2-27-12

hello everyone. it was another great week here in mexico. i really learned a lot this week and grew. 

i have really learned what it means to pray always. ive learned about the atonement, and about the blessings god gives us when we have faith and act on impressions.

last sunday before church we were inviting our investigators to come to church. while walking i felt like we should talk to a man walking with his son. we met them outside of another church and we usually dont contact out front of another religion and we almost passed, but i decided to put my hand out and say hi. we met him and he said he was named jose and his son was named jesus. he told us we could go by tuesday in the morning. tuesday at 12 we stopped by. a young man came out after some muffled voices and asked what we wanted. we said we were looking for jose, and he said "ill see if he´s here", in other words, "ill see if he wants to come out". it usually turns into a, he´s busy, he´s in the shower, he is about to leave, or he´s not here. but he said. "he´ll come in a little. you can pass (come into the house). we sat down and jose and his son and also his wife, palmira (like where joseph smith lived ha), and cristal his daughter. and also another sister in law namd maria and her two babies. it was a really special lesson. we shared the gospel of jesus christ. faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. as we shared the message we asked them questions and they responded with sincerity. they immediatly told us their problems as many people do. and we showed them how the gospel can save them and give them more blessings as a family than they can know. as we finished we invited each of them to be baptized on the 10th of march and they all accepted. as they accepted jose began to tell us the story that we didnt know about what had just occured. he said. "the day you talked to me on the street. i was drunk. last night i had a dream where i saw someone who took me by the hand and said, `follow me`. today when you came by i thought that i would say no, because i say no to everyone. i never let ppl come in. i always tell my wife to tell them to go away, but today i said yes. i know that this is the path for me." 
as he shared this message i felt the spirit very powerfully. we werent able to teach them the whole rest of the week for problems that happened and we werent there in the morning, but we saw palmira in the week and she lit up. she really had a light about her. she expressed how happy she was to see her husband. that he was saying how they were going to go to church and how he hasnt drank. Sunday they all came to church, and they brought the young man that answered the door for us the first day as well. in sacrament meeting they took up a whole row and everyone was super excited to have them there. they cried during sacrament meeting. in the gospel principles class, they all shared their testimonies and maria made everyone in the room tear up. they shared how god loved them and how this was the path for them. in priesthood we had to go into the high counsel room because the priesthood didnt fit in our normal room. the bishop thanked them for coming and jose shared his testimony again. he explained how since the moment we talked to them on the street he hasnt drank a drop of alcohol and how he is going to come to church every week. in this moment i felt the spirit as a warmth. not to sound cliche but i felt like god was hugging me. i felt warmth and peace. 

I know that god has prepared this family. i know that he leads and guides all of his children and that this is the church of jesus christ. i know that families can be together forever and that god has a very special plan for this family. 

this next week the hna lorena (mom of josue y erick) will be baptized and next week, this family! 

i love you all and miss you and hope you have an amazing week. 

love 

elder smith