Agency, Salvation, Painting, and other Religions

Quick bday shout out to SteFUNNY Connelly. Happy birthday girlfrien. Remind me when you leave on your mission for DC? I FORGOT. But yah. Write me. And GOOD LUCK Joro Hansen! I think you leave this week. You're gonna be an awesome Elder! Go get 'em!

So this week was pretty good, interesting, tough, but all in all, good. So yeah. I got your package Tuesday and I got 4 letters from friends. Some were dated from the first of April and others the middle of April... So yeah I think it does take about 2-3 weeks to get delivered here, but how long it takes to get delivered to me is another story. On Tuesday we had cambias in the whole mission, and then for those that didn't have cambias(changes/transfers) we still had to meet at the Stake Center and listen to Hermana Valadez talk about medical cards that we just got. No one understood anything. I especially understood nada. So that's good. But I got to see Elder Brown, Dixon, Wirthlin, and Gee! They are all doing better, or so it seemed. Haha we all have such a bond and it is just the BEST to see them. I hope that I can be in the same district or companions with one of them in the future.

SO this week was supposed to be super exciting because I had a wedding scheduled for Friday and two baptisms for this Saturday. But guess what??? Yeaah. Good guess. The wedding was postponed to Monday which was then postponed to the end of May, and none of our investigators attended the Casa de Oracion, so that means no baptisms. WHAT. Come onnnn. But it is okay. I am on the Lord's time and he knows better then me. I actually think it is for the best because I was less then convinced that either of them were truly ready for baptism. And it kind of shows in the fact that they didn't attend church this week. So I am not sure if we will continue to teach them, or if we have to drop them. It makes me soo sad. We need to talk to them and see if this is something they really want. Sometimes I get frustrated with agency.... haha, but I know it is a precious gift. But come on, people, this is SALVATION we are talking about. These feelings got a little more intense yesterday when I ran into a Jehovah's Witness. But I will get there in a little...

I started to read Jesus the Christ in my personal studies this week and about peed myself because I LOVE it soo much. My patriarchal blessing always said I have been blessed with the ability to read and learn and love the scriptures, and I honestly thought that was kind of bogus UNTIL I got here. Seriously though, I did NOT like to read before the mission, and I was always bad at it growing up.... so it didn't make any sense to me when I heard that in my blessing. But now I LIVE for reading the Book of Mormon, the Bible, and the other books I am allowed to read on the mission... Seriously. I have such a new found love for reading and learning the mysteries of God. I used to come home from the days, plan, and go to sleep right away... but now I am always reading until 10:30 and then I go to sleep! Call me a book worm. Haaa jk that was stupid. But, I have learned so many cool things from these books. However... I decided that I am not allowed to read Jesus the Christ until I finish the Libro de Mormon in spanish, because we are promised that if we read the whole book we will be fluent in the language. I am only in 2 Nephi and my language is tons better! But I am not going to get prideful, so don't ya worry your little heart. So yeah... That was probably the best thing about this week. Just reading, cross referencing, marking, learning, reading in spanish, learning simple yet amazing things about the Doctrine behind Christ's whole exsistence and yaa prettty dang sweet. 

So missionary friends that haven't left yet... READ Jesus the Christ. it is like 5000 pages but that doesn't matter. Also read the Day of Defense because you are not technically allowed to read anything other than what is on the list... but this book has sooo many perfect explanations and questions that you will get from people from other religions. Not that I am reading it right now or anything.... But yeah. Do as I say, not as I do. Kk.

So this week I have really heard the name Jehovah like 5000 billion million times and I guess I always knew that Jehovah was Christ before he was born, but I never took interest in it and never read and learned it for myself so it had a lack of importance on my radar. But God put it on my radar this week last Monday. While we were at Hermana P's, when she was sewing my pants I saw a pamphlet from the Jehovah's Witness religion and I was just flipping through it looking at pictures because it was in spanish and I felt lazy to try and read it all soo yeah. But as I was flipping through the pictures I saw the words 'Book of Mormon'... So I was like AHH what does it saaaay. And yeah it was just making silly and trivial arguments against it. But that led me, Hermana P., and Elder L. to start discussing it... I was asking them about other religions here and who is super prominent and what they believe, because let's be honest. I am ignorant and have lived in a Mormon bubble, so I don't really know about other religions. So yeah they just explained to me some of the stuff that Jehovah Witnesses believe.

