Hola, mis queridos amigos!
Yesterday, our zone had a Barbecue!
Last Monday, we visited Lincoln Park, a Chicano park. Chicano means a person of Mexican origin or descent, especially a man or boy. Here in El Paso, they use the term to describe Mexican-American culture - specifically, someone whose parents were born and raised in Mexico, but they were born and raised in the United States.
Lots of beautiful artwork. I love El Paso!
Whew! What a week, what a week.
Last Tuesday, we went to an appointment and they weren't home. As we began walking away, a man called out to us, "Sisters!" We turned around and biked right over to discover that it was Ruben, an investigator for who we didn't have the address! We'd gone to the address he gave us, and the person at the door said they didn't know any Ruben. He told us that was his niece - and she's never home when he is. He also told us he was still interested in our message! He gave us his other address, his sister's house, and we said a prayer with him. It was a miracle!
Our new investigator, Shawn, accepted baptism! Shawn has had a hard life - he hasn't told us the details. He has many tattoos and he sells trashy comic-book art from the side yard of his trailer for a living. He hadn't had the chance to read since our first visit, so we felt prompted to read in 3 Nephi 11 with him. The Spirit took over and it was incredible - despite the 80's music blasting from the neighboring trailer, the little kids screaming and splashing in the pool, and the noise from the flautas truck, the Spirit, "notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center," (3 Nephi 11:3). He began to cry and when we invited him to be baptized, he said, "I've been looking forward to it for years." A miracle!
On Thursday, our plans fell through, so we started biking on down to the church, an hour-long ride. It is amazing how well the Spirit knows each and every one of us, because He led us to the elect through our very appetites! We biked past Subway and decided to stop because we hadn't had dinner. In Subway, a man greeted us: "Well, hi, there, Sisters! It's been a long time." It was Phillip; we had never met him before, but the English sisters used to teach him. He's homeless, so he told us the name of the park he sleeps in and asked if we could come teach him and his girlfriend! THEN, as we high-5'd and ordered our sandwiches, the man behind the counter, whom we'd met before on a Subway trip, asked us, "What scares you most about the Bible?" We learned that he'd also been homeless, but he got back on his feet and was going to school. He expressed to us that he "reads the Word," but he doesn't "live the Word," and for this reason he fears the Second Coming spoken of in Revelations. We were able to share with him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and he's ready to take the lessons! Double miracles!
We taught a lesson to Ronnie, an older, hardened veteran. He likes to argue, so when he said to us, "A lot of people don't believe in Joseph Smith because he had all them wives," (imagine a strong Southern drawl), we were nervous. But it was a blessing and a miracle, because in the same breath, he answered his own doubt: "But I read the Bible! King David did the same thing - Moses had a stutter, and Samuel was a kid! We're all human - God doesn't choose perfect people. They [the prophets] are men just like us!" Miracle!
A little curly dog was following us, so we cornered it to try the number on the collar. The number was to the dog pound, which was closed, so we stopped at a gas station to call a member to take care of it until it could be returned. The man behind the counter asked, "Are you the missionaries?" "That's us!" we replied. "Oh. Well, good luck on your mission!" ...
Come on, man, you can't get away with that! :) So after leaving the dog with a member, we went back and, in between customers, we talked to him and found out that his brother is a member, but he'd joined a Christian church a while back and had fallen away. He gave us his number and address and we're planning on teaching him the lessons! MIRACLE!
Just yesterday, we met a young couple, Jacob and Rosa, who'd just moved in to our apartment complex. The husband's brother is a member and the wife's gone to church a few times with her friends back in Oregon! They're golden - Miracle!
That's all for this week! Tune in next week for more MIRACLES!
Hermana Smurthwaite
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