Tuesday I stayed home with Elder Mortensen in the house. The other two had a real good day! But Elder Mortensen chilled. haha
Wednesday I left with Elder Millward, my companion, and the day went really well. We are working in both areas, and most of this day was in our area!!! We actually met someone knew, her name is Chamela. She is a college student and she is really curious about our message. She is actually really awesome. She calls me Elder Bacano, which is Dominican slang for Elder Awesome. Hardly anyone can pronounce my name... so I have been pegged with plenty of nicknames. Anyways, Chamela is really cool. We also met another really cool girl, named Juliana. She is 14, but she has kind of a crazy story... I will explain that in a second.
Thursday I left with Elder Alvarez, and our first appointment was with Juliana, who we just met the day before. She is a special girl. She looks American... Her dad is from one of the islands near here, but her mom is Dominican. She speaks only Spanish, and like I said, she is 14. Now, her dad has pulled himself out of her life, and she doesn't live with her mom. She actually lives with her friend, who is 16 and a less active that we are also teaching. But Juliana has had some serious problems with abandonment and separation issues... for that, she relies a lot on others. Her big problem is this: At her young age, she is already "married"... or in Dominican terms "living together freely" or basically without being married legally... and she is "married" to a 26 year old. They live together, and it is difficult for her. It was a very surprising thing to hear, because you just don't really expect that.... but we will continue to work with her. I can tell she needs the gospel in her life. She is really eager to learn too. She is actually listening to the Jehovah's Witnesses right now too, so we invite her to pray to find out that out of the two messages, which one is God's true church. You can really just tell she is looking for God in her life.
Friday I stayed with Elder Mortensen, and we actually left at night to go and get his MRI. The Assistants picked us up around 5 30, and we got to the hospital around 7, due to traffic. We paid and all that, then we had to wait for a bit, so Elder McEwan, one of the assistants, and I left to go get some food because we all hadn't ate. Let me just say, the car ride was a blast. I really like Elder McEwan. He is a real cool guy and we get along great! So it was fun to talk to him! We actually contacted a couple of people as we were getting our food, so it was good in the end. Always good to share our message with everyone. That has really become a big goal of mine, to open my mouth and talk to everyone. To not be afraid of anyone, regardless of looks or feelings. Some of the scariest looking people have turned out to be the most prepared and special in my mission. The Lord is just proving to me time and time again that everyone can be prepared for the gospel. You just have to speak. Anywho, we got back to the hospital, our food was soggy, and we had to wait for Elder Mortensen. He finished around 10 30, and we headed home. Didn't get home until about 11. So a long night! But apparently a member left with the other two for the whole day, so it looks like our Mission Plan is coming along slowly but surely!!!
Saturday was good! I left with Elder Millward again, and the day was proving to be a challenge... but we pushed on. We got fired a lot, but we were still trying to find the moments to teach. So we went to a members house, la Familia De La Rosa, and we were spending some time with them. Their father is a less active member, and they also have a recent convert that lives there too. So we are there quite a bit teaching them... but they weren't there that time, so we were kinda just talking, and time was going by.. we were thinking about leaving, but for some reason, I felt like we should stay... soon enough, Nairoby, one of the daughters, got a text from her husband who isn't a member, asking tons of questions about the church by text... so we were able to answer his questions by text.... weird how technology can be such a powerful source... Also, one of the brothers, Wascar, had questions about Paradise and Spirit Prison, so it turned into an amazing lesson by the end. And to finish it off, they made us Spaghetti... can't argue with that! :)
Sunday was good at church! We actually met an old missionary! He served here like 5 years ago and he was visiting! Crazy thing, we have some of his old ties! They are still in the mission! SO CRAZY! The legacy continues for him! hahah Anyways, we ate at our bishops house for lunch, and then, right as we were about to leave, it started to rain... then stopped suddenly... as we were leaving the house, they're steps are tile... so we were being careful of Elder Mortensen with his foot... Well he didn't fall, but Elder Alvarez did! And he felt real bad pain in his back. He landed right on it... He fell down like 5 steps... I'll be honest, it was really funny... but I felt really bad... Then as soon as we got home, a huge migraine hit me, and so we all ended up staying in yesterday. But the week has been a great week. I'm hoping that all goes well for this next week.
Life has been stressful recently, not going to lie. But I am so grateful for prayer, and for that beautiful gift to talk to my Heavenly Father and express my true feelings to him. I know that He is helping me and guiding me on his path. Ya, at times it is really hard, but I can feel the helping hand of my Savior and my Heavenly Father each pushing me forward, even when I feel like I can't keep going. I am so grateful to be where I am and to work every day for the Lord. It's just what I need in my life right now. May the Lord bless you in all your efforts. :)
Con amor,
Elder Weiss :)
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| "I just really love these pillows" haha |
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| Sunday Lunch |
