" Maria was baptized this Saturday and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints yesterday. She was extremely happy. It's been a source of joy to see this family come unto Christ. Maria's mother heads to Lima today; we visited them last night and in the closing prayer she expressed to the Lord her gratitude for her many blessings, her regret for having left the path for so long, and her resolution to stay on that path now that she has begun her return. They are good people. "Monday, May 31, 2010
Joy in the Gospel
" Maria was baptized this Saturday and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints yesterday. She was extremely happy. It's been a source of joy to see this family come unto Christ. Maria's mother heads to Lima today; we visited them last night and in the closing prayer she expressed to the Lord her gratitude for her many blessings, her regret for having left the path for so long, and her resolution to stay on that path now that she has begun her return. They are good people. "
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Serve the Master
Family,
Today the zone got together and played water balloon/towel volleyball. It was really fun and cooled me off. I thought that once winter came it would start to get cold here, but the temperature doesn't really drop until late afternoon. That's when the wind starts to blow, and it sure blows a lot sometimes. Everything here is dust and sand and hardly any streets are paved, so it's a little unforgiving on the eyes at times. Anyway, I was pretty much the water balloon MVP. You should be very proud.
Even though I feel like I say it every week, these last seven days went by really fast. Really really fast. First off, we were able to help Maria and Adriana accept a baptismal date. I'm not sure if I've written about them... Maria is the 12 year old daughter of Mercedes, a very inactive member who hadn't been to church in a long time. It has brought me a lot of joy to see her come back to church and remember what she's forgotten. Adriana is Mercedes' sister and Maria's aunt. We need to help Adriana a little with her doubts. Usually, an investigator has doubts about the church; Adriana has doubts about herself. She doesn't feel like she is completely ready because she still gets mad sometimes. This family is passing through a ton of difficulties and I really feel like we met them at the right time. I remember our first visit; they seemed way less than excited to see us. However, with time they have really opened up and shared with us some of the challenges that they are passing through. They will be baptized this Saturday. Mercedes goes to Lima on Sunday because her new baby boy was born with a really big tumor on his back but she had to wait a couple months to get a spot in the hospital in Lima. This situation has made me a lot more grateful for the access to great medical care that you all enjoy. Please pray for these two. They sure need it.
We were able to teach a couple and their 14-year-old daughter yesterday; at the end of the lesson we asked the father if he could say the prayer. He said that he couldn't, but that he wanted us to help him. It turns out he's a drug addict. He goes through the trash all day and recycles what he can. That's his job, and he's using his earnings to support a wife, a daughter, and a tenacious drug habit. The father of all lies, Satan, has had a lot of practice these past few thousand years. I was reading Jesus the Christ and James E. Talmage wrote a little about "pleasure vs. happiness." So many people are slaves to one type of addiction or another; more often than not they refuse to admit it. We know from the scriptures that "no man can serve two masters," and it's really true. It gives me huge happiness when someone admits that they're stuck, trapped and deceived, and that they want out. This action alone proves that they at least want to stop serving one master so they can serve the Master. I pray that we can help this man. Pray for him as well. His name is Segundo.
Well, that gives you three people to pray for. And, as always, pray for me. Your prayers are powerful. I love all of you and hope that you all are finding joy in serving the Master. Take care.
Elder Bassett
Today the zone got together and played water balloon/towel volleyball. It was really fun and cooled me off. I thought that once winter came it would start to get cold here, but the temperature doesn't really drop until late afternoon. That's when the wind starts to blow, and it sure blows a lot sometimes. Everything here is dust and sand and hardly any streets are paved, so it's a little unforgiving on the eyes at times. Anyway, I was pretty much the water balloon MVP. You should be very proud.
Even though I feel like I say it every week, these last seven days went by really fast. Really really fast. First off, we were able to help Maria and Adriana accept a baptismal date. I'm not sure if I've written about them... Maria is the 12 year old daughter of Mercedes, a very inactive member who hadn't been to church in a long time. It has brought me a lot of joy to see her come back to church and remember what she's forgotten. Adriana is Mercedes' sister and Maria's aunt. We need to help Adriana a little with her doubts. Usually, an investigator has doubts about the church; Adriana has doubts about herself. She doesn't feel like she is completely ready because she still gets mad sometimes. This family is passing through a ton of difficulties and I really feel like we met them at the right time. I remember our first visit; they seemed way less than excited to see us. However, with time they have really opened up and shared with us some of the challenges that they are passing through. They will be baptized this Saturday. Mercedes goes to Lima on Sunday because her new baby boy was born with a really big tumor on his back but she had to wait a couple months to get a spot in the hospital in Lima. This situation has made me a lot more grateful for the access to great medical care that you all enjoy. Please pray for these two. They sure need it.
We were able to teach a couple and their 14-year-old daughter yesterday; at the end of the lesson we asked the father if he could say the prayer. He said that he couldn't, but that he wanted us to help him. It turns out he's a drug addict. He goes through the trash all day and recycles what he can. That's his job, and he's using his earnings to support a wife, a daughter, and a tenacious drug habit. The father of all lies, Satan, has had a lot of practice these past few thousand years. I was reading Jesus the Christ and James E. Talmage wrote a little about "pleasure vs. happiness." So many people are slaves to one type of addiction or another; more often than not they refuse to admit it. We know from the scriptures that "no man can serve two masters," and it's really true. It gives me huge happiness when someone admits that they're stuck, trapped and deceived, and that they want out. This action alone proves that they at least want to stop serving one master so they can serve the Master. I pray that we can help this man. Pray for him as well. His name is Segundo.
Well, that gives you three people to pray for. And, as always, pray for me. Your prayers are powerful. I love all of you and hope that you all are finding joy in serving the Master. Take care.
Elder Bassett
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