10 June 2013

Thursday Morning.  Sister Partridge and I were scheduled to teach a Gospel Principles class, (in Spanish.)   In the past three weeks, we have had only very little attendance.  This was June 6.  No one was there so we started the class, singing a hymn and offering a prayer and then Sister P started teaching an empty classroom.  We started at 10.  About 10:20, a young girl entered and sat down.  The  subject was: The Church of Jesus Christ in Ancient Times.

My turn.  I wanted to practice my Spanish which is why we were going ahead with no students.  When Berlyn came in, I just reviewed quickly what I had started and continued. I talked about what the church looked like in Jesus's time and a little about the apostasy and then the need for a restoration.  We read some scriptures, I read some lines from the lesson and then I bore a short testimony that I KNEW what I had been teaching was true.  That felt very good.  I turned the time back to Bill.  As I listened to Elder P. teach I was grateful again for his powerful teaching and how the Spanish just pours out of his mouth!  And as he started to write the name Thomas S, Monson on the board and testify that he was the Prophet of God today, the truth of those words just flooded over me.  It was wonderful.  A simple thing, watching his name being printed on the whiteboard...but a truly powerful witness from the Holy Ghost to my soul that it was true.  I love being a missionary!  

ME:  When I asked her if she had ever heard of Joseph Smith and she said no, I was amazed.  So, we had a real "live" investigator.  I started explaining the first vision, complimenting  mom's explanation about the church in early times, showing that they had twelve apostles and we have twelve today, we have a prophet, etc.  She was eating it in.  It was like being on a mission when I was young again and teaching those who knew not the truth.  We finished the lesson and then asked her about her family.  She comes from a city a distance from this one.  She said that her mother wanted to know about our church.  We said the next time her mother comes to town we would introduce them both to the missionaries and get them the lessons.  She was so humble, interested, and understood the key points. what a joy to teach someone so interested.  

It was fun teaching an investigator with   my eternal companion.  The JOYS of a mission....

Here's the Duval family we had dinner with on the Dominican Mother's Day.  

Another of our non-member students.  Robert Junior.  We're hoping to see him baptised soon.

Here we are at last Thursday's Hawaii's party at the Institute.  We dressed in Hawaiian garb.  The kids loved it!  And we actually danced for 30 seconds...together!  Wahoo!