P-Day update week 53, 02/20/2023

¡Hola mis hermanos y hermanas en Cristo!

Another week down, going into week 6 of the transfer really excited! The work is great and the field is truly white already to harvest!!

Bread and chocolate milk for dinner, what more could an Elder ask for?

I feel like a broken record at this point but I have been thoroughly enjoying San Juan Xiutetelco! The work here has been treating us so well, and it just hasn't slowed down!! This week we have been working to find new people now that we're about to finish the transfer, we want to leave it looking good to start the next transfer! So like we usually do we've been visiting our inactive friends to see if we can help them get back to church, and to see if there is anyone they know, family, friend, that would like to strengthen their relationship with Christ! From there we've been getting good results! In fact one person in particular stands out, our new friend Patty! As we were searching around for our inactive friends we found a man named Nephi (I bet you can't guess if he's a member of the church or not). Nephi hasn't been to church in a very long time, about 12 years or so! And he was super happy to see us when we stopped by, and we also learned in that first encounter that his wife isn't a member of the church! So we introduced ourselves and set a time to go and visit them. Usually these visits are more or less the same, we go in and teach about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, talk about the Sacrament and give the invitation to read the Book of Mormon and pray if it's true! Form there we see if they completed said invitation, and continue to visit them and invite them to do more things until they eventually accept the invitation to be baptized! So we went in with that mentality, but really this lesson went a little more different than we thought! As we started to teach, we began to receive a lot of questions form Patty, asking about the apostasy, the Book of Mormon, and the Word of Wisdom! It was awesome!!! We love it when our friends ask us questions, it helps us know that they are really interested in learning! But it didn't stop there, Patty as well began to tell us that she doesn't really know what she is anymore, catholic, or not! She told us that as she's grown she's had more doubts about God and religion, and that when she met Nephi she began to doubt even more! And when we got there she really threw out her questions and doubts! As we began to teach and respond to her questions, we began to see how important this was for her. We could see that she truly wants to know the truth, and she wants to take part in it! She has a lot of questions and a lot of doubts, buts she's willing to hear us out!

After all that we ended up giving Patty the invitation to read the Book of Mormon, and pray if it is true! We testified to her that as she gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon, all her doubts would slowly start to make more sense or she would start to understand that they don't really matter all that much! Because if the Book of Mormon is true, everything is true. Period! So we'll see how it goes, but we're really excited to continue teaching her and helping her find her way back to confidence and tranquility!!

Daniel's baptism!!

Quick little pre-baptism mirror selfie

Like I mentioned in just about every email since I got here. I live this place!! I have been so Incredibly happy here that it's hard to explain! I feel like as it is, I'm a pretty happy and cheerful guy, but ever since I got here with Elder Nuñez, I've just been on a different plain of existence! I feel like this is the hardest I've had to work in my whole mission in an area, and having to train a brand new missionary who is going through some of the heaviest trials a person can go through in this life hasn't made it easier. But for some reason I am just full of Joy! I feel so comfortable and so content! I feel like Heavenly Father has truly opened up the windows of heaven, and poured out a blessing that there is not room enough to receive it! I know that this comes from our diligence and obedience here, I know that God is bound by his words, and when he says "Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land" he means it, and he's ready to show it! Never in my entire life have I been se happy, I truly feel like I am doing what my God has asked me to do, and I don't ever want to part from that feeling!!

One of the greatest joys I've seen on my mission, is seeing one of our friends enter into the waters of baptism! Yesterday our friend Daniel got baptized! We found Daniel during week 1 or 2, and he has been such a rock since we found him! If I can sum up our experience with Daniel in one phrase that he said to us the other day "I read it, and I felt something that I have never felt before." That is how it has been! He's a young man of 12 years old, but he has a spirit of a 100 year old Prophet of old! He's such a beast!!! He has been so excited for his baptismal date, and when it came we made sure to get everything ready!  One 5am font filling sesh, last minute Chapel ransack to find white clothes, and 9am baptism later, our friend Dani was was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! It was such an amazing service! We had a good amount of attendance and it was my companion's first chance to do the ordinance so he was really excited for that! Honestly it was just a perfect day! We gifted him a triple combination with our testimonies in it, and gave him a big hug! This is why we're here, to see people change. To see people come closer to Christ. Yesterday we saw a young man take the first step, and unlock the door to the Celestial Kingdom! What more could a guy ask for!!

To drain the font here we have to sometimes use a bucket to take out the remaining water. Elder Nunez wasn't too happy about having turn!

My one year shirt!

So as I've mentioned, I'm having a hoot and a half down here, and today my spiritual thought is centered in the next step that follows receiving a blessing. Giving thanks. I have been focusing a lot on gratitude lately, I think especially because of the way I've been feeling lately I want God to know that I'm grateful! I'm sure that he knows everything that I'm thinking, but putting my thoughts into words is a completely different animal! In the Book of Mormon, when Alma is speaking to his son Helaman, he talks about this gratitude:

"Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day." (Alma 37:37)

I think being lifted up at the last day is a pretty good reason for wanting to be grateful! I know that as we strive to give thanks to God, he will give us more to be thankful for! That as we look for the things going good in our lives, we will find them, and the other things won't be so prominent!

Cat with dog photo bomb!

A family made calzones for us!

I love you all, and so grateful for each and every one of you! I hope y'all have an excellent week full of success and joy! And I will see you soon!!

-Elder Garnica