Learning the Principle of Patience - May 8, 2017

Hello Everyone, Well this week we were able to learn a very important principle that still comes very hard to me and that I have been trying to work on throughout my mission, and that principle is patience. On Tuesday I had the opportunity to go to Jalapa de Marquez and do divisions with Elder Gonzalez. It was hard to see the difficulties that they are going through out there reopening the area but we were each able to learn several important things for the work. While I was there my companion went by to prepare the soccer team for their baptism. When he got there 3 of them said that they didnt want to be baptized anymore. My poor companion didnt know what to do and called me. I told him that tomorrow we would go back with them and to just help the 1 that wanted to be baptized. When I got back to San Blas the next day we went running up the hill to teach these kids and sure enough, for the first time in the 3 months we have taught them, most of them didnt want to get baptized. All of them had recieved the spirit of fear that they would fail God if they were baptized. We read scriptures with them, shared our testimonies with them, but in the end it was only Carlos that was willing to take the step to baptism. We invited all of them to go to the baptism on Friday night. When we went none of them were home to go to the baptism so we went alone with Carlos and his family. Yet when we got to the church, we found Germain there, one of the members of this soccer team with Raul, Carlos' little brother. We went ahead with the baptism and it was a simple yet powerful service that we had. Carlos had invited his neighbor who has been less active in the church for several years. The branch president challenged her to be a support to Carlos, to help him go to church each week. And on Sunday she was there along with her family and Carlos. Yet the greatest thing that came from this was Germain, at the end of the service, Germain, who is 14 years old yet the same height I am sure as Cambrie my little sister, told me that he wanted to talk to me. So I went with him and he told him that during the baptism Heavenly Father had told him that he needed to be baptized this Friday. He asked me if we could say a prayer and in his prayer he said in the humility that only a boy could have, said "Heavenly Father, I promise you that I will no longer have fear to do what you want me to do, and that I will be baptized on Friday" It was so sweet to feel the spirit so strong in that prayer, and it helped me to strengthen my testimony in this great work. These boys may be young, yet they are some of the few that are willing to listen to the promptings of the spirit. Just as Joseph Smith nearly 150 years ago, and today, these youth are powerful, and humble, and have a bright future in front of them. This was our week this week, working with these kids to help them to see that God listens to them and that we need to be patient with God because he works in his own time for our personal benifit. On Saturday we had a Branch MTC here with a lot of the members. It was fun because when they all got here we gave them nametags and told them that they were missionaries. They all got excited and we taught them how to teach the lessons and they practiced teaching. At the end we had them watch missionary videos and they wrote down someone that needed the gospel. We challenged these members to go out and teach these people and to have us come on the second visit. They are all so willing to act upon the invitations of the gospel, and something that has been a huge example to me here in San Blas. It is quite possibly one of the poorest parts of Oaxaca, and the sacrifice to get to church is enormous for them, yet when the Lord commands them to act, they do it and they do it in happiness. It is something that I hope to apply now and later on and something that I hope each one of you can do too, to act in happiness and upon the first invitation that comes from God. He will bless you with far greater things in his own due time. This work is true!!