On Friday Elder Flanagan went with the young missionaries to meet with an investigator. The Sisters had passed off the lady they were teaching because they had met with her in the hospital, but now that she was at home, she was out of their teaching area. Rules are rules, however. Two elders cannot teach a female investigator alone. So, Jim went with them to meet this sweet woman who wants to be baptized as soon as she is well enough. Idalia is on dialysis. They all went back later in the evening to give her a blessing with the friend who referred her to the missionaries. Brother Soto has referred several people—in fact, I met him at church, and he introduced us to the investigator who is his girlfriend. It is an exciting time to be a missionary in Laredo.
On Saturday morning I was asked to give a short talk on the theme at a RS enrichment activity for 4th branch. Before we started, I got a phone call from two of the elders in our zone. They wanted me to play the piano for a baptism, so I left after my talk and went to pick up Jim.
José came up out of the water grinning and with his arm raised in a victory shout. He then bore his testimony and told how he had put off being baptized while the missionaries kept telling him to pray, read, and listen for his answer. In his job as a rehab counselor, José saw many things that prompted him to search for God and His church. We talked to José after the service, and he told us how he had some experiences with the adversary trying to stop him from being baptized. He even had to pull off the road as his tongue and body twisted and he felt dark and alone. The experience made him determined to be baptized. His girlfriend and her sisters were also at the baptism, and we had a great experience talking to them. (I think the girlfriend may be a member.) One of the sisters had a little girl with her who she was babysitting—an eight-year-old who looked at Jim’s badge and asked him if his name was “Elder.” He explained to her that it was a title. She looked at the badge again and touched it, saying, “Oh, your name is Jesus!” Jim explained that he had, indeed, taken Jesus’ name upon him. Little Melia was quite fascinated by the whole church thing. She wanted me to teach her a song on the piano, so I taught her the first line of “I Am a Child of God.” She said, “Is this a kids’ church?” I nodded. “Oh, I thought it was like for college kids.” Funny. Sweet.
On Sunday, José was confirmed and bore his testimony again. It was wonderful and touching and inspiring.
Some of the Sisters texted us to see if we could pick up an investigator for the 1:00 meeting, so we got to meet Aliada, a sixteen-year-old (absolutely beautiful) who loves the church. Her mother will not let her join, but she lets her attend sometimes. We were so impressed with Ali! She bore her testimony! She told how she loved to come to church and how she felt so loved and at peace there. We had a great talk with her as we drove to church. The sisters have tried to find a way for Ali to come to seminary, but Mom again doesn’t want her to attend. She may have to wait until she is an adult, but she will join eventually.
Testimony meetings here are so filled with the Spirit! You have to wait in line to share. Every day here is a spiritual experience. We love teaching and learning on the covenant path! We pray for you day and night. We joyously have prayer and scriptures with Cam twice a day, so we can finish the Book of Mormon again by the end of the year, as President Nelson has asked us to do. We love the Book of Mormon!
LOVE hearing your experiences! Keep up the great work! <3
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