WEEK 46 "When Saul stayed Saul..."
Feliz Navidad!!!
Espero que tuvieran la oportunidad para prestar servicio a su comunidad esta semana:)))
I am hoping that everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season and lighting your families this week with little acts of kindness! This week was quite the interesting one! We saw so many miracles and we are just loving it here in Miami! It does not feel like Christmas at all here but we are just rolling with it. We actually did buy fake snow that we put up in our apartment to make it feel a little more like home. jaja
So about the subject. We taught Suzan and Saul from El Salvador again this week. I talked about them a little last week, they are the Pentecostal family. The wife is super adorable and she requested a Book of Mormon online. When we went to visit them, she and her husband Saul greeted us at the door. We went for the first time it ended up just Saul (the husband) wanting to fight with us. So long story short, we taught the Book of Mormon, bore testimony and left. We decided to go back again because everyone deserves a second chance. And let me tell you, we were bold in this lesson. When we walked in, Saul had a list of scriptures to use against us.
In between his interesting comments, we were able to share a short part of the Restoration lesson but he would not let us finish. There was even one point when I was sharing a very personal story of how I came to know these things are true and he rudely interrupted and started fighting with us. I still dont know how someone can fight you on your own personal experience but he definitely did. So again we ended thanking them, and leaving. In the end it was a great learning experience, we were able to bear some really strong testimony, and I know that Saul was able to feel something different (and I think that is why he was so mad when I shared my personal story).
These types of experiences always strengthen my testimony to know just how true this message is. No matter what anyone says, no matter how harsh they are, I know that these things are true and no one can take that away from me. So many people we meet try to convince us of why we are wrong. However, little do they know that the message we carry is different. We are not here to convince anyone, but to bring them the truth through the spirit. We are so confident that this message is true, that we know if someone has true intent and desire, the Spirit will answer their questions. God is the only one that can tell us the truth of all things. I know that this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Especially in these last days, people attack this so much, but that is why it is so important to be sensitive to the Spirit and let God speak the truth to our hearts. Anyway, their time will come. We tried very hard with them and I am hopeful that they will have another chance and come to know the truth one day .
This week was quite the service week. We went to an orphanage, sang to an assisted living home, helped a family move, made nativity sets out of sugar cookies with the primary and went caroling of course. For our light the world project, we set up a toy drive for a nearby orphanage. On Saturday, all of the families from the ward came to help us deliver the toys! The kids loved it! Yohendris and Yordano came (both of our recent converts from cuba that are best friends), and they ended up just playing on the playground because they are basically children too! They are the best! At the end Yohendris told us that he wanted to adopt two of the children when he gets married.
Speaking of Yohendris, he was ordained yesterday! What a wonderful experience that was, to see the change in him is remarkable! We are visiting the temple this Saturday with Yohendris!! We are so excited!!!
Last night we went caroling with all the awesome sisters in our zone. We were with sister Jacobson and her companion when we met this really hilarious family from Peru. We were yelling over the wall to ask if we could come and sing to them when they agreed and we passed through. We sang for them and they loved it, then to pay us back they taught us how to dance. They gave us little paper towels to wave around and everything and we were just...awful...to say the least we peaked last night and it was so awesome! They were the best!
Les quiero mucho! Les deseo todo lo mejor esta Navidad!
Con Amor,
Hermana Richards