Miracles!

¡Hola amigos!

What a week! My companion and I grew so much. God has blessed us many times to find the people who are ready to receive our message. I have discovered countless times my weaknesses, but God has made everything work out.

Every day at night, missionaries set goals and make plans for the following day. My companion and I made plans every day this week. However, almost none of our days actually go to plan. Some days, nearly all appointments fall through and absolutely nothing goes to plan. That happened a lot this week. One day, my companion and I ran our of ideas for who to help because no one was available. We decided to pray to ask God what he wanted us to do. We prayed once, without any ideas of what to do, and didn't receive an answer. We realized then, that in order for God to help us, we had to first put forth some effort and think of some ideas for Him to chose from. We prayed again with ideas in mind. We didn't receive a definite answer, but God did send His peace. I know he was pleased with our efforts and was happy that we prayed. We just started walking and God led us to a family we had taught, but couldn't find again. God works many small miracles like this that are mighty, but easy to pass over. When we receive blessings like this, we should always pray and thank God. There were a lot of thank you prayers this week.

My companion on a dirt road.

My companion and I have half of the city of Villa Angela to help. That is huge! One night, I just felt so overwhelmed by the task. I told my companion, "we are so imperfect, yet God trusts us with all of these people." Though we are far from perfect, we are giving our all and God is with us.

God's help is evident in our work. There are some children that we have passed by many days who like to try to speak English back at us. "Hello!" they say. Once one of them shouted, "my name is Lukas!" Through conversation as we passed by in our work, we befriended them. One day, my companion and I decided to actually visit with them and their parents. That same day, we had received a reference for a family nearby. We decided to contact that family and went to ask the kids where the family lived. Before we asked, they invited us into their home and we quickly learned that the reference, and the family in front of us were the same! They are an amazing family. They have 14 year old and 8 year old boys and a 12 year old girl. We taught them that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, that Joseph Smith prayed to know which church was true. When I taught that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father, the Holy Ghost confirmed powerfully the message I was sharing. Afterward, we invited them to read the Book of Mormon, evidence that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, that Jesus Christ lives, and that the gospel is restored. The whole family listened intently and accepted our invitation to read the book and pray about it. We learned that they were searching for jobs. I got to talk with the children, who were really excited to talk to me and learn more. I then showed them a toy my family gave me, that you drop and it bounces over your head. They loved it so much! They immediately asked, "how much is it?" We'll have to see, but I may just give it to them. Every time we pass, the youngest runs up to me to ask to play with the toy! We passed by later, and the father of the home now has a job! We look forward to visiting them again.

Main street.

Sunday was a really special day for me. My companion and I gave talks in sacrament meeting and I taught about the Holy Ghost. I felt the Holy Ghost as I spoke. The joyous feeling of they Holy Spirit is priceless. We were fasting that day that our investigators would come to church, but it rained that morning, and hardly any of the members even came. This is a sad thing that happens here. Even still, I had a very spiritual experience. I remembered again why I was serving a mission and how I want to help everyone to feel Gods love. It is empowering to have a purpose you know you can achieve!

Our pensión.

Many other small miracles happened this week that I don't have time to relate. Many of them included being in the right place at to right minute to see specific people who were out and about. We taught a lesson to two drunk men, something I never could have seen myself doing before my mission, and may have even convinced one of them not to commit suicide. I still cant speak Spanish very well, but God did use what little I do know to share a scripture, 3 Nephi 17:6-7. Jesus invites all who are afflicted in any manner to come to him and he will heal them. I invite each of you to come to Christ with your own afflictions, willing to do whatever He asks and I promise as He promises, that He will heal you. He is filled with compassion.

¡Hasta luego!

Elder Cloward

P.S.

I probably wont email next week because I get to Skype my family on Christmas. Hurray!