Another week has flown by and it's hard to remember everywhere we've been and who we have visited. It's a good thing we put all our appointments on the calendar.
We had a great Thanksgiving at the Mission Home. I got to cook in a big kitchen with two ovens and 5 huge cookie sheets. I made 92 orange rolls and they were delicious. Now I am really famous. The Humphreys want me to come for Christmas so I can make cinnamon rolls! There were 3 couples and 8 Elders at our dinner. There are no pecans or Karo syrup here so I couldn't make a pecan pie. We all missed that. The worst was not having any yams! The food was still good and the company was fun. We missed all of you and tried not to think about home.
We left the Mission Home early Friday morning to go to a missionary training meeting that went from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. After that we went with one of our favorite sets of Zone Leaders to a Noche de Hogar, (Family night). The whole family was there; Mom, Dad, 3 daughters and a son. We showed the Bible Video of the baptism of Jesus, and all bore our testimonies. The missionaries asked the father if he would be baptized on December 15th and he said he would do it for his family. Their one daughter got baptized on Sat. Their son also committed to be baptized. Our Peruvian Elder told the people it was the best day of his 18 months on his mission. We found out today that the family went to church Sunday and the Dad cried in Priesthood meeting and said he knew he needed the gospel in his life. Pretty cool.
Over the weekend we had a District conference, which is just the same as Stake conference only fewer people, and the mission president presides. We got there early enough to meet and greet every one. It is really fun. Most of them call me "Hermanita" when they give me their kiss. I kissed every woman and child in the building. I will be a really good greeter when I get home to Coeur d'Alene 3rd ward!
Tonight was terrific. Two Elders in Talca asked us to go on 2 visits with them. One visit was with a family with 3 children. A boy who is 16, a girl around 10 and a cute little 3 year old girl that spoke the cutest, clear Spanish!! The Dad was there also but had to take her out so the others weren't distracted. He is not as interested but is coming around. The Elders taught about the Word of Wisdom and the woman looked shocked when she found out she couldn't have coffee. She said that the spirit told her the night before that she shouldn't smoke. She said she smokes one cigarette a day and her husband smokes 20. They must go outside because their houses don't smell like smoke, more like mold! There was a great spirit there. The 16 year old boy had his friend there and they all said they would come to church. The friend said the missionaries could come to his house on Wed.! Invite your friends to hear the gospel! It is a great feeling to have the missionaries teach someone you care about.
Our second visit tonight started at 9:00 p.m. A 13 year old girl is interested and her Mom has been inactive for 30 years or so. This Noche de Hogar was held in a members home and they invited other members of the ward. It was so good to have some of them bear testimony and tell how they knew the church was true. The converts have a much better chance of staying active if the members of the ward are involved. There were about 14 there. They had good refreshments. The member Host makes banana bread and sells it to stores. They had yummy platters full of it spread with manjar. Manjar is like condensed milk cooked down and kind of carmelized. They love it here and even squirt it into churros! They also had the Cheetos, potato chips, and they also made crepes, spread with Manjar and rolled up and sliced. Don't forget the Fanta or Sprite at every house!
The Spirit was strong tonight at both the visits. It is great to share in this important missionary work. We feel so blessed to be here and love doing this everyday. Each day is a new experience and we pray we will always go where we are needed most.
No comments:
Post a Comment