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| Hermano Romero, Guadalupe, and ME! Looking like a native! |
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| Guadalupe's Baptism! |
Well this week our two baptisms were Nelson and Guadalupe! Sadly Manuel has dropped off the face of the earth. I feel so bad because this kid really has potential to do great things but he is too afraid to reach out and grab them. As I was watching Byron our old investigator pass the sacrament yesterday I couldn´t help thinking about Manuel... He could be doing the same thing! But we haven´t been able to talk to Manuel in a week and a week is a LONG time for missionary work. He told us last Sunday that he wanted to assist a different church. Later we asked him why and he told us that if he joins our church he won´t be able to dance or have fun. (We have been over this a million time already... Yes Manuel you can dance -- you can still have fun -- the only difference is you need to dance a little bit different).
As soon as he told us that, I knew he wasn´t really telling us the real problem. A little while later I asked how his mom was doing and he said she was doing well and then got quiet. He then mentioned that she told him to just listen to our lessons, but don´t get baptized. I am pretty sad about loosing such a neat investigator... But Hermana Romero and I thought it was best to drop him as an investigator... His family really doesn´t like it when we come. I never knew how hard this part of the missionary work would be because we have grown to love his family SO much! They are really something special...
But on a happier note... Nelson and Guadalupe are now the newest members of our war. It is nice feeling the excitement that a ward can have when there are new members joining every month. The ward has life and it feels good finding these people and helping them along the path.
This weeks since we had two baptisms, the ward had a party for Guadalupe her spouse and Nelson and his spouse on Friday night. Well Hermana Romero and I were informed that it was going to be a FHE-Ward Party... well no one really showed up for the FHE part of the night so our investigators felt a little uncomfortable knowing that NO ONE was coming to the Church until about 9:00... (our investigators showed up at 7:00.. Of all times to be punctual...)
But whenever the lights are on in the church the kids playing in the street come and stick their faces right in the gate and beg us to let them play soccer on the court that is in the back. WE usually let them play, but there were no men in the chapel with us so we told them maybe in about 30 minutes they could play... Well we walked in and kept talking to our investigators when we heard some kind of commotion out side. We ran back outside and one of the little boys got his leg stuck in the gate of the church. Well these gates are about 10 feet high and the space in between the bars is only about 4 and a half to five inches thick. This kid was trying to get his knee out. So there we are trying to shove and push his leg out and all those little boys are pulling him on the other side of the gate. We coudn´t get his leg out and I started thinking to myself... Maybe if we got his skin wet we could slip his leg out. We poured water all over his leg and it still wasn´t coming out. I then told Hermana Romero we have got to call somebody to cut these bars he is going to break his leg. He kept complaining about how much his leg hurt the whole time.
After about 15 minutes of trying to force his leg through we told him we need to get your parents. He said "No no no no no! My dad will kill me if I call him!" We took a step back and examined the bars and I asked how did you get in? He then pointed a little higher up the bars so we lifted him up and his leg slipped right out! The bars were just a little more spread apart higher up... So that was a miracle in itself! A little while later Hermano Tomola came and let the kids into play.
Hermana Romero then said to me, "I don´t want them playing in here today." I said "Oh they are fine..." She then told me about how once in a different area a little kid broke his leg while they were playing. Well none of these little boys were members so the parents got really mad at the church members and tried to sue the church. I told her everything was going to be fine. How are they going to break a bone... seriously...We had a family home evening lesson with our investigators with a few members and more and more members started showing up for the party. When Guadalupe´s son who is about six years old came running up to us with a worried look on his face and said, "There is a little boy outside and he broke his hand and is crying." Uhhhh...... Is this really happening? Then Hermana Romero said in my ear, "I TOLD YOU!!!!!!!!!!!" Just for the record..... I hate it when people say that.....
As we get to the soccer court a little boy was laying on his back with his arms folded but his arms were raised so they were resting on this forehead. There were probably 15 little kids sitting in a circle around him and they all were gathered under the metal goal post. We get closer and the little kids all start talking at once about how he broke his arm. Well from what I could understand from the rapid spanish that was flying around was: this kid was climbing on the goal post and he slipped, and fell and landed on his wrist. As we looked at his wrist we could see about two inches up on his forearm that his arm was bent funny. (It reminded me of Harry Potter´s arm after Professor Lockheart tried to mend his bone but actually removed his bones! This kids arm was kind of bent like that.)
Well as you can imagine Hermana Romero and I are wondering... Why are we dealing with this?!? WE start asking what´s your name... How old are you... Where do you live... Who are your parents? WE found out where his parents lived and sent one of the kids to go and get them. In the mean time members started gathering around and every time they asked what arm is broken ALL the little kids would lean in and poke this poor little boys arm! Hermana Romero and I kept saying NO TOCA!!!! Because the little boy would whimper and cry every time they touched his arm. We asked one of the members to call an ambulance or someone and they went to get their phone and never came back... But the little boy was actually being really good but he was in a lot of pain. I then asked a sister if any Priesthood brethren were there so we could give this kid a blessing and NO PRIESTHOOD BRETHREN WERE THERE IN THE BUILDING!!!! Where they all went we have no clue but we were so frustrated!
I then asked the little boy if he wanted us to say a prayer. He said yes and then we told all the little kids to close their eyes and fold their arms and they were all so cute as they quickly obeyed. We said a little prayer blessing this boy with strength and closed the prayer. All the whole members and members (all of whom DON´T hold the Priesthood) were gathering around but they didn´t do anything they just stood there and watched! They just let the missionaries deal with it... That is really really interesting that the members trust us so much. In the U.S. it is kind of the opposite.
About fifteen minutes later his mom finally came. She walked in so calmly and said, "What happened?" and all the kids said HE BROKE HIS ARM!!!!! She then said COMO!!???!!! She wasn´t so calm when she heard that little bit of information. Well to cut this story short her and her husband came and wanted to take him to the hospital in their own car. They then wanted to carry him to the car. The mother then grabbed his ankles and the father grabbed his shoulders and they carried him out to the car the the most awkward way possible!!! They jostled and bumped and wiggled this little boy so that he was crying hard than ever. His little arm is now probably a compound fracture instead of a clean break! hahaha
That was a pretty crazy experience but things here are going great! But we learned our lesson, don´t let the little kids play with out any priesthood brethren. Or should we not let them play at all... Or should we just let them play and if they break their bones they break their bones. So I guess we didn´t really learn how to deal with things like that! hahaha
Well I love you all more than I miss you!!!!
Love Hermana Welch #1 (Jess)
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