenants or promises with God, they cannot achieve eternal life, or live with God and their family forever
2. Her pure love for God, Jesus Christ, and everyone else. This sister talks to random people in buses and taxis to make more friends. She has a sincere love for everybody. She wants everybody to be as happy as she is.
3. Her personal experiences with the Atonement of Jesus Christ. For this point I will not share with you what she said, but I will share my personal experience.
I am a very imperfect person. I have made a ton of mistakes in my life. I have had the opportunity to repent through baptism and prayer. I, like this sister, have recieved a remission of my sins several times. Without this great gift of the Atonement, I wouldnt be the person I am now. I would have no hope and no faith. I know because of personal experiences that I have had that Jesus Christ lives and that He is our Savior. And that is why I love what I do. I love sharing the one thing that has changed my life and made me a very happy person so that others can experience the same joy. I love you guys a bunch!!!!
Elder Stutz
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