This week's been a pretty good one!! We really started going full
steam with a new initiative that the Church has for Christmas centered
around a video called "He is the Gift". The Church has outdone itself
again with the video and I feel the Spirit strongly every time I watch
it. Which by now has been quite a bit! It really helps you realize the
difference between having a Christ-centered Christmas and a
"stuff"-centered Christmas. Y'all should go to christmas.mormon.org
and check it out! Anyways, we've been really showing that and pushing
that with everybody, because the Church even gave us tons of new
pass-along cards just for the video.
Also Thanksgiving was great, we were allowed to play sports for a
total of about 2-3 hours and so we went to Ukiah where they actually
had some people who wanted to play football (instead of here in
Cloverdale... not many people from the ward here are interested in
that...) (I'm still a bit sore from it too!) And then we came back and
got ready for our dinner with a family called the Adams family
(badadadum snap snap) That was good because they had their non-member
family with them, but the non-members kind-of avoided us a little. I
figure they knew that if they talked to us missionaries for too long
they'd end up talking about the Church, which most people want to
avoid. But it was good anyway.
I also was up in Ukiah on exchanges on Tuesday which was fun, and a
little different. On Wed. morning the elders up there were getting
their carpet replaced and so we spent our morning moving things out of
the way and back and forth and everything for that. But it was good
and I really learned a lot from Elder Rapp, who I was with. He is a
great elder who truly tries to follow the Spirit in everything he
does. While I was on Exchanges Elder Hansen had a great lesson with
Norma (Luis was working or something). She said she's been to church
before in Mexico and she said that once we teach her and she comes to
church more she would be baptized!! We unfortunately weren't able to
have a lesson Friday like we had planned because Norma was sick, but
Elder Hansen saw them again on Sunday evening while I was in my
meeting and had a good lesson with them, and they seem to have a lot
of potential. We also had a Harvest Blessing with Marco Guerrero and
he really felt the Spirit and has desires to do what it takes to
continue to feel the Spirit. He said that if he comes to know that the
Priesthood has been restored and that it's what God would want him to
do he will be baptized! The only concern I have with him right now is
that his wife, Blanca, didn't seem to thrilled to have us there and
didn't want to participate. But maybe she just had a bad day and
hopefully she'll feel and see the difference this Gospel can make in
her life and choose to follow it.
Also great news!! The Martinez came to church yesterday!! They have
been progressing pretty well and have been reading in the Book of
Mormon at least a little. The mom has probably been reading the most
consistently, but they've all read at least a little. Now we just have
to help them establish all this as habit and build their testimony
firm.
Thanks for all the prayers and love that come my way! I love y'all and
have a happy week!!
-Elder Whitaker