This week two investigators spilled their life stories of all the terrible things that happened to them as children and how as a result it led them to lives of really serious sins. It’s amazing the stories people tell us. Sometimes I think they misread our tags and think we’re their therapists! But it’s amazing how we can feel God’s love for them despite their pasts. To help them, I’ve been studying the Atonement and repentance a lot. The Bible Dictionary and Preach My Gospel say three times that repentance changes how we view God, ourselves and the world in general. I really liked that. How beautiful is the power of repentance.
Another investigator, Oscar, really wasn’t progressing but we visited him one day and he’s been facing some really hard things and his demeanor was all different. He seemed so much more open and had so much more of a desire to have more faith. We visited again with a member who faced many of the same difficulties (even though we didn’t know) and Oscar is finally willing to prepare for baptism. It’s amazing how trials help people strengthen their relationships with God.
We teach twins, Juan and Jose. They’re 20 something and like to party. We managed to catch Jose on Saturday evening (we sneakily text his mom a lot because she wants them to get help to change their lives so she told us that he was home and awake and we could come over) It was a good lesson and in the closing prayer Hermana Gentry prayed that he wouldn’t leave for the night to party so that he could have enough sleep to go to church in the morning. Lo and behold, God answers prayers. He came to church. He said he didn’t leave because he had no money to spend. Haha.
We were so happy to see Jose at church because EVERYONE tells us they’ll come and then 1 or 2 show up. Every Sunday we spend an hour in the morning going around to investigators houses to bring them to church. We talk to them the night before and they always say they’ll be ready to leave with us but they NEVER do. The Argentines tend to be little liars…Except one, Facundo. He’s the one that got baptized within 2 hours. He told us he’d go with us to find people to go to church. And what do you know, when we left our apartment he was right there sitting on the curb waiting for us. He got the priesthood this Sunday. We keep encouraging him to go on a mission. He wants to! He already served a Catholic mission in Córdoba so it’s only fitting that he serves a Mormon mission too. Faca kept us entertained as we searched for people as he rapped about the góspel. It was pretty funny!
It’s been sooooo hot. And it’s only spring. I feel like I’m living in an infierno… And the worst is yet to come. One afternoon, we were walking home after lunch to finish studying, just dying to get inside by the fans when a drunk bum calls, ‘’Hermanas’’ and walks over to us. He starts blabbering about who knows what. I mean I can barely understand the regular Spanish let alone when the barachos are slurring their words. Then out of nowhere he starts trying to bite me or bark at me or something. Hermana Gentry was dying of laughter. Then he precedes to lick his hands and then holds out his hand to give me a handshake. All I wanted to do was get inside so I thought he’d leave if I shook his hand. But he grabbed my hand and kissed it. Hermana Gentry was dying of laughter! The drunk bums-callejeros barachos-as we call them are more common than they should be…I think it’s cause the wine is cheaper than soda and water for that matter. They let anyone of any age buy it. It comes in cardboard boxes instead of bottles. What class, no?
Hope all is well with all!
Love,
Hermana Pearson
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