March 3rd, 2014 - Weekly Letter

Miracles......

            This week was an amazing week full of miracles.  Little miracles, big miracles and everything in-between.  With all the miracles it has also been a hard week with Satan working hard so that our investigators didn't get baptized, but they did!!! It's so cool to look back at the beginning of this journey of the family, the family Ramos Garnica, and to see all of the changes and just everything that has happened.  It all started in the beginning of January...

     So Elder Ruiz and Elder Conklin were just walking down the street and saw the dad and one of the sons sweeping the street in a far away neighborhood.  They decided to help him and then he invited them and us to return to their house to talk with them and what not.  That night Elder Ruiz returned to the house and told us that he found a family that was going to get baptized, and little did we know that it was 100% the truth. A lot of times when we really feel that people are going to get baptized they don't, and that's the saddest, but yeah. 

        So we went back and the very first visit with them they had already wanted to be baptized and invited us to come back to their house every day.  From that day and forward we went to their house almost every day.  They were more than prepared for their baptism.  During the process we saw tons of changes, starting with their house.  Their house was super dirty and what not, and within a week their house was clean, and within another week they were inviting us to eat with them. The sons weren't fighting anymore, their little sister started talking with us more, and the dad quit drinking and smoking and everything.  The very first day we went to their house there were alcohol bottles, but ever since that first day there was never another bottle of alcohol in that house, nor cigarettes.

      By the time their baptism came around, the sons were praying as if they had always been members, and the mom said the closing prayer for the baptism and just started crying during her prayer.  I had the chance to baptize the oldest son, 14 years old, and when he came up he hugged me, and then after he told me he felt so different, like light, and clean...pure.  The whole family was so happy the day of their baptism, and it was so cool to see them all dressed in white.  Yesterday also, after church when we visited them, the son that is 14 years old told us he wants to go out and preach with us, so that is going to be super fun!  He also calls me his dad, so that's pretty funny!!

     So yeah, everything with the baptism went over well, and also we have just been doing good lately. We have been finding a lot of people, and we have been becoming really good friends with a lot of people. For example when we have to use a taxi the same guy always comes to pick us up, and it's always a lot cheaper cuz he likes us.  Also, people have been asking us to come eat with them like all the time. It's awesome.....it's pretty cool being a missionary. But also really hard....especially with the heat. March 3rd and it's still getting hotter.  Hope I survive the summer. 

    Also this last week we had a meeting with President and I got 3 packages.  A Valentine's package from Grandma Barbara, the one package from Aunt Margie, and a Valentine's package from you guys!!! So even though it was a little bit late for Valentine's Day, it was super fun to celebrate Valentine's Day late ;) haha

    So thanks for everything!!!  Things are going good here! At times it is very hard, the missionary work, and on top of that the heat and everything, but when we see the baptisms, everything changes!!!  This work is amazing! Thanks for supporting me in everything!

   I just wanted to share my testimony now. My testimony after 1/4th of my mission:

I know this church is true.  It can't be false because it has everything that a church of Christ has to have, and on top of that I have seen so many blessings through this gospel and living it.  The Book of Mormon is true as well.  Not only is it proof that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God, but the verses apply to us in these latter days, and they have helped me in the mission up to this point. I know that Christ lives and his hand is in our every day lives.  I also have a strong testimony of the priesthood, and that as long as we live worthy and have faith, the priesthood never fails....I have seen miracles from the priesthood here in my mission. 

I love you all

-Elder Loveless