P-Day update week 98 y 99, 01/08/2024

Feliz Año nuevo!!!

I hope everyone is doing well, these past two weeks have been awesome and I would love to tell you about it!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy new year from the Sitrict Natura (y los Elderes)

Well first let me talk about the goal that we set as we finished off last month and hopped into this one.

As my companion and I looked at January we knew that we needed to place a goal of how many friends we hopes to help make covenants with our father and enter into the waters of baptism. As we started we decided yo make it a little interesting, we decided to both pray and think separately and then we would come together to set the goal. When we reunited after having prayed and pondered we said our number on the count of three, when we got to three we both let out "three". There we knew that it was the will of the Lord. So since then we have been working hard to find the names of those three friends. And today we know all of them, let me introduce you.

John is a friend in teaching who was found through a member. He is the boyfriend of a member in our ward. When we arrived they had only had one lesson with him, but we could see that he is chosen!! Our first lesson with him we read The Book of Mormon together and invited him to pray. As the days and weeks passed he shared with us that he loves the church (he had already gone a few times) but his only doubt was with The Book of Mormon. He confided in us that when he first heard about the the church he went to the internet to look a little more into it, and found things that didn't seem right. So he shared with us that he was unsure. My companion and I had seen similar situations before and we knew that the only way was for him to receive his own testimony from the Holy Ghost. So we invited him to read, just once more, and to pray and ask, just once more. And in the name of Jesus Christ we promised him that before our next meeting he would know whether The Book of Mormon was true or not. And we asked him, that if he gained a knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, would he be willing to be baptized? He said yes. With that we set a day to see each other again and we left. Those next couple days were filled with fervent prayers on our part so John could know the truth. A few days before our meeting we decided to send him a message to see how he was. He said that he was doing great, that he had been reading the whole weekend and had read all of 1 Nephi and the first two chapters of 2 Nephi! He told us that as he read he felt the same uneasiness that he had felt before, but he had a determination to know. So he kept reading, and as he was ready to give up he read the 2nd chapter of 2 Nephi and said he felt as if it was speaking directly to him! We asked if that was an answer for him, and he said it was. Our next meeting with him we set a baptismal date for the 14th, this coming Sunday John will make his first covenant with our Heavenly Father! We are so excited for him, and even though we're going to be traveling that day we know it is going to be a special occasion!!

MLC

Big shoes

Bernice was found through a straight miracle! One day my companion and I were walking in the street contacting when we had the thought to go visit an inactive sister I had met my first time in this area. We felt a strong necessity to go see how she was. When we arrived to her home a few moments later we knocked on her old yellow gate that keeps folks out of her street side store she came out and greeted us with a big smile! She told us that she had been waiting for us, that the whole day she had been praying for someone from the church to go visit her, it's been so long since she hasn't gone to church and wants to go back, but didn't know how. She said that every chance she had that day she would peek her head out of her old wooden gate to see if anyone was on their way to visit her. And while she was inside making dinner she finds us standing there! We began to tall a little bit and see how she's been when her daughter Bernice comes out to say hi, we shake her tiny hand and talk a bit with her. After a few moments Bernice's mom says to us that Bernice wants to be baptized, she turned nine this month and wants to go back to church and enter into the waters of baptism!! From there we quickly set a day to come back, we brought a member from the ward and set a baptismal date for the 21st of January! We are grateful for the miracle of the Holy Ghost which prompted us to visit this sister and help strengthen her, and help make the preparations for her daughter to be baptized!!

Amy is also daughter of a member in the ward. This member is named Martin, if y'all remember last year we helped Martin and his then girlfriend be married so that she could be baptized! Well he's been strong in the church since then and has always brought a long his daughter to church since he reactivated! And one day we went to eat at their house and we began to talk about Baptism. As we talked we learned that Amy hasn't been baptized, she also is 9! We asked why she hadn't been baptized and Martin said more or less "well know one's ever asked about her getting baptized before"! So we asked Amy if she wanted to be baptized, and she said yes! In fact she asked if she could be baptized the next day when we come back! We told her that we had to get a few things ready but that she could be baptized the 28th! She said that they was fine with her!!

Amy drew a picture of me as we ate dinner with her family

We took President's dog, Lui, on walks as President was traveling. He got soaked by the rain and we had to dry him off. He didn't like it. 

A few Christmas gifts from Hermana Villanueva! I don't know how I always lose my chapstick!!

The chillest cat sleeping while the angriest dogs try to destroy us! (Potential memo template)

Friends these past couple weeks have been some of the best weeks of my mission, we haven't had many things to distract us and Elder Morales and I have been able to work hard and strive every day to become better and find the Lord's elect. It has been wonderful, I'm happier that I've ever been and I feel like I'm growing so much, in faith, in confidence, in spirit, maybe in wisdom (I hope jaja)! It's been so nice, friends The Lord loves you so much! He is our best friend and perfect councilor, he knows what is best for us, and like the cowboy leading his horse to water, will bring us to the sweetness of the Gospel if we let him. Let the Lord stretch you, go out of your box this week and do the will of the Lord in serving someone else, or doing something for him. He doesn't need us to love and serve him, but as Elder Elder Uchtdorf said "Oh how we need to love God" 

This is the true church of Christ, he is at the head, don't forget that!! I love you all and will see you soon!!

-Elder Garnica