Hello! So this week was pretty good, we had some rough moments in the beginning, but everything is good now. It's still really hard to live with someone so different from me. Elder Silvestre is a great guy, but he and I have very different beliefs, habits, strengths, weaknesses, and so on. I'm a little more quiet, and I don't have as much iniciative as some people. This really bothers Elder Silvestre, even though I'm trying my best to get out of my comfort zone to be a good missionary. Change takes time, so I'm improving little by little. We talked things over, and things are better now. It's hard to have a companion who is difficult to get along with, especially when you're with him for 3 transfers, (18 weeks) but I'm learning a lot from my experiences with him.
So we have a really awesome investigator who we have been teaching for about a month now. His name is O. He is a great guy, he's 27 and he is a teacher here in Miahuatlan. He is somewhat shy, but very sincere and willing to do what we tell him to do. (that is very rare here, usually the people say they are going to do something and then they never do it.) He is reading the book of mormon, and he said that he recieved an answer that it is true! He constantly wants to know more, and he asks a lot of questions, which is awesome. We set his baptism for the 26th of march and we're working hard to prepare him for that day. He has a small problem with alcohol, but he seems willing to change. He also is interested in learning english, so we often stay at his house a little longer after lessons and I teach him a bit of English! I'm so happy for the opportunity to teach him and help him find the happiness that the gospel brings.
We had to drop our investigator N... I was super sad about that, because she was progressing so well and everything. She wasn't making the changes in her life that are required for baptism. Elder Silvestre made the final decision, and even though I wanted to continue teaching her to help her change, he wouldn't budge. It's really sad, but I still believe in her. Her progress record is in our area book, and after a time maybe other missionaries will have the opportunity to teach her. Maybe then she will be ready to make the required changes in her life.
But the baptism of E is going to be this Saturday! I am so excited for her! She is an amazing person. I am also happy for her son, L, who is 6 years old. He is super cute, and because his mother now has the gospel, he will also have the opportunity to have the gospel in his life. This missionary work really is amazing, I am so happy to be here helping people recieve these wonderful blessings.
Yesterday for P-day we had a multi-zone activity! It was great, our district went up to Oaxaca on Sunday night to sleep there in the mission offices. Then in the morning when everyone arrived we headed to "Àrbol del Tule," a really big tree that is more than 2000 years old! It was pretty cool, and yes, it was really big. Then we went to the ruins of Mitla. They were awesome! They are the ruins of the Zapotec people that lived here in Oaxaca before the spanish came. It was way cool, and I am really glad I got to go! It was fun to be with mission friends and make new mission friends. We don't have a lot of opportunities as missionaries to just have fun, so it was very much needed.
Yesterday in the night we found a new family to teach, and we had a very spiritual lesson. They are going through an extremely hard time, their daughter is in the hospital, their son started drinking, and a loved one reciently died. When we knocked on their door, they were super ready to let us in, to listen to the word of God. I felt the spirit guide me in that lesson so much. I said things in spanish that I didn't know that I knew. Elder Silvestre and I worked extremely well together as a companionship. My favorite part of the lesson is when we gave them the book of mormon. I was testifying of the book of mormon, and I said something like this. "I testify of this book. I know that this book is your answer. It can change your lives. I came all the way from the United States to bring this book to you, because I know that it can help you more than anything else." After testifying of the book, the Grandma looked up at me, and said thank you in such a sweet and sincere manner. I felt the spirit so strong, because I knew that my words were given to me by the holy ghost, and that their hearts were open to recieve the holy spirit's testimony. I knew that they would read the book of mormon.
Welp, thats my life in the mission this week. It really is amazing to be here. I love you all!
Elder Lindsay
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