Hola mi familia!
We got transfer calls this Saturday. And I'll be staying in
Providence for at least another 6 weeks! I'm going to hit 7 and a half months
here. And I couldn't be happier. I will be receiving Elder Jones. He's been out
for 6 months now and been in Clarksville, TN the whole time. He will be my
first comp that's younger than me in the mission. I'm really excited because he
will still have the greenie fire for the work. Something you don't find in
missionaries about to go home. So it's going to be a transfer of really hard
work, but I know we will see miracles because of it.
I wanted to share a scripture that I read during scripture study
this week that I thought fit a theme we've had recently in my mission, Grit.
Alma 8:9-10 So Alma gets to Ammoniah and finds them taken hold of by Satan, and
yet he labors diligently, wrestling with the lord in mighty prayer. Many times
I feel like I find someone that's obviously very deep in sin, and I find myself
with little faith that they could change. Whereas this is the point when I
should work even harder to help them in their path of repentance. Because many
times, it's these people that are ready to change. And it might not work the
first time. Alma had to return and change his tactics of preaching the Gospel.
I just really love this story because it's a great example for missionary work.
This week was a great one. We had a lot of really cool blessings
happen. The first one is that Wednesday night we had a ward rescue night. All
of the presidencies in the ward and all the missionaries here met at the church
and we went out to try and help our less actives return. And we all had a lot
of success. Almost everyone got in with someone, and they were people that
don't normally open. I had the opportunity to visit Carmen and Miguel. They
were really happy to see me again. We were sitting there and talking fo a little and Carmen
just said "We are going to read right?" I could just see the hunger
for the spirit in Carmen. She knows what she needs to do, she just needs to
develop the faith to do it. We read a chapter and then left. The next day they
read a chapter on their own, and Miguel actually read another alone. It was
great. I know Carmen with get baptized eventually, I can just see it in her
eyes.
The other blessing is a family we found. We were knocking during a
time of day that normally Hispanics aren't home. A lot of times it feels like a
waste of time, but when things like this happen it makes it all worth it. We
knocked on a door and a guy opened it and after we introduced ourselves he let
us right in. We did half of the restoration and then he started talking about
how he doesn't go to a church because he feels like they are all businesses.
And all I could do was nod and smile the whole time he was talking. Because I
would be frustrated as well if I didn't know about this church. He said that
every time he goes, he goes to hear of God but the first thing they mention is
money. After he finished I just felt like I needed to bear a simple testimony
that this wasn't our goal with them and that they could trust us. I told them
if they want to find peace in their lives, then this was the way they should
go. They were really receptive and wanted us to come back. We have a return appointment
this week and I can't wait to meet with them again.
We also finally had a lesson with someone we found 4 weeks ago. We
missed our first appointment for some reason and we hadn't been able to set a
new one for some reason. But we finally got in and it started with just him.
Eventually his wife came out and listened. Then at the end he was concerned
about being baptized
twice, so we talked about knowing if the priesthood was restored. And so he
said he would read and pray to know. He also mentioned how he was going to make
sure his three kids would be there the next time so they can all learn
together. He said it without us even asking. It was awesome!
All around a great and stock-full of blessings week. I'm so
grateful for the opportunity I have to continue working here in Providence. I
love the members here and for their simple but powerful faith. I know that with
the lords help, we will start to see miracles here in Providence really soon.
Love y'all!
🇺🇸Elder Williams🇲🇽
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