November 14, 2016

We had a miracle this week!!!!

Right now we are working with a young man named José. José is the only
one interested in his whole family and he is on date to be baptized on
the 26th! However he has to go to church at least 3 times before he
can get baptized. So we did everything this week to make sure he was
going to go. We bought him a white shirt, we committed his brother to
go with him, and we had a member giving him a ride. Sunday cam and we
were 5 minutes from arriving at his house when he called us. He told
us that he couldn't go because his mom was going to buy him jeans and
he had to leave then. We asked if he could go later and he said sure
thing! We planned on picking him up at 12:30 and taking him to the
English Ward at 1:00. We finished church, found a new person to pick
him up, and went over to make sure he was ready to go. We get there
and we run into his older brother who told us that he hadn't gotten
back from getting a haircut. I was thinking "first jeans and now a
haircut!" His brother told us to come back in 10 minutes. So we went
around the neighborhood trying to get to know people and then we saw a
car pull into his driveway. It was his younger brother Axel. He told
us that he was still at the store. At that point it was 12:50 and we
started heading back to the church building in defeat. Right when we
got back to the church building we receive a call. It's José telling
us that he just got back and he's ready for church! We run over to his
house as fast as we can, pick him up, and take him to church. Because
of that miracle he is still on date and is progressing. We're going to
be doing a family home evening at his house tonight and we're really
excited. José has invited his mom and we're hoping that she's going to
like it and that she can become an investigator as well.

Something I learned in my studies this week was that faith is a
principle of insanity! I had recently heard a story of a Tongan
fisherman who would go spear fishing every night. Everything he caught
he would give to the poor in his home town. He was asked occasionally
about what he would do when he would encounter the many sharks along
the coast. He simply stated "God protects me." I have realized that
faithful people see miracles because they are faithful enough to put
themselves in situations that requires them (the miracles). Whether
it's paying tithing or teaching the gospel, there are many ways in
which living the gospel can put you in a situation in which a miracle
is required. Just as the Book of Mormon states: "faith is things which
are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not,
for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" (Ether
12:6). Let us all be more faithful then and see the miracles that were
promised to us. Just as Jesus Christ Himself said while preaching the
sermon on the mount:

25 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye
shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than
raiment?"

26 "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they
reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they?"

33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:25-26,33)

I hope everyone has a great week!