I hope everyone is supporting the weather alright and everyone is still alive and such! I suppose I am on the opposite side of the weather scale probably in 30 or more all the time haha sorry. Im sorry my english is kind of sliding but its hard to express what I want to say in English anymore, and I am using lots of spanish phrases now. I can still speak english and I am fairly sure I think mostly in English unless I switch out into Spanish. It happens a lot in the street. Somebody starts speaking English and I dont even know what to say to them. They want to like practice or something. But it confuses me too much.
So this was a really good week. Our numbers are once again somewhat normal, but thats not really the important part. We are really actually seeing legitimate progress in lots of the area! One reactivation, family getting prepped for baptism, lots of other people being potentials and finding all over the place! The ward has come so far from what it used to be, and its really nice to sit in church with all the converts and the members talking with investigators and being friendly and truly acting like saints. Its kind of like a miracle or something, and I am so glad I saw this moment come to pass finally after so much down time. Dont worry about me getting tired of anything, it never happens. I am out on the Lord´s errand and I have no reason to tire. So dont worry! I suppose I may not be such a talented teacher still, but at least someone will join the church even if just for sheer diligence!
Elder Herrmann and I are still chilling super well and having a great time here on the mission. Its so nice to be amongst a friendly and open people. Sure, they dont really commit but I have yet to meet a people who do, and at least we are in their houses teaching them the truth and eventually someone will accept it! YEAH!
Anyway, I am glad Dad got something to start working and that everyone is somehow enjoying the winter. I still cant imagine it all very well. I get cold all the time here, and its not even under room temperature I guess Ive become a wimp. Its funny that we comment about things being really incomplete, building wise, and its the same spiritually here. People are all kind of lacking something. I mean, basically everyone believes in God. But they do not know Him. They want to follow him, but dont know how and havent recieved of why. Why they all live here and such. I used to think the pattern of missionary lessons was kind of strange, but really its perfect. We teach the Plan of God for everyone that has been restored on Earth, and teach everyone how to come to find it! I have never realized as much as I do now the real purpose of things. People always seem to think too much about condemnation and not wanting to be punished, and wanting to be saved from that. I have found the real purpose is to develop the desire to follow God and have His love with us. If His love is truly with us, we reach out instead of in, and experience so much more than before. He supports us and keeps us always in His arms of mercy, if we but reach for them. Keeping the commandments is not to avoid condemnation, rather it is to find a new plane of living. A new paradigm for our lives. Becase really we are all children of God, and can become like him. We must take advantage of that opportunity to grow and learn.
Oops sorry got preachy. It kind of happens as a missionary. Anyway, learning lots about charity and love. Once told some investigators and converts that we were going to go back to basics. They were having disputes and whatever it was they had as problems, and I told them we were going to read about charity. I dont know why exactly. Anyway, I learned and they learned that it all starts with charity, hope and faith. We are just here to develop those. And the commandments help us, the church helps us everything helps us and eternally God helps us to be charitable, hopeful and faithful and nothing else is as important as these three features. I havent been able yet in the mission to fully comprehend nor develop these features, but it is coming slowly. I suppose I will search my whole life.
Anyway, spanish is cool. Preaching is cool. I really hope it keeps going like this. Not for me, for this area of the kingdom. They really deserve something here, better than they have been recieving. Eh, I guess thats why we are here or something.
Well I am glad everything is great. Haha, thats funny about super bowl with Elder Low. We dont have that problem here. we just show up on holidays anyway and people have to let us in unless they went out or something. We barged in a few parties and taught the people present haha. Not like, party parties but parties.
Our biggest hope right now is with families. We have some crazy prepared people kicking around, and they need some follow up pronto. It would be super nice to finally have a full family enter or be completed in the gospel.
Other cool stuff, we drink awesome herbal tea things. I have serious bad insomnia, but I dont requiere a large amount of sleep so its been fine and I am drinking chamomile sometiems to try and fix it. Ah well. It tastes good at least. Played soccer a bunch with the other latin missionaries. They keep on saying Canada is good at soccer, but I think they lie. I hopefully sent a bunch of cool pictures with the Mercado family and Javier and a family we are teaching. So fulfilling when people sit in church and it all looks perfect and such. Lots of people from my CCM group are in the zone now, like 5 of us in total. Wow. Kind of neat.
Thanks for the picture of cake. Now I am jealous. Oh well I ate ice cream today. And I am getting superbly fat, even though I work out everyday. Ah well. Such it is. So... dont get fat everyone! It doesnt feel nice!
Anyway, cool experiences, we sat with this less active (the one who just came back to church) and she like, just upon hearing us speak a little, told us her whole problem. And somehow, we resolved it with nothing but a few words about Jesus Christ, His Atonement and faith being like a seed that grows into a tree of life. Pretty neat to see the Spirit work with that lady, whose family could possibly become all baptized members and an eternal family other than perhaps the divorce. But we work. Other people are really reading the Book of Mormon and it truly is such a powerful book. I have found revelation in it. So has every investigator that is progressing towards more. Hopefully they continue reading forever. Sometimes I worry what will happen when Elder Diaz and I leave, if our converts will fall, but we shall leave them in the hands of hIm who knows all, so I dont have to worry. We have also really enjoyed a heightened sense of the Spirit, one lesson with this lady who would just not accept the idea of one modern day prophet, we were severly prompted to give her the book of mormon, we were not permitted to leave that house until we did so. And so hopefully she read. I have some feeling she is reading.
So always have hope family and always be happy. No point in being sad. I hope everything goes absolutely great. As always you have my love.
Que el Senor siempre les cuide en sus manos de misericordia, y que ustedes siempre puedan tener exito, felicidad, esperanza y proteccion. Mis oraciones les siguen. Nunca pierden la fe. Sigan adelante, y nunca vean atras! Vengan, al monte del Senor!
Con amor,
Elder Sullivan
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