Mason Wells.. I know him actually pretty well. That´s crazy. I´m glad to hear he is doing better though! The Lord really is watching out for him. He really needs to become like a navy seal and get back at those terrorists. Thanks mom for letting me know though!
Well, this week has been a longgggg week. I wanna fill ya'll in on last week.. everything was good. My comp and I gave a sweet training to the zone on miracles and how we can receive them in this great work. We shared the classic story of David and Goliath and related it to missionary work. David was a very small blonde and beautiful kid (like us, lol) that didn't have much experience, but he had to take on a big powerful enemy. If he would have fought Goliath with his own strength, he probably would have been completely destroyed. But David understood that; he understood that he couldn't do it alone. His eyes were set on the Lord and his power to save and free, not his own skills and talents. He told Goliath that it wasn't his battle, but rather the Lord's and because of that, the Lord would free him. David trusted and ran towards Goliath with all his might. Goliath did the same; he ran towards David, full speed, full power, ready to kill him, but David, with the strength of the Lord was able to kill him and defeat an enemy that was supposedly undefeatable. We related this story to us. We are in the richest zone in the mission, and supposedly the hardest zone to baptize in the mission, but that is the limit that we as missionaries have put on ourselves; it's a false belief. We taught that our zone may be different from the rest, but because of that we need work in different ways to see different results. We can take this giant on walking, and we can't do it by ourselves, but rather, this is the Lord's battle, not ours, and we need to do it at a full run, giving everything we have. Doing so, trusting in the Lord and recognizing that he directs the work, will make the complete difference so we can see fruits of our labors and baptize the elect that the Lord has prepared for us. Great stuff.
So also last week we had a super poopy experience, we have two investigators, a mother and a daughter named Carmen and Camila. I've told you guys about Carmen, she is a wonderful woman who has progressed beautifully over these past weeks. Her daughter Camila has about 21 years and she is also progressing very quickly. We have been teaching them very frequently and both of them have accepted the invitation to be baptized, because they have been able to feel that it is true. On Sunday night last week, we went to their house to be able to prepare them for their baptisms and teach them the commandments. We walked in their house with our ward mission leader, sat down, and began conversing before we taught. Before we said the prayer, through the door in walks Camila's friend. We greeted her and she sat down and began also talking with her. She was like a 22 year old spoiled party brat and come to find our she was an inactive member of the church. She then went on to tell us, in front of Carmen and Camila, that she got baptized when she supposedly knew it wasn't true and that the church is false and that God's actually not a person, just a magic unknowable spirit essence that fills immensity. WRONG. We told her God is a perfect and exalted PERSON that has a tangible body of flesh and bones. Then she continued with her schpeel of apostasy and began talking about how the "church" makes dumb rules like not drinking or having sex before you're married (listen brat, it's not the church, it's God). She didn't give us much room to talk and correct the here-says she had taught and we also couldn't teach Camila and Carmen the truth, because she stayed there in the room, doing another thing, but listening still. Awkward. Carmen and Camila were super suprised at the stupid things that girl said and it made them start thinking and second guessing. So yeah, we took other appointments out all this week we've gone by, but we haven't been able to find them all week... We actually found Camila on Saturday, but she was super discouraged due to the opposition in her life; her ex partner, her father, her friends, everyone is telling her NO, the Mormons are BAD. I invite them to read Mormon 9:3-5. boooo. Carmen's baptism was supposed to be this week too, but her boss decided to take her on vacation with him and his wife. Dang it. And now she can't be baptized until the 16th of April due to the general conference next week and national elections that take place on Sunday (there won't be church in all of Peru) in two weeks. But I guess it might be better though, because now Camila and Carmen, when we are actually able to teach them and get everything settled, they can be baptized on the same day. That was pretty much my week in a bag. We worked our keesters off this week. We also found a lot of new families to teach and many of them are progressing. Our ward mission leader named Jimmy Chuan has helped a lot this week, that's been nice. We got a new pencionista and she now delivers the food to our door every day, so the other Elders come over, Elder Pearce and Elder Cancino, and we eat with them. It's nice. Elder Pearce was my comp in the MTC, and he is a super solid dude! We usually end up talking about guns and things we're going to do when we get home.
This week while reading Preach My Gospel I was reminded of the very point of missionary work. Declaring the fact of the fullness of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority of the holy priesthood that has been restored to the earth. That if we live in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ, we will be presented before the Lord in the last day and we will receive mercy from the Savior, and will enter into the presence of the Father to dwell with him in his eternal mansion.
The gospel is great. I love it. I pray for the apostates who have left and hope they come back.
Elder Cluff
So also last week we had a super poopy experience, we have two investigators, a mother and a daughter named Carmen and Camila. I've told you guys about Carmen, she is a wonderful woman who has progressed beautifully over these past weeks. Her daughter Camila has about 21 years and she is also progressing very quickly. We have been teaching them very frequently and both of them have accepted the invitation to be baptized, because they have been able to feel that it is true. On Sunday night last week, we went to their house to be able to prepare them for their baptisms and teach them the commandments. We walked in their house with our ward mission leader, sat down, and began conversing before we taught. Before we said the prayer, through the door in walks Camila's friend. We greeted her and she sat down and began also talking with her. She was like a 22 year old spoiled party brat and come to find our she was an inactive member of the church. She then went on to tell us, in front of Carmen and Camila, that she got baptized when she supposedly knew it wasn't true and that the church is false and that God's actually not a person, just a magic unknowable spirit essence that fills immensity. WRONG. We told her God is a perfect and exalted PERSON that has a tangible body of flesh and bones. Then she continued with her schpeel of apostasy and began talking about how the "church" makes dumb rules like not drinking or having sex before you're married (listen brat, it's not the church, it's God). She didn't give us much room to talk and correct the here-says she had taught and we also couldn't teach Camila and Carmen the truth, because she stayed there in the room, doing another thing, but listening still. Awkward. Carmen and Camila were super suprised at the stupid things that girl said and it made them start thinking and second guessing. So yeah, we took other appointments out all this week we've gone by, but we haven't been able to find them all week... We actually found Camila on Saturday, but she was super discouraged due to the opposition in her life; her ex partner, her father, her friends, everyone is telling her NO, the Mormons are BAD. I invite them to read Mormon 9:3-5. boooo. Carmen's baptism was supposed to be this week too, but her boss decided to take her on vacation with him and his wife. Dang it. And now she can't be baptized until the 16th of April due to the general conference next week and national elections that take place on Sunday (there won't be church in all of Peru) in two weeks. But I guess it might be better though, because now Camila and Carmen, when we are actually able to teach them and get everything settled, they can be baptized on the same day. That was pretty much my week in a bag. We worked our keesters off this week. We also found a lot of new families to teach and many of them are progressing. Our ward mission leader named Jimmy Chuan has helped a lot this week, that's been nice. We got a new pencionista and she now delivers the food to our door every day, so the other Elders come over, Elder Pearce and Elder Cancino, and we eat with them. It's nice. Elder Pearce was my comp in the MTC, and he is a super solid dude! We usually end up talking about guns and things we're going to do when we get home.
This week while reading Preach My Gospel I was reminded of the very point of missionary work. Declaring the fact of the fullness of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority of the holy priesthood that has been restored to the earth. That if we live in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ, we will be presented before the Lord in the last day and we will receive mercy from the Savior, and will enter into the presence of the Father to dwell with him in his eternal mansion.
The gospel is great. I love it. I pray for the apostates who have left and hope they come back.
Elder Cluff
Elder McPhie and Elder Cluff emailing on P-day
