Elder Medina, Martha, Robert and Elder Reynolds
~Latacunga Ecuador~
Hello Everyone,
Well, this is going to be a short one! But we had a baptism this week!!! And man the story behind the baptisms are always my favorites so I am going to give a short summed up version. So Robert and Martha are 20 years old and are barely starting their lives. They were referrals from a sister that just got baptized. We met them about 3 weeks ago. It is so amazing their willingness to keep the commandments. Whenever it talks about the Lamanites and how they will be brought to the fold in the last days, I know that is a prophecy to be true. Because from my experience in the mission it takes about 5 weeks from the time that you meet someone to get baptized. Just with church attendance and making sure they are repenting and everything like that. But then they are special cases where the Lord has been preparing them and they have just been waiting...because they know not where to find the truth...waiting for us!!! So the very first visit we invited them to pray and read the Book of Mormon and they did, but nothing happened. So we started teaching them about the importance of baptism and the requisitos (requirements) of baptism. I think people have a misconception of baptism and think that we have to be crazy prepared but in reality no way!!! It takes faith and a willingness to be changed. So we taught them about the Law of Chastity and told them that they need to get married. Here in Ecuador it is quite costly to get married but we challenged them to a baptismal date for the 29th of September and to be married before that...and they accepted!!! And man what a miracle it was for them to get married...THE DAY BEFORE their baptism!!! They just barely got in and it was amazing to see them cumplir (comply) with another commandment. The other thing they struggled with was the Word of Wisdom so that was probably the 3rd thing we taught them because we thought it was going to be a desafio (challenge) for them...but I love their response as we committed them to live it. We asked them if they could see any problems or any questions they had and they said "Well, its not like we can change the commandment, so we will live it." I was super impressed by their faith!! Because someone barely learning the gospel obviously has questions but faith is so much powerful and so they got baptized and man was it a beautiful experience. There are so many good people waiting for us and waiting to be changed but they just don't know where to find it! I am so grateful for the role I am able to play. I know that if we have childlike humility, we too can be changed just like Robert and Martha!! They are true examples of Mosiah 3:19 "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." It matters very little what we think when we understand the importance and reasons for the commandments. I love you all!
Elder Reynolds
The Marriage of Robert and Martha!
Prophecy of the Lamanites fulfilled!
Their Baptism...THE DAY AFTER they were married!
Elder Reynolds and his imaginary spouse ha!
~P-DAY ADVENTURES~
Laguna and HUGE hamburgers!
Latacunga landscape is a lot like Farmington haha...
It's dry and a lot of dirt but it's still a bit humid so when it's cold...
ITS COLD!!
Ministering one by one :)
ELDER WILSON IS GOING HOME!
say what??!
"If you will respond to the invitation to share your beliefs and feelings about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, a spirit of love and a spirit of courage will be your constant companion, for perfect love casteth out fear." --Elder L. Tom Perry
~LOVE OUR MISSIONARY~
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