Well it's been more fun here with Elder Celestino.....it feels like with every passing week I'm able to take our work up to another level. That was what I was taught.....the last day on my mission should be my best. I set a new personal record for lessons taught this weekl! The best part is that I know that it can be a lot higher. Every extra effort made on my part to find and teach people could be the difference between a lesson that could change someone's life. Elder Celestino shares my view. He's 20 years old and is from Sao Paulo. He was baptized 3 years ago, but boy does he learn quickly. He's a sharp guy. He's already taught me a lot of things about how to lead other missionaries. I'm a bit reluctant at times to delegate responsibilities, and he has been helping me to see the beauty and importance of delegation among the district leaders in our zone. He's also really good and helping other missionaries realize where and how they can improve their work. I'm blown away at times. Every time I think I know how to do something, the Lord sends another missionary to show me how it could be done even better. It's fun being teachable. I learned a long time ago that it's just not worth it to be stubborn.
Another funny thing that I've mentioned several times before. Missionary work is such a roller coaster. On Tuesday for example, Elder Celestino and I spent the entire day making contacts with people.....our fruits? 1 measly lesson.....rather than get discouraged at the end of the day, I got on my knees, and more or less had the following conversation with the Lord: "Lord, we worked hard today. I talked with everyone that came my way. We didn't get the results we would have liked, but I know that you are going to reward us tomorrow with miracles." I see how some might see that as cockiness, but rather, I see it as boldly asking the Lord with faith to bless us. There's a lesson or two to be learned with the Brother of Jared's experiences before the Lord. It's interesting to note that we taught 9 lessons the next day, the most I've ever taught in one day on my mission. We found an incredible Catholic family. Mom, dad, and two kids. The Spirit saturated the room during our lesson. Elder Celestino mentioned to me that it was one of the best lessons of his mission. I agreed. After everything had gone perfectly right, I asked when we could return to teach them again....turns out, they are going to spend a month in the interior with their extended family.....darn you holidays!!! We are going to follow up with them next months....by the way, you'd like the daughter's question at the end of the lesson....she aksed, "is there a bookstore around here where I can buy a Book of Mormon?" Real intent? Yup.
I talked about a Jew that we are teaching....come to find out, he's a bit of a "relaxed" Jew....in other words, he basically just knows how to speak Hebrew. He doesn't really keep any of the traditional Jewish customs. His name is Aldrei. He went to church with us on Sunday. At first, he said that he wouldn't feel comfortable going to a Christian church, but after we talked with him, he gave in and went to church with us! The theme of the sacrament meeting was "revelation"....Aldrei was paying quite a bit of attention during the talks. In the end, he leaned over to me and whispered "I received 2 revelations....I need to talk to you".....Oh boy I got about as nervous as Brazilian on a ice rink. He started explaining that he had some strange dream with a bearded man on the other side of some bridge selling some of his Mom's Jewish artifacts on a wooden table....I really didn't understand anything that he was saying (not because of the language, but because his dream was really quite strange)....I wasn't sure how to respond when he asked me what his dream meant.....being real clever, I said to him "come with me, I want to show you something". My comp and I went to the baptismal font, where we explained to him about the nature and importance of baptism. We invited him to be baptized....he paused, and seriously thought about it. He expressed some concerns about wanting to get to know the church better, but other than that, he basically accepted. I was shocked! I have no idea what was going through his head at the moment, but I know the Spirit was working on him. He felt the presence of the Lord. It was fun. I'm excited to see what's going to happen!
Each day is a precious opportunity. Merry Christmas to everyone. I have to keep reminding myself that Santa is coming, even if it means that he's coming in a sleeveless tee with flip-flops and sunglasses. It's better than being in some middle eastern country where he's not even allowed to enter!
Until next time,
Elder McKinley
No comments:
Post a Comment