November 18, 2013

FAMILIA!!

how is everyone? 

so much has happened this week i don't even know where to start! we had 2 baptisms this week in santa fe!  I will explain more about them in a minute.  and we have been teaching tons of lessons and running around like chickens with our heads cut off because we are so busy and have so much to do (ps. I see chickens with their heads cut off every day because we live on the same street as an outside meat market ewwwwwww!!) ok so a few highlights of the week:

1.lunches with the members are a struggle for me because i love the members and i am so thankful for them and their service but they give us soooooo much food and we have to eat it all or they get offended. and they go into their kitchen and prepare your plate and then bring it out so you cant choose how much you want. but  this week we had lunch with la familia gutierrez and the mom is a returned missionary.  When we got there she had us come into the kitchen and choose what we wanted and how much we wanted and if we didn't want something she was totally fine with that. she said that because she served a mission she understands! we all wanted to cry because we were so grateful for the opportunity to choose how much we wanted and not have to be sick all day from so much food!!! it sounds silly but it really was a big blessing this week!

2.  last week we were walking down the street and i saw a lady walking down the street with a little boy and so i decided to go talk to her.  so i started talking to her and she was really friendly and we told her a little about the church and how her and her son can be together for eternity and not only in this life.  we got her address and made another appointment.  but we didn't think too much of it because pretty much everyone we talk to gives us their address.  but we went and visited her this week and she was home with her ex husband and her baby.  we found out that her ex husband wants to come back to the family but she doesn't know what she wants to do.  we taught a lesson about families and how god blesses families and the dad started crying and explained to his ex wife how much he was sorry for the things that happened in the past but that he was here for her and their son even if she wouldn't let him come back to live with them.  it was really great and the spirit was so strong! its amazing how the lord guides us to certain people.  

3. 2 siblings, L is 17 and D is 11 and they are the kids of a menos activo familia.  actually the parents are inactive and haven't been to church in almost 10 years.  but the parents were on our list of menos activos so we went to visit them and they weren't home but their kids were there and so we had a lesson with them.  we have been teaching them for about 3 weeks and yesterday we had a lesson with them and their dad. we talked about the holy ghost and how it is a guide for us to be able to make good decisions and also to feel the love of god.  at the end of our lesson the dad bore his testimony and said how thankful he was that we were teaching his kids and how it make him start thinking about his baptism and those feelings he felt when the missionaries taught him all those years ago.  he even showed us pictures of his baptism and is really excited for L and D to get baptized.  when we asked him to sign the permission slips he said of course.  why would i not want my kids to feel the way i did when i was baptized.  This is a man that hasn't been to church in 10 years!! it was so amazing! 

4.  we had 2 baptisms this week in santa fe! one was A who is 14 years old and the other was F who is 80 years old.  i don't have much time but i want to explain as much as i can about F because he is one of the best people i have ever met! F is the dad of the bishop in santa fe and all of his family is members.  he is also the husband of our pensionista in santa fe.  when hermana hulse used to go over for breakfast every morning (with her companion that went home) F would always run out of the room because he hated the missionaries. the missionaries and his family have been trying to teach him for 15 years or so but he has always been against the church.  and then one day about 3 months ago he had a brain tumor and he died on the operating table.  He had a dream about his family in heaven and everyone was there except for him.  the doctors were able to bring him back to life and when he recovered he was a totally different person.  he said that he didn't die because he needed to accept the gospel first so that he could be with his family.  so hermana hulse and her comp started teaching him.  and now when we go over there for breakfast he is so  friendly and loves to tell us stories.  he is the coolest old man ever! he speaks spanish and quechua (a tribal language of peru) so he always calls us panai (hermana) and we call him waiki (hermano). I'm trying to think of what else to tell you about him but you just have to meet him to know how great he is. so on Saturday he was baptized and it was the best thing ever!! all of his family was there and they were all so happy for him.  the three of us and all his grandkids sang a musical number and then some of his grandkids spoke and said why they love their grandpa and how happy they are that he was able to be baptized.  it was the best baptism i have ever been to!! ah it was great.  

 

So overall we have had a great week and this week should be great too.  today for pday we are going to play volleyball as a zone in our new jerseys! 

thanks for all the emails! keep them coming!  also i would love love love to recieve letters! the letters usually always get here without problem.  love you all and have a great week!!

xoxo hermana murdock

ps sorry for the terrible grammer and spelling.  spanish is making my english horrible.