this week had a lot of great things happen, and i mean GREAT! While our teaching pool is still a little bit down, we did make major improvements and picked up some old investigators and found a few new that will hopefully turn into solids. But let me go through the week...
Tuesday was cool because at night time every week we do a book of mormon class for the branch. We prepare a skit of the stories like Lehi's dream, or nephi and his family hunting and breaking the bow and arrow, and getting the plates from laban, and every week it is just a crack up. It reminds me of old dinner times where it would be just the little boys and mom, and mom would try and keep us all settled but we be all goofy and we would all be laughing crying by the end of it. Literally it is soo awesome to see everybody having a good time, but then balancing it out with spiritual messages. We do it with 2 other spanish elders too so it is just soo fun. But this past week was great because we did a big review and instead of us doing all the skits, we had them do it. We gave them some time to prepare and some scriptures to help, but the rest was up to them. It was sooo funny! They all did so well though and even some of the kids were getting into it and everybody was just laughing and having such a good time. I think that's what made it such a good memory for me, that many maembers of our branch were just having a blast and bonding with one another. It was our biggest turn up yet at the class too so that made it even better. At the end too, Elder Wilkes who is such an awesome missionary, asks what is it that you like about this class? and then everyone basically bore their testimony about the book or mormon and it was so spiritual too. Great times.
Okay now, the best part of the wholee weeeek! We had a family SEALED ON SATURDAY!! Last week i thought that the sealing was going to be on the 19th, but it was the 12th! We got permission to go and everything! So saturday morning we all met at the church and left here at like 8:00. We got to the temple and waited a while for them to get ready and everything. Then we went through the temple session. It was beautiful and soo amazing to see them grasping and learning about everything. They were such good sports and it was so amazing to see them at the end with beaming smiles on their faces. The spirit was soo strong and it was great because we were all there, not for ourselves, but for THEM. There was a great support system and just about everyone that could go to the temple, in our branch, did go. The best part was the sealing though. After they were married, the kids came all dressed in white! Denise the daughter who is about 9 had this cute little white dress on and a white bow and miguelito had his little white shirt and pants with socks way to big for him ahah, he is 3. It was the most beautiful sight and such an honor for us missionaries to be there. The spirit was so strong and it was the best perspective changer or reminder that THIS is what our goal is. Not only for ourselves, but for the familes we teach. Yes it is our purpose help people come closer to Christ throuhg baptism and such, but the real goal is the temple. This family was baptized about a year and 3 weeks ago, so they made it just about as soon as they could and they were just soo happy to be there.
That was the best day ever though man i iwll never forget it. We had a talent show that night too and well, it ended up kind of being a wedding reception hahaha! We really didn't plan for it to be that way but, there was cake and food and music, and Carolina Lopez even showed up in a wedding dress hahah it was so great!
Then on sunday, church went well and we had a meeting afterward for the BRANCH SPLIT!! As of yesterday evening, our branch is split and there is a new spanish branch on the other side of the river. We went to the new building yesterday with all the members of our branch, the new branch, and familes that will be helping from the english wards over there that speak spanish. So the chapel was filled and wow, what a spirit! We sang everything in spanish and the choir sang in spanish and the spirit was so strong for me, as the music filled the room. It was different than normal sunday sacrament meeting because EVREYONE was singing and it was just booming powerful. There was a wonderful program that outlined why we have the split and who will be a part of it and everything lovely like that. It was great. So now our branch is split and we only have two missionaries over here to cover our whole area and two wards!! yikess!! But we are excited and it is just evidence that the work is progressing, "no unhallowed hand can stop it".
that is pretty much everything that went on. All the big stuff at least. It was such a spirit filled week and we are all just feeling good. Next week is transfers and we're all talking like i'm gonna leave which is kind of nerve racking, but also exciting. I think i will grow a ton when i leave this area jsut cause i will get out of my shell a little more. I won't be in my first area where naturally i sometimes see myself as a greenie cause it seems like yesterday hahah. But we will see nonetheless. We still will work our tails off. But if anything is sent to me please send it to the mission office so they can forward stuff to me wherever i am.This work is amazing. i love feeling aprt of the lord's work. I think sister whiting sent us a letter that said, "our mission is the unique time that we have to see Heavenly Father's children just how he sees them" and i love trying to maintain that attitude all the time. i know this is the only church of Jesus Christ on the earth and we are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives. "One true indicator of our conversion to the gospel, is our willingness to share it". Share this lovely blessing :)
love you guys so much
Elder Edwards
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