Monday, September 17, 2012

FREE AT LAST!!

Family!  
I hope you all are doing really, really well!!! I am doing wonderful!  Didn´t have any real food scares this week and my companion and I are finally starting to see the fruits of our labors!  It is awesome when we have investigators!  Especially when they are progressing!  This week was uneventful but still stressful and we worked hard all week long!  I am finally getting used to the area and the members.  We recently got a new ward mission leader which is such a blessing and we also have four hard working ward missionaries!  I am so happy!  Everything is falling into place and I feel like this ward is really going to progress in terms of missionary work.  

Well I must inform you all that my companion and I had transfers.  Last night the phone rang around 11:00 and my companion answered I fell back asleep but then I woke up to my companion saying, "Hermana tenemos cambios!"  (Sister we have changes!!!)  I then jumped out of bed and asked who was leaving and she said she was and ran to the other room to try and pack her bags as quickly as she could.  I followed her and asked if I could help her pack a little faster and she said she didn´t need help.  So I walked back into our room and before I jumped into bed I did a little Irish Jig/happy dance and slept very well knowing that I have the chance of working with someone who is a little bit nicer.  

In the morning we cleaned the house and ate breakfast and studied a little and then it was time to go to the terminal.  I could tell that my companion was happy about the change as well... We both had a pretty rough time with each other and I think we both were trying to hide how happy we were about the change. When we got there the assistants were there waiting for us with a couple of other hermanas and elders who also had transfers a little bit earlier.  (Here in Guayaquil our President does the transfers for our mission in three weeks so that all the missionaries are not invading the terminal at the same time) When I got there I saw Hermana Romero, my trainer, and seeing her made me want to cry because I realized how great of a companion I had and I think I took her for granted when I was with her.  We talked and waited for our companions and waited some more and finally the last companionship of sisters showed up.  My new companion is Hermana Paasaca.  Something that is interesting is I was in the Peru MTC with her sister at the same time.  So we have a little connection.  My companion is really, really nice and is a hard worker I am very excited to work with her.  And I can say that I am free at last!       

But this week was really good.  We are inviting EVERYONE to be baptized and if they say no we are moving on to the next investigator who wants to repent and be baptised.  Hermana Climaco and I have been wasting time with people who don´t have a desire to change and just want to "listen" so we have been dumping a lot of investigators and looking for new ones... And don´t worry we are not just dumping them, we explain to them that our purpose is to invite them unto Christ so that they can one day make covenants with him... Covenants like baptism and if they don´t want to change now we have their information and they have our number so that we can find them again and teach them when they are ready.  

During this week we invited the Masias family to be baptised.  They really are a great family and every time we teach them they understand and put into practice what we teach them.  This week we taught them lesson three, which is The Gospel of Jesus Christ which teaches about faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.  During this lesson we had planned to invite them to baptism but this family is so awesome we were actually really nervous about what they would say. I don´t think I have ever been that scared to extend a baptismal invitation to anyone in my whole mission! 

Well the lesson was going really well and they always have great questions, (this is probably my favorite part about being a missionary, answering questions that people have and they don´t know where to find the answer for themselves) Well Leonardo who is thirteen-ish asked, "Families can be together forever right?"  We told him yes and then he asked, "Well I heard that this is only possible if your whole family are members?  Is that true?"  I then took a deep breath looked at Hermana Climaco and she gave me the look,'I don´t know how to answer this.'  So I told him, "Remember the three kingdoms of glory that we talked about last week?"  He said he did and then I asked him, "Who can enter into the celestial kingdom."  He said only those who are baptised right? I told him yes and I said but you need more than just a baptism... You need a baptism that was done by the proper authority, the priesthood.  Then he said yeah I understand that... But what about the whole family thing.  I then told him that families are only in the Celestial Kingdom.  He then understood that there are certain steps that have to be met before you can have an eternal family.  Then he said something that I will never forget, "Well, we need to be baptised then don´t we?"  

I tried not to look too surprised with his answer but I was actually so happy that he came up with the question first... Why yes Leonardo you do need to be baptized!  And we extended a baptismal date to them and they all accepted!  We were elated and I could really tell that they were happy with their decision too...  It is pretty neat helping them change but seeing them happy with the changes that they are making in their lives is even better.  

Sorry I don´t have much time to write you all but I am doing really well here down in Ecuador and I am so happy with my new companion!  I love you all and miss you like crazy.  This church is true and I love talking about it with everyone.  The more I study, my testimony gets so much stronger.  I love testifying to these people but also feeling the spirit testifying to me as well.  It is something that is indescribable.  I love this work!  

Love Hermana Welch #1 

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