We were kind of bummed, there were a lot of people this week that we had to drop, and at one point we just looked at each other and were like...??? What the heck are we supposed to say to that?? For example:
We contacted a lady named Emilce like 3 weeks ago, and we have been talking with her ever since, she just doesn't go to church. We went to her house again on Thursday and she answered the door with huge purple bruises all over her body. We were like...oh flip. She let us in and then promptly told us that she doesn't believe in God anymore, because what kind of God would let her husband abuse her like that? If He is all powerful and all knowing, why didn't He do anything? She said that she has decided that if her husband comes back, she won't be responsible for what she is going to do to him. I honestly thought to myself, "I got nothing." Its like I know that He loves us, and sometimes we don't understand why we have to go through some trials, but she didn't want any of it. It made us so sad, and we can't let it get us down, but just the same. We will go back next week after it dies down a little and see what we can do.
I have been thinking about the whole attributes of Christ thing, I think we are sent to different areas to learn, develop, and strengthen certain attributes. For example, in Palma Loma I learned humility, patience, and love. In Salado, faith, diligence, and obedience. The hard part is keeping the other ones strong while we are developing new ones...dangit. But that is just how it goes, I think.
We finally got to the end of this week, and it ended so wonderfully with Alejandro's baptism. Seriously, this kid is going to do something awesome, like reactivate his whole family. We taught them about tithing on Wednesday, and his mom told us on Friday that Alejandro asked her if he could wash the dishes, but that she would have to pay him so that he could pay his tithing:) We giggled a little:) It was freezing cold and raining buckets Saturday night, but we still had like 30 people at the baptism, with the entire family of Alejandro. The spirit was so strong, and the mom was so happy. She told us that we were "una grande bendicion para su familia." Sincere compliments like that don't come very often, so that was really nice. It was such a good feeling to see them all there for the first time in 15ish years.
After Alejandro was baptized, we were waiting outside the bathroom with his mom, and she just started to cry. It kind of shocked us a little bit, because she is someone who is really closed, she doesn't really ever show her emotions. We gave her a hug, and she told us that Alejandro had told her that his new goal is to get his dad to go back to church. SO....then WE started to cry, and I can honestly say that this moment was one of the sweetest of my mission. It made this whole last week worth it. I can't express how grateful I am to be here and witness the changes of heart that the Atonement can bring. It is so wonderful, and I am so happy. It stinks sometimes, but these sweet moments are what make it all worth it. I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and I know that what we have will help whoever wants to receive it have a better life, full of sweet moments and tender mercies. I love you all and I hope that you have a good week!
Love,
Hermana Farish
Alejandro with his family at his baptism |
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