Finally.
Since day one, I've heard unimaginable stories of absolute gallons pouring down from the Heavens. Guys, the rainy season started 2 and a half months ago. 2 and a half!!! But miraculously, after weeks of waiting, Saturday night- they came. There's a song or a saying that says, "When it rains, it pours." I am pretty sure that there is not a word in the English language (or Spanish, for that matter...) that can accurately describe what happened. Elder Paz and I were walking around looking for people to teach as we noticed this dark cloud start to take over the sky.I'm not sure I can even describe it as a cloud! Perhaps a better description for this event would be "We watched the midday sky turn black." Literally, all of the street lights turned on at once, and a few drops of rain hit my nose as if to warn me of my impending doom. I honestly wasn't too concerned, I expected the rain to start out slowly and eventually get worse. I was wrong. As soon as I felt the last drop hit my nose, we heard a crack of thunder and all at once, it came. It was the weirdest thing, the rain wasn't even coming in drops, it was literally coming in buckets! We were being attacked by a million fire hoses from the heavens! After a minute or two, it became painfully apparent that using my umbrella was useless, so I just stood there in the rain. Guys, we were standing by the road waiting to cross, and as the cars drove by they sent up waves of water 10 feet high! Needless to say, we ran for home. With all the thunder and the lightning and rain, we were more than a little wary to leave.
That was really fun, not gonna lie!
But besides that, this week was pretty slooow. By Sunday morning, we had absolutely no new people to teach, and only one of the people that we were teaching had a date to be baptized. Needless to say, I felt a little discouraged! It's really weird that sometimes you can be giving your 110%, and it seems like your getting nothing in return! I wasn't about to give up, but boy was I tired! Sunday after church I sat down to have a planning session with my companion, and to start, I offered a prayer. I asked Heavenly Father what we needed to be doing differently. I told Him how I felt. I told Him I wanted to find new people to teach. When I finished my prayer, a thought popped into my head. "This is the Lord's Work." The Lord's. Not the work of Elder Paz, not the work of Elder Jones, or of Isaac Jones, or of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is the work of the Lord. I don't get to complain! What do I have to complain about? If I'm doing my part, the Lord will make up the rest! As we left the house, I said another prayer, just one of those quick little prayers that you say in your head or in your heart or wherever you wanna say it is. But I asked Heavenly Father for a little boost! Just to help me make it through the day. And then, we hit the concrete.
I swear I knocked on a million doors in the first hour, and not one person let us in! Now, one thing I think I mentioned in a previous email was that after the rain, the sun comes out, turning the entirety of Guayaquil into a pot of boiling water, and Elder Paz and I were the cobs of corn being steamed above it. Walking around in this humid hotness turned me absolutely tomato-red. But still, no one opened their door. Then, we decided to call an old investigator called Joseph. He answered and told us that it was his Birthday, and that he was with friends. Next thing I knew, he had invited us over to talk for a few minutes! So we went to his house and as we started the lesson he asked us about a million questions, the last of them being, "So when can I get baptized?"
Ding ding ding! Miracle!
After that, we went to visit an old investigator. We stopped visiting him a few months ago because he didn't have much time with his work, but every time he sees me, he likes to shout out, "AY, CHONE!" I guess when I told him my name was Elder Jones, he heard "Elmer Chone." It took about half an hour to explain that my name is not Elmer, but Elder is just a title. I never had time to explain to him that my last name was "Jones," but oh well.
So we were walking by his house, and as always he called out, "AY, CHONE!" I shouted back "AY, ARMANDO!" And I asked when we could visit him and his family. He answered by opening up the door and motioning us to enter! His family ended up being busy, but we taught him for a little bit, and then his friend entered, so we taught her, and he pulled in another friend, and we ended up teaching the three of them about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Boom. Another Miracle.
I guess what I'm saying is this week I learned to trust God more. I'm not here so that I can find more people to teach, or to find people to baptize so I can have cool stories or whatever, I'm here because I know God's plan. I know that I will live with my family for eternity. I know that I can be better each day. I am here so that my brothers and sisters, fellow children of an infinitely loving Father in Heaven, can have the hope and comfort that I have.
My friends, if you haven't, I'd encourage you to read the story of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I testify that through the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ restored his Church to the Earth. You can know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God as you understand the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, and as you read that book and feel of it's authenticity, you will also know that Joseph Smith was called of God.
I know this email has been pretty long, sorry! I just want to finish with the word of one of the Lord's living Twelve Apostles Elder Jeffrey R. Holland who said,
"I ask that my testimony of the Book of Mormon and all that it implies, given today under my own oath and office, be recorded by men on earth and angels in heaven... I want it absolutely clear when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world, in the most straightforward language I could summon, that the Book of Mormon is true, that it came forth the way Joseph said it came forth and was given to bring happiness and hope to the faithful in the travail of the latter days."
It is true. Read it and know.
I love you all!!
Elder Jones
P.S.: This talk by Elder Holland is SICK! It talks more about the Book of Mormon... https://www.
Pictures!! 1. A pretty rad view from the top of a member's apartment building 2. the first "noche de hogar" or family home evening that I conducted all by myself (I'm all grown up) 3. My comp and me after the rain storm.
