What a great week in Austin.. Last week in Sacrament I had the opportunity to translate for a family that was attending who only spoke english. I had to speak into a microphone and they all had their headsets on. I was nervous, but it went well. I'm finally able to feel confident in my Spanish. The work is progressing and my companion and I are starting to see the fruits of our labor. We have some great progressing investigators right now.. i'm going to talk a little bit about all of them:
Abacuc- he's 70 years old, likes to be grumpy, loves the book of mormon, comes to church every week, wants to get baptized once his divorce is finalized. He has a baptismal date for september 7th
Pati and Roman- They have 4 little boys who are adorable! Pati is an evangelist and is very strong in her beliefs. roman is hilarious and just enjoys learning, he doesn't attend church with pati because he'd rather play soccer :) their four boys are 11, 7, 6, and 4. They LOVE us. They always get so excited when we come over and they beg their parents for us to come back everyday. we're slowly, and carefully working with Pati, we can't be too pushy with her or we're afraid she wont want us to continue teaching her family.
Cesar and Loli- i love them! They have 2 little kids, Julian and Karan. They are 6 and 4. I play with them usually during the lesson to keep them quiet while Hermana Rodriguez teaches Loli and Cesar. We use my plan of salvation puzzle with them and the kids love it.
Luis y 3 hijas- Luis was a referral from the english elders. He has 3 daughters and no wife. He has the saddest life story, but to hear him talk, blows me away. he has so much faith. he only works 2 days of the week and is looking for work. his daughters are beautiful and are 15, 13, and 8. He shared an experience with us about how he hadn't talked to his brother in over a year. We asked him to say the closing prayer after the lesson, and he did, and got emotional about it. He called us the next day and was so excited. he said "my brother wrote me a letter! its because i prayed! heavenly father heard me!" Ah my heart was filled with comfort knowing that not only did God answer his prayer, but that Luis recognized it.
Jose- Jose and Erika were the couple that we were teaching, and the sisters before us have been teaching. They wanted to be baptized but weren't married. They have been living together for 5 years. Jose comes to church every week, but Erika doesn't We tried telling them over and over again that they either have to split up, or get married. Recently however, Erika has been really busy. We stopped by and visited Jose to set up an appointment and he looked really sad. He started crying and told us that he and Erika were no longer together. After a few minutes of him explaining to us what had happened, he was bawling and so distressed. Suddenly he stopped and said "but now i can get baptized right?" I looked at Hermana Rodriguez to make sure I understood what he said, we both sat there in shock. The spirit was so strong. He then testified how God works in His own ways. He said as soon as his heart is a little more healed from the break up, he wants to get baptized. We sat there, not knowing what to say. It was a very humbling experience.He comes to church every week so he can get baptized tomorrow if he wants. It's up to him!
We had a great training this week from President Slaughter. It was titled "Faith in Finding" He shared so many great insights on how to better find, through the members, through referrals, and through our faith. I have been studying lately, faith. I have read the BD multiple times on Faith and each time, I learn something new. I love when it says "Faith must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation... Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith... by faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God. Where there is true faith there are miracles, visions, dreams, healings, and all the gifts of God that he gives to his saints." Wow. Powerful. In reading the Book of Mormon, I also have noticed a trend.. most of the time when it talks about faith, it talks about "faith in christ" or "faith on His name."
I know that as we center our Faith in Christ, our burdens will be lightened. We will better understand the Atonement. We will receive answers to our prayers. We will be able, to one day, "stand in the presence of God."
Se que esta iglesia es verdadera. Me encanta que yo tengo la oportunidad a servir mi Padre Celestial. Se que podemos vivir juntos con El otra vez, a traves del Plan de Salvacion. Estoy muy agradecido por todas las bendiciones que Dios nos ha dado. Gracias a ustedes por todo. Tengan una buena semana!
Les amo!!
con amor,
Hermana Egbert
Oh ps...
Transfer calls are on Sunday, so i'll let you know next week if i'm staying or going!
Julian and Karan.. love them!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.