Hola Familia!
Before you call the police and get me arrested, let me explain myself! My companion is done. I know, without any doubt, that I will have a new companion tomorrow because my companion finishes his mission tomorrow. I´ve "killed him" in missionary terms. Next week, I won´t be with elder Ruiz anymore, because tomorrow morning he is getting on a plane to ecuador. And I will have a new companion. I hope I train. I haven´t trained yet. I don´t have a "son" yet, as we say in the mission. But...we´ll find out tomorrow!
So this week was really...weird, fun, hard, crap, awesome. I don´t even know how to describe it. My companion is without a doubt the funnest comp that I´ve ever had and this week was super fun. He was extremely trunky, but it was fun, and we actually tried to work. We didn´t have a lot of success, but we worked, and it was fun. There were times when I couldn´t do anything because my comp had interviews with the president or something, but with the time that we had, we worked. He actually wanted to work for the end of his mission. I really saw a great change in my companion. He truly started to work, and is working to become converted to Christ, like we all are. When he gave his last testimony in district meeting, it was really powerful to hear him testify of the truthfulness of our church, and of Jesus Christ.
The last two weeks, I have been writing down everyday a spiritual experience. Something that had happened during the day, that helped me feel the spirit. That has really helped me focus on the good in everyday. Because though my comp has been working hard, it hasn´t been exactly easy. But focusing on the spirit everyday has helped me stay focused on the Lord and His work. I had little experiences each day, but yesterday, I had two very powerful ones. Michael, the guy we baptized in August, about a month ago had a kid. They didn´t know what to name him, and I jokingly said Santiago, which is James in spanish, and james is my middle name. I said it as joke, but the kid´s name is Salamon Santiago Delgado Varrillas. His second name is my second name. And Michael told me they named him that for me, at least it was part of the reason. Yesterday, when they came to church, the bishop invited them to bless their baby, and because Michael didn´t have the priesthood yet, he could choose who. And he said he wanted me to, because it was my name. So, for the first time in my life, I blessed a baby. It was actually a very spiritual experience. I blessed him to be able to be an example for his family for his entire life. I truly felt a power from him. i felt the love that God has for this little baby, that it litterally has come from His presence, and I felf the importance of this life. It was so powerful for me to feel that power.
The other super spiritual experience yesterday was in another interview with one of the Sister´s investigators. This sister, Silvia, is AMAZING! Wow. I´ve never interviewed anyone that has known so much and had a true testimony like she does. But she feels like she doesn´t know enough, or so she says. that was her excuse. But as we went through the interview, I felt through the spirit that really what her problem was was that she believed that she had committed sins that are so bad that she can´t repent anymore. She felt like she is the worst sinner, and she doesn´t forgive herself. As I testified to her of the power of the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, my faith changed. I have great faith in the Lord. I know that I can repent. But as I testified to her, the spirit testified to me so that my faith became unbreakable. I could never deny what the spirit has testified to me my entire life, and especially what he testified to me yesterday. I know, without a hint of doubt, that Christ lives. That He is our Savior. That He has suffered and felt EVERYTHING! Everything. He love us. He has given us his gospel so that we can return to Him. If we follow him, we will be happy. And we will have eternal life. I know, that this church is true and that the Book of Mormon is true. I have no doubt. I know that if we do out best, the Lord will do the rest.
love you all
Elder Schouten
ps, I haven´t read you letters yet, so i´ll read them and respond. Love you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.