Bababa, Ba-Barbara Ann. Bababa, Ba-Barbara Ann. Sorry, this song was in my head this morning for some reason.
Important things first - weather report. It has been raining a lot here. But it´s still beautiful. So that´s a relief.
Now that that is out of the way, I´ll fill you in about my week. We had one man, Davison, who was progressing really well all week. But on Saturday, he decided that he wanted more time to prepare. We were pretty disappointed - especially because he was really ready to be baptized. That night we sat down as a companionship and set a plan of action how we need to improve our work here and asked the blessings of the Lord to help us. The next morning (yesterday) we walked to church, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. We were planning who we were going to go visit after church when a boyfriend of a member walked into the chapel. He had been to church a few times and we had wanted to teach him in the past. We pulled him aside, taught him the first lesson and invited him to be baptized. He accepted and was baptized yesterday. I can´t tell you how grateful and happy I am that the Lord blessed us so much. It was a moment when, after all we had done, the Lord seemed to say ´Let me help´ and He sent a blessing direct from heaven. If you don´t believe that the Lord is aware of what we need, I promise you that He is. I was thinking a lot about Pres. Monson´s talk from last general conference called Consider the Blessings. We all have had many moments when the Lord reached down and blessed us not only with what we needed, but with the blessing to recognize that we were being blessed. I know that miracles don´t produce faith, but faith produces miracles. What happened yesterday was a result of many prayers from many people. At times, we may forget that prayer has real power. If we get caught in the routine of just saying prayers for the sake of them, we lose the focus and power they can give. I know that the Lord answer´s prayers. If you doubt this or have trouble feeling close to your Heavenly Father, say a prayer with faith and I know He will respond. I promise that the Lord answers every prayer offered with faith.
Funny story of the week - we were teaching a lesson and it was going very well. We were just wrapping things up when I decided to put my scripture case on the cofee table in front of me. Without warning, the coffee table literally went to pieces and I was so embarassed, I didn´t know what to say. I only could say Ah! Ah! Ah! Everyone was laughing and it was all fine - one of the kids in the family had broken the table earlier and put it together again just for show without actually fixing it.
We did a service project this morning for a member with some young men from the branch. (see photos) The field was actually green and ready to harvest, contrary to popular belief. We are going to have a Zone Conference tomorrow which I´m excited about. I always get more energized after our meetings with other missionaries. I haven´t gotten mail since December so if you have sent anything lately, I haven´t gotten it.
I know that the Lord lives and that He loves us. I know that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ and that the truth was restored through him. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. And this week, I know more than ever that the Lord is aware of our needs, He is ready to help and bless in any moment and I know that we are not alone in our lives. We just need to ask with faith, believing that we will receive.
Be happy and healthy! Love and peace to you all!
Elder Jacob
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