April 23, 2012

In the Blink of an Eye


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This is all going by in the blink of an eye! I never thought that it would all go by this fast... But 14 months just slipped right away from me. I remember looking at people who had 14 months when I started the mission and I thought to myself, "They are SO old! They're going home SO SOON!!" And you know what... those people are already gone! The people that come in right now in this next change are probably going to think the same thing of me, and that's so weird! Elder Nelson is about to have only 3 months left! On Saturday he hits 21 months! It's RIDICULOUS!! Everyone hears missionaries say, "I don't want my time to end"... which isn't completely true... but I do want every minute to mean the world to me! Because it really is incredible!!


On Monday night we had a lesson with one of our investigators named Ruben, who we are teaching in English and in Spanish, and after the lesson Elder Hatch asked him if he things that the things we are teaching are true, and he said yes! It was the most amazing thing to hear! I was so happy to find out that our message is really making it to someone's mind and heart! It truly is a satisfying feeling! 


On Tuesday it rained A LOT!! A couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to study humility... most people, or at least I do, associate humility as the opposite of being prideful, but in the scriptures it's much more than that. It's submission, modesty, harkening to counsel from God's chosen servants, recognizing the need for His help and submitting to do His will. I loved that study!  Like I said, it was raining a lot so to get out of the rain we went and visited familia García and talked about how we can apply the teachings of the Book of Mormon when we begin to share it with our friends. 


Wednesday was quite the crazy day... but it is one of those days that a missionary kind of just keeps to himself and doesn't ever really share it with anyone... sorry. But, on Wednesday night we had dinner with familia Jimenez. It was super good! And, I realized that Hno. Victor Jimenez reminds me a LOT of my dad because he seems really serious, but he is a really sarcastic, fun-loving guy, just like my dad! He makes me feel right at home! I love those moments!


On Friday Elder Hatch and I did divisions with the Zone Leaders. I was with Elder Opazo in our area (side note, Elder Opazo was Elder Llewelyn's comp for 2 changes). Some of our plans fell through so we ended up doing a lot of contacting, but it was good! We had a really good lesson with familia Gramajo that night! We read 2 Nephi 31 with them, and then explained the significance that it all has for us. After all of that, we invited them to baptism, because we felt it was the right time. They didn't accept, but they didn't reject it either. They want to take some time to talk about it and think about it, which is very understandable. They recognize that it's not just an everyday decision that you make out of the blue. There were moments when I felt like I should say something to help them in the process, but I was never able to for various reasons which was VERY frustrating. One of the most frustrating things as a missionary is feeling spiritual impressions and not being able to share them due to the agency of other people. However, I feel like Elder Hatch and I will be able to help them progress towards the waters of baptism!


I really love this work. Once upon a time a friend said to me, "but do every thing you can every day, leave it all there, and go until you collapse, because I tell you what, I miss it more than anything and everything... you are every bit a representative of our Savior. And cherish every time you get to slide on that nametag in the morning, because one day, for all of us missionaries, the day comes when you can't slide it on anymore, and you'll want to be able to say you did everything you could with the time you had to wear it. Because it will kill you to know you can't anymore." I know that this is absolutely true. I haven't gotten to the end of my mission yet, but I want to do everything again for as long as I can!


Love,


Elder Andrew A. LaPray