- So my companion speaks Spanish, and we were told there were 4 Spanish speakers up by the Christus, so we went up there to play the narration for them in Spanish, but when we got up there, they weren't there. But there was a man standing by himself, so my companion started speaking to him in Spanish. His name is Oscar. We ended up taking him through a little movie presentation called God's Plan, and were talking with him after, and he talked about how beautiful it was, but how his wife left him, and wondered why God would allow that to happen, if families are so important to Him. So we explained about agency, and how everyone has the ability to make their own choices, good or bad, and other people have to live with the consequences of them. So that was the start of the tour. As we were walking from that presentation to the next place, I was looking at him while he was talking, and it really hit me: he is prepared to hear the gospel from us, in this very moment. I felt such great love for him, and how ready he was to hear the Gospel, it was so wonderful! So we took him to a bunch of places, probably spent 1 1/2- 2 hours with him. I didn't get to speak much, because it was in Spanish, but I understood most of it. Then we started talking about the Book of Mormon, and I told him a little about what the book is while my compy translated, but felt that I should keep it simple. So I just told a little about it but then just looked him in the eyes and said how it is like a road map for life, and any questions about life can be answered in this book, and how special it was and then just said, and I know that it is true. and he just looked at me for a few seconds and said thank you, that was beautiful (or something like that) and then wanted one in Spanish, which we wrote our testimonies in. He said he would pray to know if the things we shared with him were true, but how wonderful he felt while he was here. So then we talked about church, and asked if he would go to church on Sunday, and he said that he would. We also talked about baptism, and he didn't know why he would have to be baptized if he had previously been as a baby. We asked him why baptism is performed, and he said for a remission of sins, and we asked him if he thought he had sins as a baby, and he said no, and talked about how that makes sense to him, and how he wants to share everything with his wife. It was so cool! We called him yesterday on the phone and he was really busy, but told us over and over how beautiful the things that we said were, and how good he felt, that he came back the next day and stayed for a few hours. (He lives in TX but is a truck driver, that's why he was up here). He said that he wants to talk more but that that time wasn't good for him because his kids and grand kids just arrived from CA. But he prayed with us over the phone, and is going to read the book of Mormon, and we are going to talk about baptism with him after Sunday, after he goes to church. It was so great! It was incredible to see the Hand of God in that work, how many miracles he prepared for us to be there at that moment, and for his heart to be opened. I am excited to keep teaching him.
- Then yesterday, I had to go on exchanges again for a bit while my compy was in a meeting. So some sisters asked if we could take this lady on a tour and we said yes. So we meet her and she is a black lady originally from Jamaica, named Natoya, but lives in Vegas. She said that she is a member, but hasn't always made the right choices, but decided to drive up here this weekend because she knew that she needed that back in her life again. We got to talk to her, and discover some of the things she was struggling with. We took her to see God's Plan, and she cried a lot (i love when they cry... >:) ) she expressed how she wants to get sealed in the Temple, but doesn't know when she will. We asked if she had her pat. blessing and she said yes, that it said in there that she would be sealed in the temple. I told her how I wanted her to know that that will happen, and that she deserves it. And how much worth she has. She said that she is carrying some baggage that she needs to let go. A Christian song popped into my head, and told her how 'you can't run when you're holding suitcases' and that God wants her to be able to run down her path, or something like that and she loved it! She kept repeating that during our lesson. So we got to set her in front of the Christus, and she was at peace. She came to an understanding of what God wants for her, and what she wants, and said how she knew what she needed to do when she got home, and how she planned to move out of Las Vegas. Then she gave us her contact info so we can stay in touch and help her, she was so excited. Oh yeah, funny moment: my exchange compy asked if have you ever heard of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? and She did the Black attitude face with lips poking out and goes, 'guuuurl, pulease.' haha it was so funny!
- Today we taught a man straight up from Jerusalem. Man that guy knows the Old Testament! He said that he was raised Jewish, but is Agnostic, searching. I told him how at some point, we are all searching, and have to come to our own conclusions. We shared The Restoration with him and it was a little hard. It's hard for me to imagine not believing in the Second coming, how Christ already came. It made me really sad. But it was a good experience. He liked the things that we said (well not us...the spirit) and referred so that we can continue to teach him.
- Yesterday, we got assigned to a tour of 5 Koreans. All members except one, and she was the only one who speaks English., but they didn't want a Korean tour for some reason. So we took them on a tour, but the non member had to translate every thing, but she was unfamiliar with all of our church words, so it was really hard. (Her name is Hailey) Plus, she didn't sleep the night before so she was really tired. But we tried our best to explain everything simply. She said that she doesn't base her belief on knowledge, but on feelings. I was like SCORE! I love when people are like that, she was golden! We took them to a bunch of places, and she was again one of those people who I know had been prepared to hear the gospel specifically from us. it was way cool. She said how much she enjoyed being there, and that if they hadn't dragged her with them, that she wouldn't have gone, but how glad she was that she went. She wanted a BoM in English (she likes English more than Korean) and wanted to stay in contact so that we can continue to teach her. She was so happy, and wants to know more. So golden! I love being able to teach people after they come here. It is such a blessing. I can't really imagine a more powerful place to teach someone than Temple Square...I feel so lucky it is humbling.
Love,
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