Counting Blessings

Arrived Jan 16, 2017

Love the family like I love counting blessings. This week I have tried harder to count my blessings and looking back on the past few months I have been blessed more than what I realized in the moment.

 

My latino prescribed "fix every infirmity" concoction of orange, carrot, celery and cucumber

 Remember my big mistake when the interviews with president were one day but I had everyone plan for a different day? Well I don’t know if I ever shared this but a sister missionary from a different zone came up to me about a week after that had happened and asked if I was the one who had mixed up the days, sheepishly I admitted to it. She told me that because of the mix up one of their investigators who wasn’t going to get the essential pre baptism interview was able to have president come and interview her. She thanked me for the mis-up because for them it was a tender mercy.

This week we had been learning patience since the progress has been up and down and up and down. On Sunday we set high goals to make up for the other days and we had some nice tender mercies. 

One new investigator had read the whole pamphlet and agreed to be baptized and asked us when church is. Hopefully Wendy and her son Yojeidy keep up the work.

Also yesterday a member came up to us in the conference and said he was going to take us to a reference. He drove us (a blessing) to the family where we met a young man using crutches from a motorcycle accident and whose mother just passed away. With several family members present we testified of the plan of salvation, I shared a scripture in Enos that personal helped me when grandpa had passed away. One of the family members was visiting from New York and she is a temple worker and she went on about eternal families. And also our favorite member Pedro Pablo showed up in the middle of the lesson. He is also the district president. We also gave a blessing to the new yorker family member and folletos to everybody. I also found one of our super fancy new pamphlets on families and temple work. The young man liked it all and said he is interested in coming to church. The new yorker said she will be in town for some time and with a special look said she would help the guy read, she is set on baptizing him. Also, they gave us some moro de guandules which was also a blessing.

 

Family night with the mission leaders and the sisters

I woke up yesterday without my voice but I have been able to teach alright, even if I sound like Darth Vader. We have been a little sad this week that Santiago still is having problems with drugs and it doesn’t really seem like he wants to change even though he says the church is true. Also Juana and Gustavo who want to get baptized haven’t made the changes in their lives to make this promise with God. They want to be baptized and take the sacrament but haven’t done the work, only gone to church. Changing, repentance, putting ourselves in harmony with God. It’s sad that most people don’t know how and others simply want to play their own note.

 

baseball with Elder Nickel

Elder Laureano and I have been exercising hard lately and waking up earlier to toss around the baseball. Its really fun and funny and challenging when its 6:45 in the morning and you barely see the ball until its right in front of your face haha. 

This Sunday was the Caribe Area Conference and we watched the broadcast from Utah of Elder Anderson. Also our dear Elder Cornish talked as well. Elder Anderson talked about having patience, diligence and faith. I am working on having more patience and hope lately. Not just faith in the investigators or hoping they show up to church Sunday but that I have faith and hope in Christ that these people can change. What a great word is change. I think a lot about how I have changed and I hope to always be changing. Change is the course through trials to consecration and holiness. 

Love Elder A Sheffield

Celebrating my 18 month mark with pizza