Pictures: temple in villahermosa we got to go last week, my bishop outside his house we ate there and it started raining really hard and flooded, some rabbits and one was huge and one really small.
hello everyone. hope you all had a great week. i had a lot of really great experiences. this week we have been going to a place called teapa. it is a place that takes about an hour to get to in a bus. the member came and brought the miracle investigator from last sunday. though she cant get baptized yet because her and her husband arent married and there are problems with their papers, they have an 8 year old son that is going to get baptized this thursday. he is really excited and it will be a great blessing for their family. it really was a miracle for us because there was no way we wouldve found them going and knocking doors cause its so far away. it is a cool part of my area with a big river running through it and some "mountains" as they say here (hills) ha. it is really beautiful though.
we worked super super hard this week and specifically worked hard with the members. we taught a ton! we had 19 lessons with members present. that is the best ive had in my whole misson and we taught 17 lessons apart form that without members. we worked hard with members to bring ppl to family nights in their houses and we talked with a lot of members and had them bring them to their friends. we got 12 references this week as well! sunday the bishop had ppl talk more about helping us. one of the high couselors who is in the ward said something really great. he said the ward is "white already for the harvest" for three reasons. 1) we have new missionaries who are really good and working super hard. 2) made a ward mission plan last week 3) called a ward mission leader that sunday. it is cool to see the ward coming together to work for a common cause. if missionary work is functioning in the ward, the ward will flourish.
we had some cool experiences this week. i really turned into like a marriage couselor this week. i still think that is one of the craziest things about being a missionary. the confidence that people have in us when we share the gospel. they literally look at me and ask. "what do we need to do to fix our marriage and our lives". one guy was basically decided to separate from his wife. it is a hard situation. we are working hard with them to help them to stay together and get married. i shared a scripture with him from moses 1 that talks about how when moses came out of the presence of god, satan came and tempted him. he answered satan with confidence but when satan showed his power he feared but trusted in christ and overcame satan. it is a good thing we can apply in our lives. when we try to accomplish the most good in our lives, that is also when the biggest trials and temptations come. usually we dont recogrize them as temptations of satan because they seem like small things or other ppls faults, but the times when things go well are the times we need to focus most on trusting in god and not let our guard down. if we arent progressing we are falling back. its like a manual car driving up hill. if we arent accelarating we roll back down hill and need more energy to get going again.
we also counseled a women who lost her son this week. he was only like 18 and he died. we went and helped her understand better the plan of salvation. that families can be together forever if they are faithful to the plan of god and if they are sealed together by the priesthood authority of god in the temple. it was sad to see that even though she had faith in another religion, she was distraught. she literally couldnt function if she thought about him. she didnt think she would ever see him again. We helped her and taught her and sang hymns with her and i think she is going to really progress. she was a reference that we received this week also.
i had a really powerful experience with president castañeda this week. we had interviews with him and he made me some really powerful promises for me in the rest of my life as i continue working hard and being faithful. everytime i am with him i always see that i have a long long way to go spiritually still.
well i love you all and miss you a ton. im working hard here until the end. it is crazy how fast each week seems to go by. i have already been here a month. have a great next week and good luck with school and work and everything.
love
elder smith
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