Pressing Forward

Hello Friends and Family! 

This week was great.

We met the Chavez family, a wonderful and faithful bunch. They run a church service during the week at their house! They each play a different instrument, including accordion, piano, drums, and ...Electric guitar! (Ooh, I had to use everything inside me not to go crazy) They've welcomed us into their home to share a couple messages, and we've felt a wonderful spirit. 
There were still a bit of eggshells not to step on though. Yesterday, we were at the end of our visit, and Mrs. Chavez says, "so, I've got a question. We both believe in Jesus Christ, right?" We affirmed, and she continued "but, you do know that we aren't in the same church, right?" So, dang. She was about to kick us out. Tell us they're not interested, and ask us not to come back.
Then she hesitates, and pauses. She's clearly uncomfortable about something. The tension was almost palpable. 
After a moment, and with us ready for literally anything at this point, thinking "just say it! We'll leave!", she says "Are you able to marry someone who isn't in your church?"
It took me a second to process that. Of the many things I was expecting, that wasn't one of them. Neither of my companions were expecting that, and it showed in our stumbling through our answer, just to say that "yeah, that's totally fine". After some more discussion, they said we can come back again. Woot!

Not none, not one, but TWO people came to church!!! And it was on their own, because we had decided to stop teaching them just a few days previous. Woot!

Easter is coming up, and with it comes a great time to learn about the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This week I've been participating in a mission wide study on the scriptures leading up to his resurrection. I have found a lot of joy in this. I recommend reading some of these accounts, like in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There is also a week long study plan in Gospel library centered around easter.

Until next week,

Élder Duncan

We noticed an awesome, retired train bridge.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consider The Lilies

Image
Hey all! Spring is in full swing! What a wonderful time of year. My companions can testify that I say "wow. Look how pretty those flowers are!" quite often. We are in good hands, and what wonderful creations our heavenly father has made! Matthew 6:26, 28 "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" "...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:" The bugs are out too. Each night when we get back, half a swarm of gnats follows us inside. They seem friendly enough, though! Pam came to church a third time! She's preferring to study independently right now, so we can't take any credit, but needless to say, she is very cool. Have a great week! I'll be sharing the good news of Jesus Christ's resurrection! Élder Duncan The neighbor's dog, Toby, often comes here. Exchanges, we had tw...
Read more

Dios Magnifica Nuestro Esfuerzo

Image
¡Hola a todos! I'm really enjoying my time here at the CCM. I've already seen the ways in which God supports his missionaries. It's hard to spend time here without your love for Jesus Christ increasing.  Since the Last time I emailed, I became district leader! My comps became zone leaders over Rama 9, and that left the position to be filled. My district makes my job easy though, because they all rock.  I've notice that I've really been missing being able to listen to music. I've lost count of the amount of times I've wanted to play "I've got a dream" or "Quien serà" by Pedro Infante. Just those two songs in particular though. I think I'll ask my teacher to play the latter in class... Otherwise, since we can only listen to hymns, you find out pretty quickly what everyone's favorite hymns. And listening to the tabernacle choir when Elder Temple turns it on gives me nostalgia and the strange urge to build large structures out of ...
Read more

Sick Conference!

Image
Hola! The last week has been great! I'm getting further and further prepared to head to Washington! I'm heading out next Wednesday, the 16th First, on Friday morning, we had the opportunity to sing to the incoming missionaries the song that our district had been preparing. It was an arrangment of the FSY medley. We were surprised to have gotten the opportunity to play, because our audition hadn't been our best run through. Then the morning of, everyone was a little sick, but we said a prayer before, and the spirit was there in that performance. The new missionaries said they quite enjoyed it. The big one: CONFERENCE! Woot! This conference was amazing. I was able to stay awake the whole time with help from my comps, and I took a whole lot of notes. I really enjoyed Elder Budge's talk about being still. It was a great reminder to me that just as it's important to talk to God when we pray, it's just as important to take time and listen. I pictured a Zen room, simil...
Read more