Another week gone by! Everything is just unreal right now. Last week I experienced my last multi-zone conference. It was different than all of the conferences that we have had since I got here. We met our new mission president, President Àvila. He is very nice. We basically just had an open question and answer conference with him and his wife. They are from Guanajuato, Mexico. He is here with his wife and his son who has down syndrome. They are different from President and Sister Kusch but I am grateful for them and the spirit that they bring.
I have had loved my time here in Burgos. I've come to understand better the worth of a soul, I believe. In Palmas (the last ward that I was in) we were blessed with a lot of baptisms. Coming to Burgos, I think those expectations were what kept me frustrated and anxious from time to time. I think that there are sometimes these speculations put on us as missionaries that we are only here to baptize, and if you're not careful you fall into the trap. But the work that we are in isn't for only a certain type of soul. It's not only for the soul that doesn't or hasn't known the restored gospel.
My joy in Burgos has not been the baptisms, but seeing those who already knew these things returning. One of our biggest miracles has been Brother Bernardo. I think I told you guys about him a few weeks ago. He is the husband of a very active woman here in Burgos. He has been a member his whole life but for the last 15 years has separated himself from the gospel. This last Saturday we had an unreal experience with him. We wanted to teach him about what it really means to have faith in Jesus Christ. This is a theme that my companion and I have been learning a lot about in our personal studies. It's not like we are trying to study it but everyday we find things that help us and those we teach about what it is. In our lesson with Bernardo we started with a story in the bible that is found in Luke 8:43-48. It's about a woman who has had a sickness for 12 years and as Christ and his disciples walked by she touched the border of Christ's clothes and was healed instantly. Christ then tells her that she was healed by her faith. She had such faith in Christ that she thought, "I don't have to talk to him or look at him in his eyes, I just have to touch his clothes and I will be healed." He sat listening as we talk about how faith is an action and that action is the obedience to the commandments that we have been given. Then out of nowhere he pulled out his phone and said I want to show you something.
He works in air traffic control in Mexico City and is also a pilot. He pulled out a video of a pilot trying to land his plane. He explained to them that pilot have to have faith in the air traffic control and their systems because as they land the literally can see nothing. He showed us this video as this pilot lands his plane and literally in one point (I was utterly shocked) THE PILOT CANNOT SEE ANYTHING. He literally can't see anything but he listens to the indications of air traffic control and his systems and whatnot to successfully land the plane. As the video ends, Brother Bernardo looked up at us and says, "that's faith, right?" I had tears in my eyes. HE brought the spirit so strongly in the lesson. And we testified that it was exactly that.
We testified that even though we don't understand the reasons sometimes of commandments and just things in general we must be like the pilot and trust that Christ and our Heavenly Father like air traffic control can see things more clearly than we can and we must just follow. We then helped him understand what we were all feeling and that he was successfully feeling the Spirit for the first time in 15 years. It was a huge step. It was a lesson of about 10 minutes but it was one of the most powerful and it jut edified me. We taught in a way that he understood and could make his own connections and receive his own testimony. I felt so grateful that the Lord let us be clear enough in our lessons to let that happen. Brother Bernardo's wife has been out of town for about 3 weeks and he on his own is still coming to church and participating of the sacrament continually for the first time in 15 years. It was amazing.
I love this work so much. It is incredible. I know that this is the real and through gospel on the earth. the only gospel that allows us to have an understanding that gives us real and true hope. I know that we can change and the real miracle of missionary work isn't baptisms but the c
I love you all so much
See you soon!
Hermanaut
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