This week has been a different one, that is for sure. At the start of the week, I hit a nasty cold/flu thing. That has lasted the whole week. So working has become hard. I was able to go out for a couple of days, but only for a couple hours, but those hours were crucial. We have been working hard with Yeimy this week because of her baptism. We had to just go over some key lessons again. She is so smart. She remembers everything, and it has been real amazing to see her grow from when we first met her, to who she is now. She has become real humble and in tune with the spirit.
Thursday we set up our Christmas tree. Ironic right? I mean it's Thanksgiving, and we are preparing for Christmas. haha. That's all that happened on actual Thanksgiving. But we did give lots of thanks.
On Saturday, this had to be our most productive day in the week. In the morning we left to Ivan Guzman, pronounced E-bawn Goose-man. Man sounding like a Jamaican, man! Anyways we went there to have our late Thanksgiving meal with the American family who built our house. I won't say it was the same as being with family or anything like that, but it was a real big step above all other food I have eaten in a while. And there was pie... pumpkin and banana cream... that is what won me over. Hey, but we did our part! Our house made brownies for the occasion. So that was great! Then, on the way home, we stopped by our church. It was like two or three o'clock, and when we walked in, we found out no one had come to clean the church, so we spent that time to clean our church with our Ward Mission Leader. It would have been fine, except for I was sick. I have a way funny story though.. Some kids came into the church after we finished cleaning everything, and told us they needed to use the bathroom. They were like 5 or 6... so we let them use it. 10 minutes later they came out, and I went in to check to see if they made a mess. Not only did it reek like no other, but they had also flooded the bathroom, and all of the toilet paper and things they used were on the floor. Okay, so the story wasn't that funny, but I just about lost it. I guess I still need to learn about patience and all that good stuff. Haha But I did learn that the kid wasn't joking when he said he had to go bad. After that little accident, we had a baptism!!! Yeimy was baptized that night, and let me tell you, it was a super spiritual experience! A member did the ordinance, and when he lifted her out of the water, she threw her hands over her mouth, with a big wide smile and big eyes, and just began to cry. They hugged in the water and I just felt it... She got it. She understood what had happened. She could feel it. When they had finished changing, she called me over, and I kneeled next to her. She said "Elder Weiss, I did it. I did what you said. I waited for the feeling to come when I came up. I felt it. I'm clean. God really does love me." That was just a feeling that I can't describe. I know she will stay a strong member. She is awesome, and she strengthened my testimony.
That was the week. I stayed in the house for a lot of it. So, ya know, role with the punches. Hey, but I got knew pants made. I will send a picture soon. They have purple stitching and purple pockets. They rock. I will send some model shots in a second. :) haha
Analogy time: I thought this week a lot about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. We are like a race car driver. Everyone looks at us, and our awesome car and they dream of having that... the only problem is, no one knows how to get that. Do they just drive fast and buy a nice car, and then they make it to nascar, or do they need to do more? The only ones who can help every step of the way, is you. The driver. You've been practicing your whole life. It's our job to be behind our spiritual wheel at all times. Drive carefully, and make the right moves and the perfect moment and be guided by our "instincts", the spirit. If things go wrong, like we get a flat, or lose our testimony, hold on tight, and pray real hard. The car will come to a stop eventually. And when it stops, start it up again, fix it up, and drive. And if others dream of being like us, help their dreams come true. Invite them to learn what we know, and help them to become like we are, and along the way, improve our own vehicle. Some say a race car driver makes a lot of left turns. But in order to make a left, you always have to do a "right", whether its a right thought, a right move, or a right action. You are always being watched by the cars around you. To be fast and to finish, you have to focus as much on the others around you, as on yourself. Be the race car driver, and finish strong, and help others to finish the race too. No race car driver wants to see another car burn and flip and crash out of the race. Be the Disciple that all of us can be, and help others finish their spiritual race, but don't forget the importance of your own spiritual race along the way!
I love you all, and I pray for you. Little insiders note.... next week on our P-Day we will be having our Christmas Conference, and a little secret... a certain Elder has been given the lead part in a play that will be taking place during that conference. You can say I am excited. ;)
Les quiero mucho!!
Elder Weiss :)
Mother's note: In email chat's I congratulated Parker on his baptism of Yenni and he said this:
Oh, and its Yeimy who got baptized... not Yeni. Yeni and Nicolas, our star family are still waiting to be baptized. Yeimy (Jaime) is a young girl. But still awesome. :)
The names were so similar I had them as one person. haha Parker also said he is feeling better and on a funny note I commented that in his pictures he always has a new tie on. I asked how many he had and he said close to 100. They sold them for 5 cents at a Haitian market in Barahona so he bought a lot and some were given to him by other Elders. That's so Parker!
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| Parker's new tailored pants with Purple pockets |
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| Countdown to Christmas |
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| Thanksgiving |
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| PIE!! |
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| Yeimy's Baptism! |
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| Their Christmas tree sent by Elder Catmull's family. |
