Thursday, February 14, 2013

Hola Padres y Familiares! - email from Jan 21, 2013

So...this area has just completely changed! We now have...wait for it...3 people that are progressing!!! I am so happy right now, you have no idea. I have worked hard here, even cried to just have one or two people that really wanted to listen to us. These last two weeks have been answers to my prayers, and I`m sure it`s thanks to all of you. Thank you for your support, your prayers, and most of all for your examples to me.

Marcos and Elizabeth (we got her name wrong last time...happens a lot ;) ) came to church again this week with their kids! It already seems like they just belong there. They know a lot of members, and are really understanding everything super quickly! Marcos has some problems with alcohol, mostly because of his friends. However, after just teaching him about the Restoration and the Plan of Salvaiton, he`s turning his friends down! I am super excited to see that progress in him. He really feels the truthfulness of this work.

Last Wednesday, we had a super great lesson with them. We talked about marriage and then about the Plan of Happiness. As I began explaining the Atonement and what is going to happen after, I felt the spirit so strong. We pulled out a few scriptures from the Book of Mormon and just simply read so that they could understand for themselves. I KNOW that it was the spirit teaching them. I`ve never had investigators understand the passages that we read, but after asking just a few questions, they were teaching us! It was an incredible experience.

They have committed to a baptismal date the second weekend of March. They still need to get married, so we`re working to pass through that hurdle first. At the same time, they have literally `invaded` an abandoned property to build their little shack of a home. Basically all of the homes here in my mission start that way. They build little mud huts before the big cement homes. Usually it`s property of the municipalidad, but later they pay to get their property license and everything. Gotta love Peru!

Anyway, we`ve been helping them with their house and everything. Really great people!

We also got a reference this week from the Bishop from Buenos Aires. We went over there, and found another great, unmarried couple! We`re working with them and having some success. They`re passing through some serious financial difficulties, and I`m hoping that they can llook past all of that in order to accept our message and follow Christ. If they do that, I have faith that they can pull out of this debt, one way or another.

Some missionaries have a hard time testifying that money comes to those that follow the commandments. I understand because people need to follow the commandments because they love God, not because of the money. However, I want everyone within the sound of my voice to know that I know that God blesses us in EVERY way. I have not met a single person who is faithful to their covenants and is following the commandments because of their love of God that is begging in the street. God blesses us. He will bless us all if we simply come to Him. Trust Him. Build up treasures in heaven first, and the earthy treasures will follow. Why do you think the Nephites always got rich before apostasizing again? Because God blessed them with those riches.

I know that these things are true. There is nothing more important in this life than following Christ and doing His will. I hope you all are doing that!

Love you!!!
Elder Schofield

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