 Then on Friday we were painting a recent converts house for service with Elders B. and R. (ps the house is now LIME green and it is great. I have pics) and so I was talking to them more about the questions I had about things I had read in Jesus the Christ and other questions I had about other religions. But the whole week I had just learned more and more about Jehovah Witnesses. So yeah it was just whatever.... UNTIL Sunday. Sunday was normal. Church, comedia, and then we went walking. We didn't have any citas so I felt prompted to look for a woman named M. I contacted my second or third day! We hadn't found her yet and I really think she gave me a fake address. Haha. No - she didn't. The problem is that the numbers sometimes exsist and others don't, so we knocked on a couple doors in hopes to find her... The first door was a Christian man. We had a nice discussion with him and gave him a pamphlet about the restoration. We are going to meet with him next Sunday! Then we went down to another house that had the number we wanted but we didn't know what street we were on... So we just did it. Knocked the door... and yeah. The kids yelled through the door who we wanted and we said M. and they were like "okay one second" and I was like YAYAYAYAYA WE FOUND HER. And then M. opened the door and it was not the M. I wanted to see. But hey, she was there, we were there, so we started to talk. She really had a nice presence about her. Not that she was attractive, but she just seemed super nice and I was just thinking omgomgomg we are going to totally baptize her. Funny. So as we started talking she mentioned how she is basically a member of Testigos de Jehova aka Jehovah Witness. And I was like "ooohh goody I know about her religion". Haha except I still didn't. But yeah... Ironic? So I guess she has seen other LDS missionaries before and legit was like "I wonder what they do all day, I have only ever seen them walk". So I think she thinks that we legit come on missions for two years to walk. I was all NO. We talk to everyone about this Gospel. And she was all "what"? And so we kind of explained a little. So a little bit about Jehovah Witnesses. They believe that God, our Heavenly Father, is Jehovah. So, in their Bible, everytime it says 'Lord' they changed it to Jehovah because I guess that was what is was before some kind of translation.. Idk. But yeah. They also believe that Jesus Christ was nothing more than just a grand prophet. So that was difficult for me because I have this burning testimony of Jesus Christ as the Creater of the World and man kind, our Savior, our Redeemer, and because of him we have the opportunity to live in the presence of the Father after this Life. We obviously have to do some things, but in the scheme of things, what we do is nothing... So yeah. It is amazing and beautiful and glorious. 

She believes that God has only chosen 144,000 people to return to Heaven and that the rest will live on the earth. It is kind of confusing. She was saying that in Revelations 7 it says something about the 144,000, but I don't think it says that only they will return to God's presence. So she straight up told us that we are not going to go to Heaven. And I was like thanks for being sensitive. HA omg. I was also looking for a scripture in my Bible (spanish) and I couldn't find it plus the wind was tearing my pages so i just gave up and she used that against me and told me I need to learn so much more. I was alll RUUUUDE. I dont know spanish. Yes it is very true I don't know practically anything, but I am on the Lord's errand and through faith anything is possible... And she was very adamant about having us talk to her priests to get our doubts and questions cleared up. So basically I was confused because she was the missionary and I was the investigator and it was weird. So yeah. Okay this is so long and I forget what else happened. But to end this before I die.... IT WAS SOO HARD. I wanted to cry because she has so much faith but she is so confused. I want her to know the truth. But she won't listen. And this is Salvation. I don't understand what is enticing about her beliefs... I totally respect them. I do. I was angry because she was dissing me. I was also so excited because when I would bear my testimony the spirit was SO strong and yeah. If nothing else, my testimony of this Gospel was strengthened more. But guess what. We are meeting with her again next Sunday. She said she would pray to God about her beliefs and ask what is the correct path. I pray all the time that she can open her heart to feel the spirit. I read a little bit in the Day of Defense and it answered all the questions about Jehovah Witnesses. So now I know where to study it in the Bible. So that is just fantastic. But yeah. THANKS to my comp everything worked out great. He has investigated that church and could answer the questions that she was confused about. This sounds like a Bible bash, which is probably was. But I am so against that. But I don't care anymore. I am not trying to bash on Jehovah Witnesses. AHH. So confused right now. But yeah. She is praying and we are preparing to teach her in a week.

This week was good. I miss you all. My comp and I are getting along much better, thanks to my spanish improving so I can talk to him. All is well in Chinampas. Love love love.

Con Amor,
Elder Macdonald

Painting for service?

Lucky members?