Happy Week!‏

Day of Stake Conference! Me with a smallish Cat with a smallish amigo at my side. This week was great! One of the best that I have had in a long time! We got to hear from two General Authorities this week, one of which is Elder Godoy from Brazil that gave a talk in Portuguese in October General Conference last year. It was awesome! He said that the reason we are in the mission is firstly to learn from our Mission President and his wife. It's awesome because I think my mission Parents are both very spiritually powerful people, just like my Mom and Dad. Anyway, I had a great experience this week, that made me feel like you (Dad) were right there with me: This week we had two exchanges, one with my Zone Leader and one with a newbie. But when my companion and I were together we had some very great spiritual experiences! First off, I remember when you told me how on your mission you found a kid by the street whose bike chain had broken. You knew how to fix it, and sent the kid on his way. Afterwards, you guys contacted a nearby apartment building, and if I remember right not a single person let you guys in except for an older lady and her family because they saw what you had done for the boy in the street. Lots of them were baptized. This Friday I had a similar experience when I saw a boy in the street with his broken bike. It was very dark outside and we were in a very dangerous part of our Area called Cara Perro. I had been taught by you how to fix various parts of a bike, and we helped him get back home. His Grandparents were anxiously awaiting him, and when we came his Grandpa started to cry a little. "I knew this day would come again." he said. We found out that he was an inactive member from Tolima, Colombia that hadn't gone to church in about 10 years. He was waiting for the missionaries to find him and get his life out of the gutter. We taught them and the boy, they accepted baptismal dates, and he wants to come back to church. He told us it was the best day he has had in 10 years. Wow! Dad, thanks for being such an example to me, of how a missionary should be! I am proud to say that you are my Dad, and hope that I can pass on our mission legacy to my own sons! After this experience we went to the home of a family that is very special to me. We taught about baptism and they are so happy, waiting for the day when they can actually do it! We asked the daughter (who will be baptized this Saturday) who she wanted to baptize her. She is awesome because she reads to her parents from the Book of Mormon every day, she prays often, and she has walked about 2 miles to church (without her parents) with her one year old sister in arms. And she is only 10 years old! She picked me even though she can't pronounce my name well, and it was such a great feeling, because I really love that family so much! And right after that we went home, but we didn't have keys to the house. We were locked out and had to call the owner of the house to bring the keys and let us in our own house. But he came, and helped us in. He was about to leave, when he stopped, came back and asked us "What do you guys preach?" I told him that we preach repentance. He told us he was tired of his life: he is divorced, is a heavy drinker every night, sleeps during the day, and has various girlfriends. He asked us "You guys wouldn't happen to have some sort of a program for a person like me, would you?" We gave him The Word of Wisdom pamphlet and we are excited to teach him the Tuesday! The other day we gave out a Pamphlet of the Plan of Salvation to an uninterested woman. Her husband found it, and decided to attend church the next morning. He quickly found out that we were all going to Cartagena for Stake Conference, and he asked if he could come too. He went all the way to Cartagena, and sat with us. He was crying so hard afterwards, and he hugged us and said "This is what I have been searching for all my life! It wasn't by accident that this pamphlet came into my hands!" We visited him a few hours later in his house. He had soda and crackers ready for us, he had cleaned his house, and invited all his family to listen. We taught the Restoration and the whole family accepted a baptismal date! Wow! His name is Wilminton. I am glad that you guys are reading the book of Mormon together. If you are in Helaman 12 you will soon be reading a verse that I like a whole lot. Helaman 13:38, it says that we should not search for happiness where we know we cannot find it. In 2 Nephi 2:26 it says that we were made to have joy. But there is a difference between joy and excitement. Someone can feel excited doing drugs, but its temporary. There is no use for temporary things because we are not temporary things. Joy is something that l a s t s. We search out joy in daily family scripture study, sharing the gospel with the neighbors, doing FHE, going to church, paying tithing. Its the reason, Mormons are so happy!