Biking and Baptisms!

Companions for life!

Mother's Day Party with Mariachi Band

Turtle catch and release

This week was super good!  We saw a lot of miracles.  It started off with me and Elder Beveridge biking.  That’s never done in our area so it was pretty crazy.  But we found ourselves without a car so we dusted off the bicycles.  And it was Pday so we left at 6 to go teach. Luckily we got a ride to our first lesson.  So we taught and biked and biked and talked until a family home evening with members at 7.  By the time we taught and ate, we got out at 8:30 and we had quite a ways to get home.  So we left from there because we thought it would take us a while to get home but we were cruising.  I mean like super speed.  Especially because we were on a lot of big roads with no shoulder.  But we ended up getting home in 35 minutes somehow which surprised everyone.  So now we know that I still have my biking legs, haha.

Also, at the Diazes, when we got there, their dogs were barking and scratching at the fence so we went to check it out. Turns out a turtle got stuck in the fence. So I heroically jumped the fence and seized it from its resting place.  But let me tell y'all that he wasn't very grateful because he tried to start swimming in the air and his inch long claws kept slicing my arms.  So I had to hold him with one hand on top and one on bottom so he couldn't reach me.  But anyways, we got him back over and in a bucket and after the lesson, me and Elder Beveridge took him to a pond near by and let him go free.  It was so cool.  And that was me and Elder Beveridge’s last bonding moment together before he got transferred.

Then we had transfers and he left, but now me and Elder Tate are training! His name is Elder Valentine.  He is from Vernal, UT and loves music and doing Parkour.  He's pretty cool!!  And he is doing super good.  His Spanish is great and he loves the work!

Other worldly events this week, we had a ward Mother’s Day party.  Parties in H4 are the best!  We had a bunch of food, a DJ, and for an hour, even a mariachi!  It was legit!  Ward parties are the best just because it is great for investigators and less actives, and we can spend a bunch of time getting to know the members in the ward.  Sometimes it’s just not the most spiritual thing we do in the week, haha.

But on the spiritual side, Alexis is a stud!  The big things we wanted with him this week was for him to get an answer that he should be baptized and to obtain his parents permission.  Well we went over and had planned to teach all about how the Spirit works and how we can know of gospel truth but that all changed within the first 5 minutes.  We asked him how his reading went, and he replied something along the lines of... "It was really good, and afterwards I was trying to pray to get an answer because I really wanted to know, and I got my answer.  God says I need to be baptized." And then we were like... "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Something like that, haha ;)  But I can't remember if I said all that or just thought it.  But now he will for sure be getting baptized on May 23, and he told us that his parents are ok with him being baptized!  Now all we have to worry about is teaching him all the lessons in time, but that should be easy.  We are so blessed to be teaching him!!

Also, we have been trying to visit Amairani again, and it’s been super hard. She has changed a bunch and doesn't have any of the good feelings she used to have about being baptized.  But she now is way more spiritual and has a better personal relationship with God!  Well we finally got to have a decent talk/lesson with her and we got in!  I was super stubborn (because I know how she was before and that she was inches away from baptism) and my companions were super mellow and calm and more loving/willing to compromise.  It pretty much ended up like good cop bad cop, haha.  But she agreed to read the Book of Mormon daily to she if she should give it another chance.  And in her prayer she thanked God for our stubbornness and niceness, so I guess it worked out.  She is definitely getting baptized! And I am going to make sure it happens!  Keep her in your prayers! 

It was great to talk to both of you! Miss you!

Elder Lund