Dearest family and friends,
Yay for today! Yay for the chance to live and grow and move and breathe and work! Yay for a God who constantly watches over us and loves us and gives us life!
This was a great week. I was kinda feeling tired and stressed because we have a ton going on, and I am getting a little tired from doing so much all the time, but my companion´s good humor and patience has helped me out a lot. I am loving the work so much right now. We are really blessed with a lot of investigators with a lot of potential right now!!!
On tuesday I had an intercambio with my zone leader Elder Mendenhall. I learned from him to make friendship be almost the first priority in every contact, lesson, and interaction we have with people. He is full of charisma and love, and a great teacher.
We taught the restoration to a recent convert´s sister who is a firm catholic and it went really well -- she understood perfectly, but now it has been super hard to get another lesson with her. We will see her this week, somehow!
Right after, we had a great contact. A little girl had previously told me and my companion to pass by her house because her sister wanted a Bible. I went with Elder Mendenhall and we talked to the mom, Gladys. She opened up to us and told her about her sad life story, her divorce, her depression, and her desire to come closer to God. She accepted a Book of Mormon and a return visit, as well as a baptismal invitation. When we went to visit her again, she wasn´t there, and the next day we found out that she had attempted suicide. We should finally see her today. I can´t believe how many people actually attempt suicide -- it is super sad. Thankfully Yanci seems to be doing a lot better now and she hasn´t attempted again. We also have two other potential investigators who have attempted. :( These people need the light, hope, and happiness of the restored gospel now!
Elder Mendenhall stayed the night and he and I went to Montevideo the next day for the mission choir practice. I think it went well -- it was actually really short! It is not sure whether I will actually get to play the piano or if it will be the guy from the other mission, but if I don´t play I will sing, so I am happy and excited either way. Tomorrow we will have the two-mission conference with Elder Oaks!!! yay!!! we´re going to estaca flores in the other mission, so that will be cool.
We have a lovely new investigator named Esperanza Ilusión (Hope Illusion) (!!) who is a super cute old grandma who lives with some family members. Despite her considerable age, she understands the gospel very well. She read 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon and had a great spiritual experience and understood the chapter perfectly. She wants to be baptized. She will come to church this sunday, but needs a ride to get there. What a great person she is!!
On Thursday, I went to Pan de Azúcar to interview a baptismal candidate of the hermanas in the district. wow! What a spiritual experience! When President Cook told me I would be a district leader in my interview with him a while ago, he commented to me that: Isn´t it amazing that all through the world, if someone wants to join the true church, they have to go through a young man of only 19 or 20 years of age? This is a huge trust that the Lord has given to me. I prepared as best as I could and memorized the questions. I think the interview went well. I felt the Spirit of discernment powerfully and in a very different way. I felt that she was prepared for baptism, despite not perfectly knowing or understanding everything (duh, no one will). I could see a light in her eyes, and I could see her as a member of the church. I could feel that she has repented and changed. She will be baptized this coming saturday!
Ana is doing really well! The plan is to have her baptism this sunday after church!!! I wish I had time to go into more detail on her. She is such a wonderful and peculiar person! I just love her to death. She is kinda quirky and funny, but she understands the gospel and is reading the Book of Mormon. I´m not sure if she has a testimony of the restoration yet, and we still need to teach her all of lesson 4 and 5 this week (!) but we plan to work hard with her and with the members so she can be ready for baptism this sunday. She came to stake conference with us yesterday!!! This Sunday will be her third time attending church. She really wants to be baptized and wants to change her life, and she seems genuinely committed. Pray for her a lot!! :)
Stake conference was lovely. Our stake president is super amazing. the choir sounded nice too! :) I can´t wait for the conference with Elder Oaks tomorrow!!!
I love you all so much and thank you for your continual support,
--Elder Max Olivier
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