Hola!
First transfer in the field is completed. I said goodbye to Elder Marroquin this morning, who will see his family in Guatemala for the first time in two years tomorrow afternoon. Its sad to see such a good friend, companion, teacher, and Papi go, but im ecxcited for him! Right now im in a trio with Martinez and Cornejo until my new comp arives tomorrow. All I know is that he´s North American, been in the mission for over a year, he will be our district leader, and thankfully knows Spanish well. So Im excited to meet him! Ive learned a ton this first transfer, like to make sure you have a change of clothes after each baptism... learned that the wet way!
Well, we had the opportunity to attend the temple this last Friday. It was wonderful. It used to be that we only visited the temple twice a year, but now President Corbit has changed it to four times a year! Its awesome. I really like my President. Very kind, very funny, and very serious about the work. He´s new, and so the mission is seeing alot of changes. There are alot of ¨tigres¨(disobediant missionaries) in the field right now, so he´s trying to straighten things out, and lift the sprituallity of the mission. Anyway, the temple was great. As we were in the chapel about to begin a session, we were singing a hymn, when all the lights and power went out. Perks of living in the DR! Therefore, the organ didnt work, and none of us could see the words to the hymn we were singing. So just imagine about 50 elders and Sisters humming a hymn in the pitch black chapel of the Santo Domingo Temple. It was actually really nice and spiritual. Funny story though.
I think ive told a bit of this story before, but it now has much more signifigance. The first week here in La Victoria, Elder Marroquin and I were whitening the area, so we didnt have many appointments lined up. One day, we were contacting in a big rainstorm. We were in the part of our area where if it rains, the streets turn into rivers of mud. As we walked on one path, in the pouring rain, jumping over trenches of running water, contacting every house and hut, nobody was answering. We reached fork in the road, and Elder Marroquin said to me "One more house. Which way?" We looked around a bit, and at the same time, I said "Aqui" while he said "Here" both pointing to a small shack off in the distance. It was Ibelice's home. Our last contact of the day, and the house we both agreed on. We didnt know it at the time, but it was prompting of the Spirit. She had recieved many visits from Elders before, but never progressed. Her sister has been an active member for the last 18 years, but its never been the right time until now. After a month of teaching, this last Saturday, Ibelice and her two sons Hector and Choco were baptized and are now memebers of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. There is no doubt in my mind that before we came to this earth, Ibelice told Marroquin and I to find her. Everything was so perfectly timed, prepared, and planned. Heavenly Father has His work and His glory, and I am blessed to be an instrument in his hands to bring it to pass.
Thank you all for your prayers.
