Lima - Post 9

SO this week has been AMAZING!  My new companion is Hermana Durán from Honduras. We both arrived here in Argentina at the same time but I have 1 month more than her in the mission since I was in the Provo MTC for six weeks before I came out here.  I remember the first day here, I was trying to speak in broken spanish, and she in broken inglish.  When I learned she was going to be my companion I was so excited!  We get along so well!  I feel like we have been together a lot longer than one week!

I had the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!  It was full of miracles.  We had 9 lessons with members, found 8 new people through referrals and also started teaching an AWESOME family that are way prepared!  Let me tell you about them :)

LA FAMILIA MUGA:  One day Hermana Weitl and I were bicycling and we passed a house.  Hermana Weitl remembered knocking the door but couldn't remember if they we former investigators, less-active members, or what.  So we decided to knock the door and out came a man.  We chatted with him and found out that he had listened to missionaries before and that he had a Book of Mormon, however he didn't have time to talk but said we could pass by another time.  But then something happened and we couldn't pass by and we didn't have his phone number. We tried and tried to find this family at home again, and one night we did.  His wife wasn't there so we chatted a little bit outside his door.  He was reading the Book of Mormon and has felt something change inside of him.  He and his wife used to argue a lot but when he started reading the Book of Mormon he felt more calm and didn't want to fight anymore.  He just kept trying to have peace. After talking to him awhile, we invited him to be baptized.  He took a minute and thought the said "I wanted this for my family too" I just about burst into tears!  He started talking about how he wants to be with his family forever and he wants their family relationships to get better, and all the things a missionary wants to hear.  I was in cloud nine!  So he accepted the baptismal date and said he was going to talk to his wife about it.  

We had a return appointment but something else came up (Freaking Satan trying to mess up the work of God!) so when Hermana Durán came we went by on Wednesday night and met his wife and she was interested in learning about the gospel too.  We invited her to be baptized too and she accepted also!  We set an appointment for the next day and they were all there!  We had an awesome lesson! They are preparing to be baptized together as a family the 9th of August including and their son who turns 8 on the 3rd of August! WooHoo!  (In the LDS faith, we believe children are blameless in incapable of sin until they have been taught and reach an understanding of accountability - age 8 - at which they are baptized.) We set up a return appointment for the following day but they had to go do some paperwork last minute and wouldn't be back until Saturday night.  So we prayed and prayed for them and that they would go to church.  Sunday morning they didn't answer our calls so we ran by their house and lo and behold they were getting up and getting ready to go to church.  They LOVED it! They are such a miracle, but they are helping me learn the plan that God has for the family.  The Gospel truly does bless families.  Reading the Book of Mormon caused a change of heart that literally saved a marriage and now the whole family is working together to receive the blessings God has waiting for them!

So that was my miracle for the week.  We had other interesting experiences this week.  Sunday we contacted a referral.  He thought he knew pretty much everything about the Mormons and our book.  He said he only believed in the Bible and that it is perfect and complete.  We asked him if he had ever read the Book of Mormon, he replied no.  We asked him if he had ever prayed to God to ask if it was true and if it were possible that he could give us more revelation. He replied no, he didn't have to, because he already knew it was false.  That made me so sad because he wasn't even willing to ask GOD, in whom he had so much faith.  He decided to rely on his own knowledge and not ask Him who knows all.  

It says in James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom , let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."  I know that if he would soften his heart, read the Book of Mormon, ponder the message it contains, then ask GOD if it is true, he would undoubtably receive the answer that it IS TRUE and that it could change his life if he would let it. (He is fulfilling the prophecies found in 2 Nephi 29, READ IT - it will blow your mind!) That is all we, as missionaries, ask people to do - listen to the message, read the Book of Mormon, ask GOD in prayer if it is true, when they do know that it is true, then follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and be baptized to start on the path that leads to salvation. It really is very simple and I KNOW that whoever applies these simple invitations will have a great and marvelous change in their lives. It happened to me and I have seen it happen to other people and I know it can happen to anyone who sincerely wants to find the truth.

I love serving this mission so much and I love being able to help other people change their lives and accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the greatest thing EVER!  I love my Savior and all He allows me to do day after day. I know I would not be able to do all of this without his help.  I'm actually doing nothing, just trying my best to be an instrument in his hands to bless the lives of others.

I love you all and can´t wait to hear from you next Monday!

Hermana Allison Scarlett