¡Hola Fonzfam!
First off, did Day Light Savings make you sleep in Sunday morning?? Both my companion and I were well aware of the time change and so we made sure we were good to wake up on time. Unfortunately others who we were planning on having at church used the time change as an excuse of not showing up(our church starts at 1pm! How do you sleep in?!) I hope it wasn't an excuse for any of you;)
Monday night was a busy one as we stopped by numerous people we're teaching setting up return appointments and checking in on how things have been going. We were able to talk to Brandon and his mom about his baptism and we reset his date for April 13th, the week after General Conference! He's so excited! The couple lessons we had set up with him and his family kept falling through because of the last minute plans they kept making, and so we'll be making sure we can get in there to teach this week.
One of the branch counselors came out with us to a lesson that I was really hoping was going to happen. We had called this single mom, Leydi, a few days before and set up the time but she hadn't confirmed it the day of. With many prayers said, we knocked her door and she was there. Phew! We started out having a great conversation and Hermano Montiel(our member) had some great insight to share since he's only been a member for about 3 years. Then Leydi's friend Maria walked in right as we were about to share the Joseph Smith's First Vision. She saw who we were and gave a little smirk before interrupting even more by asking all of these derailing questions. From there we were unable to bring everything back, but before we left we were able to share enough about our message to have Leydi read from the LDM before our next visit this Friday. We're hoping her friend won't be there, but if she is we'll be sure to let her know our purpose in being there.
During my exchange with Elder Young in Sherwood, we were trying to contact a bunch of potentials in a complex during the 5 to 7 time period. Even though that's the best time to catch people home, nobody was. After we had gone through everyone, Elder Young and I decided to pray to know what to do next. Then what came to my mind was the thought to check my Spanish Area Book for who had been previously taught in that area. There were only a few people, but one stuck out and so we hit it. When we knocked on the door it immediately opened and we were welcomed in by the mom, Digna, and her family. They pulled up some chairs for us and began talking about the Libro de Mormon. They were really nice, but unfortunately they weren't as open to what we were about. They've met with missionaries before and had some doubts about Joseph Smith, which provided me an opportunity to bare my testimony of him in Spanish. I know they felt the Spirit because everything got quiet and everyone's attention was fixed on my words. That was the miracle in of itself because as soon as I finished we left them with a prayer and something to read from the LDM before we excused ourselves. There is definitely potential with them but for now we know we had accomplished what the Lord needed us to do at that time.
On Wednesday night we were visiting with Rosa and her family and reading the LDM with them. Her son Eddie, who was baptized with her a year ago, was having some frustration with understanding what we were reading. Rosa, having gained a good amount of understanding over the past year, related to him and us about the first time Elder Montague and I had given her her first copy of the LDM. At first she didn't understand it because she wasn't the best at reading. She hardly read anything. Then she remembers how we gave her the children's version which was much easier to understand. She said she had spent 3 hours a day reading it over and over again. Then, more recently, she's been getting into the actual LDM and loves all of the rich scriptures inside. She told her son that he too can have greater understanding if he's patient with himself. We then taught them that since they have the gift of the Holy Ghost, He will help open their understanding of the scriptures. It's so cool to be back here in this branch one year later to see how different individuals, like Rosa, have grown.
Many of the lessons we had set up kept falling through last minute which started to get a little discouraging. We were able to get return appointments with most of those who cancelled though. It's been a test of faith for both Elder Silva and I as we continue to prayerfully decide which direction to take with each individual and family. There is so much potential for baptisms within our teaching pool, the thing we need most are people to make and keep their simple commitments before they're ready for bigger covenants with God. One can only imagine the amount of time we've spent on our knees praying for all who we're working with, members and nonmembers alike. I love this work so much and I cherish the valuable time left I have to serve. There's nothing else we can do in this world to grow in the way the mission has helped me grow. To anyone reading this who is on the fence about serving a mission, just pray about it. You'll know. Whether the answer is yes or no or not now, at least you'll know God's will.
Have a great week everyone and I'll write you again!
Con Amor,
Elder Fonnesbeck
Elder Fonnesbeck
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| Meet Toby the Tortoise |
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| Funny thing about this palm tree is that it's infront of a house that I knocked with Elder Montague over a year ago, but this time I was with Elder Young on exchanges! |
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