Week 45: Esmeralda
Monday, July 22, 2024
Que tal yall!
A lot happened this week. Lets get into it.
Last p day was fire. We went to the Christ statue here in Cochabamba! I've always been able to see it from my area but seeing it up close is an unreal experience. I'm so grateful for our Savior and redeemer Jesus Christ!
The view of the City is breathtaking. Pictures just don't do it justice. It's incredible. I didn't realize how big the city of Cochabamba is. It's absolutely mondo! So cool.
After packing up my stuff a member came I clutch and gave us a ride to the mission office. Chilled there for a bit and then took a taxi to my new area in Esmeralda!
Esmeralda is really awesome. Lots of people here have really been prepared to hear our message. One example is a college student from Peru named Auntunet. She saw an ad on Facebook for the Book of Mormon and clicked on it, which Led her to the missionaries coming over! She has been reading every day and has come to church the last two weeks in a row as well as the YSA activities. She is going to be baptized on August 3rd! So awesome!
The ward is so awesome and we live right above our pension who are members of the ward! Their kids are so funny and such a kind family. Such a blessing to live right with our pension.
Had a really powerful spiritual experience this week where we had a lesson with a man of another faith. We shared the message of the Restoration. The spirit was so strong. The room was radiating with the spirit. We invited him to read from the book of mormon and pray to ask god if it was true and if Joseph Smith was called of God to restored Christ's church. He declined, saying that the path he was on was perfect for him. He then turned to me and asked me to "tell my story" or why am I here. I practically jumped out my seat because i love these opportunities. I started out by saying that the spirit was with us and asked him if he had been able to feel it. He said yes. I said that's because what we are sharing is true, and the holy ghost is confirming it. I then bore probably one of the most powerful testimonies of my life. My testimony of the Restoration, the priesthood, the Atonement, the Book of Mormon, and how I know with all my heart that these things are true and can bless his life and his family's too. The spirit was so strong. Everyone felt it. I then re-extended our invitation, with promises.
He still declined.
I'd say in the past that I probably would have been frustrated after. But not this time. I knew that we did our part. I was so grateful that god allowed me to have that experience to strengthen my testimony.
This man felt the spirit. But he still has his agency. God will never take away our agency. It was a gift given to us from creation's dawn and God will never take it away because it is apart of his plan. Satan didn't want us to have agency because he didn't want us to learn and progress. He didn't want us to grow to become the individuals we can become through Christ. But because of God's love, he wants us to become the best we can be, and learn from our mistakes.
God loves you. Choose him. Choose Christ. They will change you. They will shape you and mold you into the son or daughter of god you can become. When we choose to let them prevail in our lives, we will have true joy. True happiness. True peace.
Love,
Elder Richards
