our biggest challenge this week is getting hermana Anai to come to church with us. we verify, verify, and knock on the door, but she doesn't really have that desire to attend church with us, which means her baptismal date for this coming Saturday has fallen, and we need to work a little bit more with her.
our biggest concern was friday, when hermana Maryurí told us that she didn't want to get married. which is kind of big problem, because you have to be married to the person you are living with to be baptized. it's kind of a thing... but we had a great lesson with her last night, and she was also interviewed by our district leader, and all is on track for her baptism this coming saturday!
our biggest successes include having four people interviewed, and ready for baptism this saturday, one baptism yesterday. eight investigators at church, and completing the standards of excellence for nicaragua managua south missionaries. this week's baptism is brought to you in part by the help of the Lord, a whole lot of following the spirit, and a little bit of faith. allow me to explain: last friday we were told that hermana lucia would be going out of town for a couple of weeks, to help care for her sick grandma. tuesday we got the impression to call her, and see how it was going. she asked us about the plans for her baptism, and we scrambled to repent and put our faith in the Lord in action.
she got back into town Friday night, we had her interviewed Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon we and a few members of her family gathered to help her make this convenant with the Lord.
my favorite person this week is Asucena, who accepted the calling as second counselor of the Relief Society presidency, just four short weeks after her baptism!
a tender mercy can be found in hermana Elizabeth, the sweetest, most amazing member of the ward. {shhhh don't tell no body!} we made a dinner appointment with them Saturday, and after tracting for about four hours straight, I was hungry and ready to sit down. she made some really great spaghetti and rice, and then we sat down to talk with her and her husband, Santiago (who is the Elders Quorum President) about the needs of our investigators. We got to talking about the complicated marriages that need to happen this coming Saturday, and turns out that they aren't really that confusing or difficult, and her sister who is a lawyer can do them for us for a fraction of what it would have cost us to do them with another lawyer that we know! wooo hoooo!! prayer answered!
i am most looking forward to another set of baptisms this Saturday, completing a family in the church, and starting another!
a goal for this week is to eat more fruit, and not so many chips...
something that i have been thinking a lot about these past couple of weeks about the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-9, with the knowledge of the scriptures in Alma 32:37-39.
i got thinking about the types of soil that the Lord distinguishes. according to Luke, the seed the sower sows is the word of God. our hearts are to be understood as the soil. looking at the people i have come in contact with here in Loma Linda, i can find the four examples of soil.
1- the seed that falls by the wayside. people who don't want to even talk to another person. who won't even let you introduce yourself.
2- the seed that falls on stony ground. the people who let you in the house, and listen to the word for a little while, but don't want to act. people who fall away because temptations come and they don't have the roots to sustain themselves.
3- the seed that falls among thorns. the people who accept the word, go forth searching good for a little while, but then seek the worldly recognition and are choked out.
4- the seed that falls on fertile ground. the people whose hearts have been prepared to cultivate the seed. a heart ready to change, grow, and flourish in the Gospel.
i have seen them all here in Loma Linda, and thanks to other missionaries, I have the opportuntity to reap many souls unto the Lord. for the same token, I have the great opportunity to help other hearts, in other fields, to be prepared for a future harvest.
until the coming week,
hermana graves
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