September 14, 2010

Hey mom and dad.

So this week has been crazy. Like really awesome. We've given a lot of service to the people and its starting to soften their hearts to the gospel. The harvest season is here for corn and so everyone is doing lubo (rubbing the kernels off the corn so they can grind it down into meal). So we've been going around finding people doing lubo so we can help and then talk about the gospel. We even got dinner last night and a return appointment after helping lubo.

We met with a new investigator. She's the cousin of the Young Womens president. It was a really great lesson. We focused on baptism. Then we talked about receiving an answer that these things are true and acting on it. Then we all went around and talked about how the gospel has blessed our life. The Spirit was incredible. Then I looked her right in the eyes and said, "Genevieve. If you study these things out and find for yourself that these things are true will you be baptized by proper authority on October 16?" She looked me right in the eyes about to answer and then someone yells from outside, "Gen! Come here!" So she said sorry and ran out. hahaha. I didn't break my gaze from where her face should have been and then I said, "Thats great. I know that the Lord will bless you as your prepare to enter his church through the waters of baptism." HAHAHAHA!!! We were all busting up laughing. It was such a great delivery and it fell flat! Kinda like the Cougars this week.....BOO!!!!! BTW dad, LOVE the play by plays and the recap you have at the end.
The best experience was that we had tracted into a young man and shared with him about prophets which he said that he knew nothing about. We set up a day to return and teach him. Well, we came back to teach and when we showed up he wasn't there. There were people moving in and out of the house like crazy. I felt like leaving and just saying that we'd check back another time. But it felt like the Spirit was keeping my feet stationary. Almost like I couldn't move. I felt like I needed to stand there. We didn't say anything. We just stood there for about 3 minutes looking like fools I'm sure. Then one of the girls inside the house invited us in.
So we sat down and we talked a little bit. They asked us what was our purpose here at the house and they told us that Lucky (the guy we were waiting for) would be home soon. So we introduced ourselves and the message to the people in the house. We told them that we knew that it could bless lives. We basically used every single one of those bullet points in How To Begin Teaching in PMG. I just treated it like we were there to teach them. Just then, Lucky walked in with his uncle! So everyone in the house told them to sit down and then they all asked us to share.

We started the lesson with prayer. We all stood up and I plead with Heavenly Father in my prayer to help the people we were about to teach to feel the Spirit and know of its truthfulness. So we started the lesson. It was incredible. The Spirit was so strong! Elder Seupule bore such strong testimony of the reality of Heavenly Father and the influence of the Gospel on families. Then I started the rest of the lesson. To make a long story short, they were full of questions. They had a desire to know! They were feeling that thirst and hunger that Amos talks about. Even one of the sisters told me that they had been searching just like Joseph had for the true church. They told us that they had heard just about every religion's missionaries and we were the only ones who were not confusing. Question led to question and before we knew it, we had taught them for a about 2 hours and 45 minutes. They didn't want us to leave. It was incredible. We got 8 new investigators at that lesson. And more are to join next week.

I extended the commitment to baptism but it was put down. They said that they really want to study it out and pray. When they know they will get baptized. They are really intent on finding out for themselves first.
We're going over to the senior missionaries place to cook the upside down pudding cake. They're stoked. I'm stoked. My comp has no idea what it is. The senior missionaries are awesome. They treated us on Monday to burgers at this great place in San Remeigo. The USA-Turkey game was on. Me, Elder Peck (the senior missionary) and Elder Bruneel (my buddy who just went home to play for BYU this season) were stoked that we caught the game. Elder Peck was into it! It was like watching a game with you dad. All three of us were cheering. Kevin Durant was just making those guys look like fools. haha

All in all, good week. Today should be fun. This afternoon this group of kids in our area asked me to play baseball with them so I'm going over there to play. I've gotten to be really good friends with those kids. There's this 11 year old girl that is the tough kid in the neighborhood. She's my little homey. haha. She's really competitive. Like me.

Love you all.
Brandon