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| Me and Part of our area |
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| Elder Shipley and Part of our area |
Hey there!
This week was full of amazing events that climaxed with being able to Skype home! I'm so grateful for our inspired mission leaders and their advice to us to help us improve the work here in NOM.
This week at Zone Training, every single training was focused on being humble and having the faith to receive miracles. They left us with a Zone Commitment to plan for, look for, and keep track of the miracles
that we see every single day. Today I want to tell you about a few.
#1 Jaime and Araceli
Araceli is a SUPER less active that was baptized when she was 8 in Mexico and hasn't really come to church since, even though she reads the Book of Mormon and has Visiting Teachers and all that good stuff.
Her new husband, Jaime (pronounced Hi-May) is a catholic born and raised and for that reason its very hard for him to accept some of the stuff we invite him to do. This week we planned for the miracle of
him to be more accepting of the stuff we say and really want more. Our lesson with him was AMAZING. Going in to a lesson with miracles planned and expected is a great feeling and it helps so much. During
the lesson about the Plan of Salvation, he really opened up about how he's Catholic, how he doesn't really know how he can be sure, and about how he thinks there's no way he would change. Then Elder Shipley shared part of his conversion story and his testimony. The Spirit poured down on that room so heavily there was no way to deny it. Feeling prompted, I looked at Jaime and said, "You feel that don't you? Like something in your chest?" "Yeah," he said, "like something different." Elder Shipley and I bore witness and testimony that that was the Holy Ghost testifying of the things that we say that they're true. There was no way he could deny it. At the end of the lesson, he wanted to really learn more and read the Book of Mormon.
This week was full of amazing events that climaxed with being able to Skype home! I'm so grateful for our inspired mission leaders and their advice to us to help us improve the work here in NOM.
This week at Zone Training, every single training was focused on being humble and having the faith to receive miracles. They left us with a Zone Commitment to plan for, look for, and keep track of the miracles
that we see every single day. Today I want to tell you about a few.
#1 Jaime and Araceli
Araceli is a SUPER less active that was baptized when she was 8 in Mexico and hasn't really come to church since, even though she reads the Book of Mormon and has Visiting Teachers and all that good stuff.
Her new husband, Jaime (pronounced Hi-May) is a catholic born and raised and for that reason its very hard for him to accept some of the stuff we invite him to do. This week we planned for the miracle of
him to be more accepting of the stuff we say and really want more. Our lesson with him was AMAZING. Going in to a lesson with miracles planned and expected is a great feeling and it helps so much. During
the lesson about the Plan of Salvation, he really opened up about how he's Catholic, how he doesn't really know how he can be sure, and about how he thinks there's no way he would change. Then Elder Shipley shared part of his conversion story and his testimony. The Spirit poured down on that room so heavily there was no way to deny it. Feeling prompted, I looked at Jaime and said, "You feel that don't you? Like something in your chest?" "Yeah," he said, "like something different." Elder Shipley and I bore witness and testimony that that was the Holy Ghost testifying of the things that we say that they're true. There was no way he could deny it. At the end of the lesson, he wanted to really learn more and read the Book of Mormon.
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| Emma's baptism with almost all the missionaries who've taught her (Minus Elder Juan because he's 5 hours away) |
#2 Emma
The highlight of my week (besides Skyping home). I've seen Emma since the very beginning. Elder Juan and I were the first ones to really teach her, but noticing that her and her husband, Jose, have very different Spiritual needs, we gave her to the Hermanas while we continued teaching Jose and focusing on him. Emma has always been very acceptive and ready to learn. She's put the things she's been taught by us and the Hermanas into practice, taking step by step in the true path until her baptism. The Miracle that happened this week was truly a miracle indeed. Thursday night at our appointment with Jose, they told us that Friday Morning they would be heading to New Mexico. Emma was scheduled to be baptized on Saturday. Jose was going down there for business (to sell 4 cars that he'd fixed up) and Emma to go for her family that all live down there. That night Elder Shipley and I prayed harder than we have before that those cars would not be ready. That they'd be broke and they couldn't be sold. Friday Morning Jose calls us to see if we can come help him fix one of the cars that wasn't working right. Little did he know that we know
nothing about fixing motors or carborators or whatever the heck that thing was called. Needless to say we just stared at that thing all wondering what to do with it for an hour and then ate burritos and called it a day. Prayers are answered! (tiny happy miracle in there where we got free food too :) ) Saturday Morning, Emma entered into a covenant with her Heavenly Father as she was baptized. Sunday Afternoon, she was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Emma is amazing. I love her and her family so much and I'm so excited for this amazing step that she's taken. I know she'll be an amazing example to her husband and her kids and she endures to the end and keeps keeping the commandments of God and letting the Holy Ghost guide her. I can't wait to see what will happen to their family in the next few months.
