Hello Everybody!
I hope you are all doing well! This week was truly a week of miracles. The Lord's hand was part of every second we spent. We are reaching and even passing weekly goals. There are still a few to work on but we are getting a lot better. Hermana Hidalgo and I are getting along wonderfully. The members have commented that they like our companionship because of the love we seem to reflect. Could it be true? ;)
We had interviews with President Wilkinson on Tuesday. He truly is a man called of God! I am so grateful for him and his lovely wife. They have done so much for the Lord's cause in Costa Rica and I will be devastated to see them go in July.
G was baptized yesterday (finally!). He's one of those "golden" investigators that you just can't drop. He's been investigating the church for about 6 months (which is a long time in "missionary years"). He even pays tithing. The only thing that held him back from being baptized were doubts he had about the church. But, he came to church every Sunday and came to activities! So, the first time I was able to meet with him with Hna. Hidalgo, she put a baptismal date with him (that's something I love about my companion! She has a gift for receiving key spiritual impressions and acts upon them.) He accepted, which surprised us, and we prayed and fasted and prayed some more. It was amazing how the Lord placed him in our paths every day of this week so that we were able to always know how he was doing. For example, we called G one morning and asked if we could see him that day. He said he couldn't because of all of the things he had to do. So we went to see a recent convert (who is G's friend and neighbor). We were about to close the lesson and leave when G came walking by! The recent convert called him to come inside and he was so surprised to find us there! It was pretty funny.
Yesterday, when he came to the chapel, he kept joking that he had changed his mind and that he would escape after sacrament meeting. But, we could see that he was actually very happy. All of the members were happy as well! He's going to be such an amazing leader in the church. I know it!
Speaking of members, there were a lot of less-actives that came to church yesterday! We were so happy! One of the members, C, is such an amazing member. She really understands the importance of missionary work and always helps us out. The sad part is that only her son, daughter-in-law, and she are active. Her other 3 children and husband are inactive. But, her oldest son, S, has started reading the Book of Mormon again and gave us referrals of two of his friends. We started teaching them on Tuesday. Yesterday, almost the whole C family came to church (we were just missing the dad), and S brought one of his friends, J. His other friend, E, couldn't make it because he was sick, but promised to come this coming Sunday. Several investigators came and members brought friends to the chapel and other less-actives came (mainly to see G's baptism or they came by surprise). It was a beautiful Sunday!
There were many other miracles we saw and I am so grateful for God and His promised blessings towards us. I am beyond happy to see that G can now have the assurance, if he stays true, that he can return with his Heavenly Father to live with Him forever. One more soul! After his baptism he just said, "Como costò, ¿verdad?" which basically means " that took an effort, right?" We agreed with him. Gold does not come cheap.
I love you all! Read the Book of Mormon. It's true.
Hermana Whitman