Well, I was doing fairly good today, but Elder Fernelius is making me cranky currently. I'm trying to make the decision to not be cranky, but I need to decide harder or something. Blah.
Happy news! So, we actually had an investigator come to church this weekend! It was marvelous! His name is Segundo, and one of his greatest desires is that his son can be a missionary like us, his wife is a member, and he had a dream in which Christ told him, "Come to me" (right after we had taught him that our purpose as missionaries is to invite people to come to Christ), so we're pretty darn positive that he'll be getting baptized. Yay!!! Excitement! And he came to church in a suit and everything, just like he'd been attending all his life. It was a sweet mercy from the Lord, that's for sure (him coming to church, not him wearing a suit). I am grateful that Heavenly Father hears prayers.
Thursday was a pretty busy day for us. We had a special training session with President Ghent, and then afterwards we went to lunch at a restaurant called Rey del Burrito, and they make fairly tasty burritos (los de Madre are a lot better). They have a burrito there called el Rey de burritos, and it's a burrito about 2 feet long or so. And, as you guessed, I ate it. It was tasty, but it wasn't as filling as I hoped it would be. Later that night I finally broke into the half pound Reese's cups, and them are some darn tasty things. You have to cut them and eat them kinda like you would a pie, and I'm still working on finishing the second one. And that is how I celebrated my one year mark! The tradition is that at the year mark you burn a shirt, but I decided that I wasn't much one for traditions, so I didn't burn a shirt. That's okay though. At a year and a half I'm sure I'll have something that needs to be burned, so I'll do so then.
So, our companionship has been going fine for awhile. I haven't had to work much with Elder Fernelius because he usually goes on divisions with a member and spends the whole day away, so that's worked out well. However, there have been days when I've had to work with him, and while he is getting much less prideful, he's still got some and he still is trying to sell the Gospel. That's really what upsets me most. Gah, okay, before I just completely go off on him I'm going to say something good about him. He does like to work. Rather, he loves to work, which is a really good characteristic to have, especially as a missionary. Also, he can talk to absolutely anybody, which is another good thing. And he is capable of changing, which is best of all. Okay, and my hijo is pretty cool, and I like him for the most part. However, pride is also rearing its ugly head in my hijo, and it's a type of pride that I don't deal well with. It's the "I know more than you so I'm better" type of pride, and that's starting to get at me. I need to pray harder for more love and more patience. Patience, patience, patience. That's what I need most right now I think. And love. Enough love to correct my companions, but to do so in a way that isn't always a machete and that will actually edify them instead of just beating them into the ground. Also, I need to be humble enough to understand when I can't always get what I wa-ant (how many of you now have the song playing in your head?). Sigh. Things will all work out though. Either I'll be able to work a good influence on my companions and they'll change a little bit, or I'll wait for another 4 weeks and get new companions. All will be well, and I'll learn something in the process.
Oh, mail-wise. I did receive some more letters recently, but I still have yet to hear anything about packages. I'll probably call the secretaries today to see if there's anything. I did get the Thanksgiving letter that my siblings sent, and it made me feel all warm and happy and joyful inside. It was a wonderful card, and I'm sorry for not expressing my gratitude for it earlier. Oh, and in one of the letters that I got I received a fabulous bigote [moustache]. It shall be worn. I sent two letters out today (and Madre, I sent the form to renew my drivers license because I noticed that it expires in about a month), so be looking for those at some time. Okay, now, how many packages should I be expecting to have from Christmastime? I received one from Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Ted, one from Grandma, one from mi familia, and one from the Read family. Are there more that I should be expecting right now? I just want to have an idea of what to expect, and I'll be able to see if any have somehow been lost. Thank you to all who have sent me anything! I really do love you all (even those who don't send me anything, I love you too)!
To answer a question from the Mister Jeffrey, I don't usually cook much for dinner. I honestly don't have time to do so. If I'm hungry and walking along and see a panadería [bakery], I'll grab a few pieces of bread and something to drink. Sometimes if we get done with planning and everything early, I'll whip up something real quick (noodles, hamburgers, etc.). The problem is just time. We're allowed an hour of dinner according to the Missionary Handbook, but in this mission there isn't time. The night is when everybody is home, so those hours are precious. But don't worry, I make sure to have a nice hearty breakfast and lunch is always big, and there's a panadería on every corner, so that works out well.
So, I have an even firmer testimony that God answers prayers, though it's not always in the way that you want. I talked to President Ghent this week to find out his thoughts about that big decision that I made a while ago because apart from Elder Mendoza, all of my other leaders and companions have said that they haven't noticed me being distracted by this person, so I have been a bit confused about the decision that I made. Well, President Ghent also said that he didn't see anything wrong with me changing that decision and just having all go back to normal, and I was feeling really excited about that possibility. You see, I feel that since I made the decision I've been more distracted, so I was wondering if it was the correct decision. Anyway, I decided that I should pray again to get the go-ahead from Heavenly Father and...it's a no-go. Against all of my hopes and wishes, it's still not in Heavenly Father's plan that I should write to this person, so I must simply submit myself to his will. It's rough, I can tell you that much, but I know that it will be for the good of all involved. On a note that will seem fairly unrelated, but will be understood, the bigote does give me hope. There's a lesson to be learned, and I shall learn it, dangit!
Well, I believe that's all that I have for now. I am grateful for this opportunity which I have to serve the Lord, and I am grateful that I have this time to grow into the man whom God wishes that I be. I love all of you, and I am grateful for your support. Until next time! Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
No comments:
Post a Comment