Anyway, Friday night really was an amazing spiritually uplifting
experience. President and Hermana Chipman also both bore their testimonies.
Hermana Chipman used her classic, we are the army of the Lord, line that she
always loves. She had the investigators that were there stand up, then the
leaders, then the regular members, and finally we missionaries. She then
explained how each one of us are part of the Army of the Lord, bringing more
spirits unto the Father. It really was one of the most powerful testimonies I`ve
heard in a long time.
President talked to us about the four different languages that we heard
that night. The languages of spanish, music, love, and the spirit. He is so
right in that we can literally listen in four different ways. I felt the spirit
so strong because of that, because I could really listen. He also invited a
sister to come up and bare her testimony. She came up and said she had served a
mission here in Piura about a year ago and was coming back to visit. She just
happened to choose this week, where she could attend the devotional. She talked
about how she had really fallen in love with the people, the land, the heat, and
the culture of Piura. She started to cry, and I could really see that she had
served her mission with her whole heart. I am beginning to fall in love with
Piura too. Every day, I have to put it all on the line, and sometimes it is
exhausting, especially when on the outside it doesn`t look like you`re having a
ton of success. However, I am. I know that Heavenly Father has been helping me
so much to reach out to His children. Without Him, I`d be nothing. However, in
just 8 months I can speak Spanish fairly fluently, the people are actually able
to relate to me and I to them. I`m seeing miracles in the work. They may be
little and insignificant to others, but to me they are miracles.
As for the work here in Sechura, we`re progressing. We have a few good
leaders in the branch who really want to work. I`m happy and grateful to have
them. I`m hoping we`re going to see a lot of success, a lot of baptisms. We are
searching, as always, for those that are prepared. Last Thursday I had an
interesting experience that I wanted to share about that.
So we have one investigator that Elder Naranjo has taught since he got here
about 2 months ago. She just isn`t home very often. Anyway, when we went on
Tuesday we met her niece who was interested and asked us to go back on Thursday.
When we got to their house, Kimberly (the neice) was just leaving with some who
looked like another one of her aunts. Thankfully, she decided to listen to us.
When we got inside, we began talking, and by the time we began the lesson we
were teaching 4 girls. One was Eldie (the old investigator), Kimberly, Jennifer,
and one other girl.
We taught about the Book of Mormon, making some references to Joseph Smith,
but not really focusing a ton on that, more on the Book of Mormon and how it`s a
test to know that what we teach is true. Towards the end of the lesson, I could
tell that something had changed in that fourth girl. I asked her a simple
question and then she started to explain a lot. She talked about how she went to
another evangelical church and they had told her that she should never listen to
the mormons. She said she had come in full of fear, and didn`t want to listen to
us at all. She began asking some interrogative type of questions, and Elder
Naranjo and I were able to answer all of them, I know we had help from the
spirit there.
Finally, at the end of the lesson, we were able to commit Kimberly to
reading the Book of Mormon. Also, miraculously, Jennifer and the other girl also
accepted another visit this next week! I was really suprised at how quickly
things changed...that`s something that only the Holy Ghost can do.
Well, my time is practically gone! I hope you all know I love you! Have fun
in Utah!! Thankfully, the heat has been going down a bit here...it`s only SUPER
hot during midday. :) The rest of the day is just normal hot. :) Haha, love you
all!!!
Love,
Elder Schofield
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