¡Hola Fonzfam!
I'm not sure about you guys, but things here in Oregon changed dramatically just as the name of the month switched from February to March. On Wednesday it was snowing, but since Friday it's been nothing but sun. The buds on the trees are getting bigger and the spring flowers are popping up. Before we know it General Conference will be here along with Spring Break! I love this time of year because like baptism, it's a new beginning.
We were sadden this last week because we had to stop teaching Jose Lara altogether(he was suppose to be baptized this upcoming Saturday) because he stopped responding to us in all of our efforts to make contact. We didn't get any real closure with him which makes it even harder, but he is not going to be forgotten. Cristal and Hector seem to have gotten more nervous as their baptismal date becomes more of a reality to them. They haven't come to church yet since I've been here because of some social concerns we believe, but they have amazing fellowshippers who we've made plans with to blow on the fire. Brandon is so ready to be baptized, but we're waiting on his mom to solidify his date(his younger 8-yr-old brother, Ethan, wants to get baptized with him). We've talked about Mar 30 or April 13 as it'll be around General Conference. Him and a few other people we're teaching could totally have baptismal dates as they commit and come to church more frequently.
Jesus(we don't have a last name yet to specify which Jesus haha) is someone relatively new that we're teaching who works as maintaince at an apartment complex in Tualatin. In our last lesson with him we asked him about his reading and he read the first 6 chapters of the LDM! He said that he was determined to finish the whole thing! We listened with excitement as he retold what he had read. We continued our lesson with teaching the Plan of Salvation and he ate it up. He had a lot of energy and we feel that he'll become one of our next candidates for baptism soon, especially after he promised to come to church this next week!
A couple weeks ago we got a referral from the local English missionaries for this middle-aged mother named Padi. So we went by her place and her husband Martin answered giving us a chance to teach him about the LDM and set a return appointment for Saturday. Saturday comes and he texts us wanting to push it to Sunday, which we were ok with because very rarely does someone we're teaching give us a heads up on an appointment like that. Last night we didn't know what to expect, but let me just tell you that we had one of our best lessons in this area together. Both Martin and Padi grew up Catholic but they didn't like the traditions and teachings and so they're searching for something better for their family of five. Right from the beginning after the opening prayer the Spirit was present and strong. Padi began tearing up as she expressed her love for her children and for God. Her husband moved his chair closer to her and began to comfort her. We left them with Moroni 8 to read together so they can learn more about baptism. We're so excited to go back this next week to teach them more about how they can be a family forever:)
Come Follow Me this last week covered Matthew 6 & 7 including Christ's teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. Kind of tagging along with what I mentioned before, many of the things He taught stem from having humility. Something specific that stuck out to me came from Matthew 6:1-4 as this thought came to my mind, "When we serve, go about it humbly, seeking no reward." Everything we do has a reason or motivation behind why we do it. In these chapters the Savior taught that we shouldn't do things like pray, fast, or give alms in a means that shows off to others. Our desire isn't to obtain the "glory of man," but to do that which is pleasing to God. As we serve others and keep the commandments, we can remember to let it be out of love for our Father in Heaven.
Again, as always, I love you guys and wish you the best this week!
Con Amor,
Elder Fonnesbeck
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| District Dodgeball Pday! |
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| Cabela Safe. 400lbs. 40yds. Truck Ramp. Pday Service. |
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| Spring is here with Mt Hood back there. |
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