Saturday, April 19, 2014

Letter 21

Hola Familia!

This week Elder Webster and I have really been kicking it up a notch on our lessons and with our investigators.

We have been focusing primarily on the Atonement of Jesus Christ (this being Semana Santa and Easters and what not) and how thanks to that Atonement, we can be cleansed again through baptism. When we talk to people about the Atonement, a lot of the times they only think about His suffering on the cross. But we know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ was much more than that. First, we must remember His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Gethsemane He submitted to the will of the Father and began to take upon Himself the sins of all people. Jesus Christ continued to suffer for our sins when He allowed Himself to be crucified at Calvary. Finally, He was risen from the tomb after 3 days, overcoming physical death for us. When we teach and focus on all the aspects of the Atonement, we finally start to see the grandness and the magnificence of our Savior's Atonement.

We have had a great week teaching people and helping them remember our Saviour. We had an especially exciting lesson with one of our investigators, Fernando Rodriguez. Fernando is the son of Maria who we baptised a few weeks ago. He has been investigating the Church since November (when I checked his teaching record I found out that the other missionaries had found him like 2 days before I entered the MTC). He is so close to a baptism, but all he needs is that final push. We taught him a few days ago and focused on the Atonement and on cultivating faith in Jesus Christ. Fernando is a very educated man, and wanted to know what other goals he could set himself after he is baptised. He had a sister who went inactive a few months after baptism, and he always tells us how he does not want to do this either. So he always says that he wants to be completely learned on all the aspects of the Gospel. We taught him that this knowledge would come with time. And that he would "pluck" the fruits of the Gospel with time (Alma 32:42). We then told him that we wouldn't set a baptismal date, nor would he, but we would let God show him that he is ready for baptism. We then kneeled and prayed for an answer. The Spirit was present, and we had an amazing experience with him. He knew that his time was close, and we are preparing him for a baptism on May 3rd. We have faith that Fernando will be baptised, and we will keep working to bring him that much closer to God. 

I love preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I love serving Him. 

Have a great week!.

Elder Velazquez

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They use old School Buses as public transportation


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Costco!

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