Hey friends!
This week was honestly not very exciting... sorry. But, Ecuador officially has 6 people with the Coronavirus! In Ecuador, that's a pretty big deal. Not only is Ecuador pretty small, but it's also not super equipped to handle a big medical problem... So basically the whole country is kinda freaking out. Like there is literally not a single store with medical equipment. Yikes! And on top of that, they discouraged meeting in large groups of people, and subsequently they canceled all church meetings. Oof.
Yesterday, we did get to have some pretty cool experiences. For instance, we went to visit a family in the ward, and since we didn't have sacrament meeting, we got to administer the Sacrament to them! I directed the meeting, and it was really a special experience. We gave them the opportunity to bear their testimonies, and each one of them took time to share. It was really cool to hear the little 6 year old as he shared that he knew that God loves him. I think that there is a lot that we can learn from the faith of little kids. It's no wonder Christ tells us that we must become as little children in order to inherit the Kingdom of God!
We went to visit my oldest friend in the ward. I remember going to his house in my very first week and he taught me a few new words, but I honestly couldn't even talk to him, my spanish was so bad! Anyway, he's a little old man that was just baptized a year ago, and he's great. We hadn't seen him in a month, and I felt like it was time to pay him a visit! So we stopped in and sat down to talk to him. Like I said, he's a little old man. Unfortunately, when he opened the door, I noticed that he had gotten quite a bit smaller, and frail. He began to tell us that he'd been going through cancer treatment in the past month, and his body was really rejecting the treatment. We asked him if he wanted a blessing, and he told us that he did. After giving him the blessing, he just sad there with his eyes filled with tears. We sat there with him like that for a while. Eventually, he told us, "I know that God has a plan for me. I know that he answers prayers. I have been praying that he would send me you two, and here you are. I know that my time isn't up." We testified to him that he has a work to do here on this earth. Not one of us had a dry eye as we left that home.
These experiences made me think a lot. I got to witness a little six-year old bear hsi testimony for the first time about how he knows that God loves him, and minutes later got to hear the same testimony from a man that is suffering from a life-threatening illness. And the testimony is the same. I want to add my testimony on top of theirs, and of millions of others. God loves you.
Jeffrey R. Holland has said, “However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don't have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you havetraveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love."
It's true. He wants each of us to reach out to Him in faith. So do it!
There WILL be miracles.
I love you all!
Elder Jones
Pictures: Just me and some pup