Funny Little Miracle #3 Hermana Ramirez
We get a call early Friday Morning from Hermana Ramirez saying, "Elders come quick! I need to move something and (phone goes staticy) and I'm scared! Please come quick!" So being the incredibly heroic
Elders that we are we hurried over to her house to help her with whatever it was. We get there and she says, "Oh good, you're here! Can you go get the mattress from the basement for me?" Elder Shipley looks at me with a look that says "We seriously came for this?" so I asked her, "Hermana, why are you scared of a mattress?" and in a quiet, scared, slightly ashamed voice she says, "...there's a bat in the basement and I don't know where it is." So after trapping the bat, moving the mattress, and saving the day, she bought us lunch :) Free food is always a tiny little miracle for hungry Elders.
The highlight of my week (besides Skyping home). I've seen Emma since the very beginning. Elder Juan and I were the first ones to really teach her, but noticing that her and her husband, Jose, have very different Spiritual needs, we gave her to the Hermanas while we continued teaching Jose and focusing on him. Emma has always been very acceptive and ready to learn. She's put the things she's been taught by us and the Hermanas into practice, taking step by step in the true path until her baptism. The Miracle that happened this week was truly a miracle indeed. Thursday night at our appointment with Jose, they told us that Friday Morning they would be heading to New Mexico. Emma was scheduled to be baptized on Saturday. Jose was going down there for business (to sell 4 cars that he'd fixed up) and Emma to go for her family that all live down there. That night Elder Shipley and I prayed harder than we have before that those cars would not be ready. That they'd be broke and they couldn't be sold. Friday Morning Jose calls us to see if we can come help him fix one of the cars that wasn't working right. Little did he know that we know
nothing about fixing motors or carborators or whatever the heck that thing was called. Needless to say we just stared at that thing all wondering what to do with it for an hour and then ate burritos and called it a day. Prayers are answered! (tiny happy miracle in there where we got free food too :) ) Saturday Morning, Emma entered into a covenant with her Heavenly Father as she was baptized. Sunday Afternoon, she was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Emma is amazing. I love her and her family so much and I'm so excited for this amazing step that she's taken. I know she'll be an amazing example to her husband and her kids and she endures to the end and keeps keeping the commandments of God and letting the Holy Ghost guide her. I can't wait to see what will happen to their family in the next few months.
Funny Little Miracle #3 Hermana Ramirez
We get a call early Friday Morning from Hermana Ramirez saying, "Elders come quick! I need to move something and (phone goes staticy) and I'm scared! Please come quick!" So being the incredibly heroic
Elders that we are we hurried over to her house to help her with whatever it was. We get there and she says, "Oh good, you're here! Can you go get the mattress from the basement for me?" Elder Shipley looks at me with a look that says "We seriously came for this?" so I asked her, "Hermana, why are you scared of a mattress?" and in a quiet, scared, slightly ashamed voice she says, "...there's a bat in the basement and I don't know where it is." So after trapping the bat, moving the mattress, and saving the day, she bought us lunch :) Free food is always a tiny little miracle for hungry Elders.
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| Three crazy yahoos that I love |
Thats all for this week! Skyping you yesterday was amazing! I love you. You really are the best support I ever could ask for. Thank you for everything you do for me.
Lots of Love,
Elder Zack
Lots of Love,
Elder Zack
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