Wow its crazy to think that it has already
been a week since the last time that I wrote the family. I can´t even believe
how fast the time seems to fly. Really all I focus on now is just trying to
find people and get them to church and the Sundays just start flying by and I
can´t slow them down hahaha. I know that it’s because I´m trying to stay
focused and trying to help as many people as I can come unto Christ through his
gospel. Well let’s see what the lowdown was for this week. On Tuesday we had a
capacition where all the missionaries in the zone came to our church and we
talked about the things that we had learned from President Agazzani. It went
really well. We talked about planning and really that it’s all about showing
our faith and putting down real names of real people and helping them through
their own needs to come unto Christ. After that we started using our focus on
how we looked at our areas. We have a lot of missionaries that just don’t have
the faith that there are people in their areas ready to be baptized and that
really they are just leaving the house to come back at the end of the day and
say that they worked. We talked about John 4 35. We had them picture what a
field looked like, a huge corn field. How did it look when there was nothing
there and it was just dirt? We had them talk about their feelings and what
hopes they had as they looked at an empty field. And then we showed them a
picture of a field full of cotton and it seemed like a huge cloud and there was
so much work to do. We asked them who would like to have an area full of investigators
like this? Everyone raised their hand. Then we talked about how really the Lord
wants every person to be able to partake of His salvation and so really our
areas are full of people to be baptized we just need to work and show the Lord
that we want to harvest all the fruit. It went really well and all the
missionaries left super pumped to go out and baptize everyone. After that I
went to Minga Guazu. They were going to have 6 baptisms and so I wanted to go
out and make sure that those people were real and were going to get baptized si
o si. The area is HUGE. We had to take buses everywhere so that we could talk
to all their investigators. We had some sweet lessons with all of their investigators.
It’s funny because I would just go and tell them that I heard that they were
going to get baptized and so I wanted to come and congratulate them. They get
all excited and happy after that. It’s funny... We got back at the end of the
day and we were super tired from running around everywhere and just trying to
visit all the people. That night I slept like a baby.
Yesterday on Sunday we had some sweet trials and sweet miracles. So the guy
that we found on last Sunday, his name is Fulgencio. Si o si (yes o yes) he is
going to be baptized. He is already a member practically. He knows so much and
he loves how everything in the gospel just makes so much sense. He has already
read the triple 4 times and knows it’s true. But he came to church walking in the
rain yesterday. Wow, what faith. He doesn´t smoke or drink, and lives alone.
Really he is practically a member already. Also Elder Martinez and I were
walking in the rain before church just trying to find more people to get to
church. We didn´t really have much success so finally we got back and we met a
girl that was from our area. She said that she just got up and wanted to go to
our church so she got ready and then walked in the rain to get there. Wow, Huge
miracle. She is super nice and really intelligent and is going to get baptized
si o si. Really church was filled with miracles for us especially while it was
raining. In Paraguay the rain means that everything and everyone shut down. But
I know that the Lord blessed us because we were trying to be diligent and
showing our faith.
This last week I have been reading my journal from a year ago. It’s nice to see
that I was writing in my journal every day. I really like being able to go
back. But to me it is amazing the progress that I have seen. I knew that I
really wasn´t that great of a missionary back last year but now I can see that
I have taken the gospel and not only taught it correctly, but I have put it
into my heart and applied it in my life so that I can be the missionary that
the Lord wants me to be. I have been reading a lot of how my attitude was and I
realize that my faith has grown a ton and now I have more love and hope for the
people of Paraguay. I love them with all my heart. They have taught me so much
and are going to continue to teach me a mountain of things.
This last week we were with a family and we were talking about faith and
prayer. I couldn´t really think of an example of faith and prayer but later
this week I was just walking in the hot sun and thinking about it. Then came to
my mind that one time when mom took us to Snowflake and we got caught on Jacobs
Lake in a huge snow storm. I remember that the car hit the guard rail because
mom had lost control of the car. I remember that all of us as little kids we
were super scared and didn’t know what to do. I remember that we said a prayer
and then mom acted. She got out of the car to look for help. Then that one guy
in his jeep stopped and helped us get to the top of the mountain. I know that
the Lord sent us that divine help. He knew that we had showed our faith by
praying and then acting on what we knew we could do. I know that the Lord is
listening, but also that He doesn´t just expect us to sit and wait for the
blessings of our prayers. I know that He expects us to act. To pray and then go
out and do what we had prayed about. To show the Lord our confidence in Him and
I know that He will guide our steps and place the people in our paths that will
help us overcome our challenges and doubts.
We have been teaching another family called the Britas family. It’s been super
hard for my companion because he wants to baptize them so bad. They are a super
nice family and really are super humble. We know that they have felt the spirit
when we are with them and that they are feeling the spirit when we are reading
with them. The only problem is that they have gone through so many churches and
so many religions that they just kinda mesh all of their teachings into one and
kinda make their own religion. Ahhhh its super frustrating because they don´t
really understand Spanish too well and I don´t speak Guaraní enough. Finally we
got down to the point where we had to ask them who established their church
that they go to. They said that really they didn´t know who did. Then we helped
them understand why it would be important to know. We had read the scripture in
3 Nephi 27 about the church carrying the name of Christ, and then they said
that their church was called Alpha and Omega another name of Christ. So we had
to help them resolve that doubt and realize that it has to teach the gospel of Christ.
So we asked them what was the doctrine of Christ according to their church and
they didn’t know. Sometimes it’s a little frustrating here in Paraguay because
people really don´t care about what the doctrine is in the church or what
church they go to as long as they feel good while they go. Wow that is a huge
sign that it’s the “true church”. It’s been a struggle for me to help people
understand how important the doctrine is. But on the flipside it’s helped me
not only to learn the doctrine but to really internalize it and to bare my
testimony of it.
Well I’ve got to go. I know that this is the church of Christ, the same church
that existed about 2000 years ago. Christ is driving this bus and we are all
going to get into the celestial kingdom if we live the gospel and follow the
basic principles taught by living prophets. I love you all, and I love the
mission. Peace!
Rohaihu
--
Elder Beatty
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