"Hey, I think that you're right. I was studying the Book of Mormon this week and came across some scriptures in Alma that said...something like...haha I don't know how to translate it back to English, but it is something like, "Oh if I could cry repentance to all people and bring them to a knowledge of the Savior...however I do sin in my wish for I should be content with the blessings that the Lord has allotted me. I guess I should be more content with every opportunity I have to share the gospel. It is just sometimes, I get so excited and I want to have all these incredible experiences and I forget that every experience is special in its own way. I need to just trust more in the Lord and enjoy the time and people that I have around me. I am so grateful to be a missionary."
"We were able to have a baptism! Woot Woot! I was happy for the kid. He is such a hoot. We filled up the font and were really preoccupied about getting it to a good temperature...however, it got really hot...too hot...it was literally boiling! haha The Bishop went and grabbed the emergency fire hose and starting filling the boiling font with cold water. It wasn't really necessary because we had time to use the faucet to put cold water in, but I think that all the men have been secretly wanting to use the fire hose! haha It made for a good show. When Patricio got into the font, it was like a big hot tub and he started to play around in it. Bishop had to tell him to stop and he had to be dunked twice because his foot came out of the water. His Dad got to do the baptism. He is a recent convert and recently received the melquezidek priesthood. It was really cool for the family and the ward. When Patricio came out of the water the second time, he asked if they could stay in a little longer. It was funny. It was one of the easiest and less stressful baptisms that I have had. Patricio gave a good testimony and I was proud of him. Elder Holton and Elder Sauceda brought an investigator to our baptism which I think is awesome! I hope that they will also have success."
"Yesterday we were able to go to a Christmas program at the temple! We took Scarlett and Diego (investigators that will be baptized on Christmas). There was a choir singing in front of the temple and a cool exhibit all about Christ with a ton of nativities in it. They gave our investigators some magazines about Christ and the spirit was so strong. There were a ton of people there. We had fun. Scarlett and Diego are cousins. Scarlett is 16 and Diego is 9. After teaching Scarlett one time, we asked her to read the Book of Mormon. She read 2nd Nephi chapter 31 and said that she said a prayer and fell asleep. In her dream, she was in a lake and I was baptizing her. When she came out of the water, everything was more beautiful. She said it was an answer to her prayer and that she really wanted to be baptized. They are both excited to be baptized, so they are the next two that we are focusing on."
"I received a letter from Belen. She was one of my investigators from Diagonal. She got baptized and sent me a letter of gratitude. I can hardly tell you how happy I felt reading that letter. It is great to see how the Lord's work progresses. It is incredible how the Lord let's me participate in the conversion process and see the changes that the gospel brings to people. I wish I could have seen her be baptized. The missionaries said that she is one of the strongest converts that they have seen. She already has a calling as the second counselor in the primary. The mission is so awesome!"
"I was studying one morning and all of a sudden the name Fabian kept sneaking into my thoughts. I went and looked for a letter that a little boy had given me some time ago when I first arrived in Rinconada. He wrote that his parents wouldn't let him get baptized, but that when they would let him, he wanted me to teach him. He drew a picture of us together. I talked to the primary president and she said that his Dad was catholic and would never support it. I went and talked to him anyways. He wasn't too friendly, but I just kept talking and eventually he said that he would always support his son and that if we wanted to teach him, it was ok. Fabian has been going to church for more than a year and I feel like his letter was a call for help and that the Lord is providing a way for us to help him. I am praying for a miracle here."
"I'm glad that you are all having fun and staying busy. I bet you are running all around. That's great! I'm excited to talk to you on the 25th! Whoo hooo! The mission is letting us use member computers, so we should be good to go. They also cut down our time to 45 minutes...sad right? I love you very much.
Elder Dallon Smith
 |
| Elder Izelo, Patricio, & Elder Smith |
 |
| Patricio's family |
 |
| A Christmas temple trip with Scarlett and Diego |