Hey dad, work is good. People progress and fall, but my companion and I have some good goals, 10 baptisms this change and 2 rescued menos activo [less active] families. We had 7 with fech [a date] for baptism but none of them came to church, so it fell for all of them. Satan works really hard on really good people. We teach one family that are only home at night and don't have electricity so we teach by flashlight or candle light. Kinda cool. There's 3 women of that family that had fetchas [dates] and one brought her husband to church, but on the way they lost a license for his work, cell phone and some super important papers. So they went home. They are super poor and live up the mountain basically alone, but have an awesome view with a pig and a cow and cui (guinea pigs), rabbits and chickens. They are super stressed and don't have the 200 dollars to get a new license and he can't work without it. rough.... but the church is true and we are doing our best to help.
Love you dad! Sounds like work is super crazy, haha a new boss must be weird, but it's like a new sector and a new companion, just love him lol that's all you can do.
Elder Gonzalez
Mom,
This week has been good. I'm in Amaguana or at least we live there and work mostly in Uyumbicho. It's super pretty, mountains huge pine trees, views.... It's amazing! Streets are mostly dirt except main roads that are cobblestone. It's been raining and thundering all day so kinda dim, but still misty and pretty. It rains hard and cold here and a lot. We've entered rainy season so wish me luck.
The other day we contacted his old man, stiff, cold, blank, military looking guy with a bar mustache. Military decorated leather jacket and American looking art on his walls. His parents died when he was very young, grew up on the street, hungry his whole life, worked hard, made money and begged God to send him a loving woman to marry. He found a woman, but she turned out to be cold, bitter, mean and rude. They've been married for idk how long but he's given up on God, says that he doesn't exist. He's not there, doesn't believe in happiness, doesn't understand why anyone would want to be happy. He talked for about ten min, and I wanted to cry for him so bad. As I listened, a tear ran down my cheek and I begged Heavenly Father to touch his heart as I spoke... I bore my testimony of the plan of salvation, that we have a father in heaven and that we can have happiness both in this life and the next. My companion asked if we could pray, still standing in his doorway, rain falling on our backs. My companion offered it and prayed for this man directly in the prayer. He ended the prayer, the man stood and looked into the distance still cold and empty, but there was something in his eye. We stood there and he began to speak again. He explained his past briefly again, and expressed how when testigos and catholics and christianas come to his door to talk, they are mean and attack him with words and his wife yells at him to come away from the door and to stay inside. But with us his wife said nothing, just sat in the kitchen bitter and mean, but no words and that we were kind. He said, I hope one day I can know God like you do.¨He took the plan of salvation pamphlet and looked at it and said, I'm going to read this. And that was that. We said goodbye and went on our way. I think we will go back there this week, I know he felt something and caught a glimmer of hope. His heart is rough and hard on the outside but within there is a child of God dying to have some kind of hope.
Every day I am here my testimony grows, the mission is not easy, but I know that there is always hope. It hurts my heart to see someone blame and dismiss God because things went wrong in this life. I know this life isn't easy, but I have almost literally felt the arms of Christ around me in some of my lowest moments of my life. He lives and he loves us so much. Please, please do not ever forget that Christ lives, that we have a Heavenly Father, and that all of us, even the worst of us have the potential to become just like our Father and Heaven. Look to your neighbor and lift them up and as you do, you will feel even greater the love of Christ.
I love you guys and am so grateful for each and every one of you. Trust your Heavenly Father and I promise, and even more important, He promises that He will take care of us!
Elder Gonzalez
my scripture his week is moroni 10 32
*Here's a link to a free online Book of Mormon to look up the scripture above. You can also read the Bible from this link. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng
