We have some new investigators that I feel really good about. They are all family! Three sisters ("A", "L", and "V"), and the son of "V"("Al"). They've all accepted a baptismal date and I feel like they all have a desire to learn more about the Church.
On Saturday, "M" was baptized! She is such an incredible young woman. She has a very strong testimony of the church and has come a long way to make this sacred covenant with our Heavenly Father and Savior. She was confirmed a brand new member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints yesterday. I am so happy for her!
It breaks my heart to say that "C" was not able to make the same covenant as we had planned. We received a call that morning from "C" telling us that her father was not going to permit her to be baptized. We talked with her and her mother over the phone and even went to her house to talk with her father. We went with Melissa and a few other members of the ward that know "C". We talked about how he felt and he said he was comfortable having his family stay in the religion they already had. This frustrated me because in our first lesson with her whole family, including her father, we challenged them all to baptism and they all accepted. "C" has been the only one putting forth the effort to read the Book of Mormon and come to church every Sunday. Tears were shed as we bore our testimonies to him, but "C's" father stayed true to his first decision and would not allow her to be baptized. She's 20-years-old but seeing as she still lives with her family, needs to obey her parents' wishes. I was devastated, but was comforted when "C" said she would continue praying and reading and that she had confidence in God's timing. I too have confidence in God's timing. Sometimes we want something when we want it, and not when He knows when it's best for us. Maybe this wasn't her time. Maybe she is meant to help her family progress with her. "C" is an amazing young woman. She has a firm testimony in the gospel and I know she is going to change many lives in the future.
This week, the purpose of contacting was confirmed for me. We received a text message from a man named "D". He told us he wanted to know about the Church. When we asked how he'd found the Church, he said he had found a pamphlet of The Gospel of Jesus Christ on his kitchen table with our names and number on the back. He said he read it and took it to be an answer from God because he has not yet been baptized. Hermana Yac and I were speechless! Somewhere, we had done an LPE with somebody who had left our pamphlet on their table where it fell into the hands of "D". There are no coincidences. We contact people on the streets, in buses, in their patios for a divine reason. There are real people searching for answers and it is in the one and only true gospel of Jesus Christ where they can find these answers.
Something amazing this week was when I was taking a bus to the centro of the city and I hadn't yet started a conversation with the young lady next to me. I was thinking of how to start a conversation with the young lady next to me when I saw two people walking on the sidewalk. My heart jumped out of my chest and my hand immediately reached out in their direction. It was the Elders! I saw power and authority in them as they were walking. I saw a real difference. The Elders in our zone, and Elders everywhere, have real power. They have something that so many people are looking for, even if they don't realize it at first.
This church is true! There are people needing your love! If you are not sure if this is the Church of Jesus Christ, I invite YOU to pray. Please don't wait. Our Savior desires to help us, we just need to put forth the effort and search for His answer with patience. I testify that Christ lives and that His name is the only name by which we can find what we're looking for. Just open your hearts and let Him in. The love of Christ is something that one cannot describe with words because it is not of this world. It is truly of God.
Con amor,
Hermana Whitman