December 30, 2009

Dear Family,

I would just like to thank you for the wonderful opportunity it was to talk to you on Christmas day. It was so enjoyable to hear 4 wonderfully familiar voices…and one not so familiar. I was very surprised and laughed a lot to hear that my sweet, little brother Mark ¨Hit PUBERTY!¨ HAHA, oh the things that I am missing, haha. Well, other than having a huge, hairy, ape living in your house, it sounds like things are pretty…normal, so that´s good.

As for the gingerbread house, I loved it. We took it over with us on Christmas day, but did not have time to do it. So we went back on Sunday to have lunch with them, after which we had a splendid time, celebrating Christmas with them, in a different way. They loved it. Gina, Naomi, Romina, and Sammy (a recent convert from Peru who got baptized about 10 months ago) all helped me get the frosting made, and melt the sugar. It was very fun, and when we actually starting frosting the house and putting the candy on, the girls were so happy. They thought it was the coolest thing ever, using American candy (eating it as well) to decorate a gingerbread house. Before we had to leave, Gina said the house was so cute, when I kept having the thought that it was incomparable to the houses that we make at home. It´s okay though, they just don´t have the practice yet, not to mention that the girls basically did all of it. They also loved the chocolate rocks. So thank you for that wonderful idea. I had a fantastic time with it!

Nothing is really new. Don´t worry about me and Elder Dawson, it is a change, because, as I am noticing more and more, Elder Carr was an excellent missionary. He had a special love in everything he did, whether it be talking to someone in the street, interacting with the members, or just us talking between each other. He had a love for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father that transferred to every facet of the work. He was an incredible example to me, and has shaped the way that I work and love everyone I come into contact. One thing that I loved is that he always smiled when we were talking to people. I loved it.


Before I leave, I want to tell you that I had a very spiritual experience last night. First, I have been praying a lot lately to have the discernment and spiritual intonation, I guess you could say, to communicate the exact words and the Holy Ghost that can help people keep commitments that will bring about repentance and baptism. Last night, I finally recognized that I can do it. I can rely on the Holy Ghost and do all of the above.

Obviously it is not me in any of this, because my overall goal, is to employ the Holy Ghost to touch the hearts of the people we teach. But I received a confirmation last night that I can have confidence and trust in the promptings of the Spirit, and He can touch their hearts. I love being worthy to have this gift, where I can really just focus on the needs of the investigators, and let my love for them, and faith in the Holy Ghost, speak the words necessary for them at the time. I definitely am not there, but I realized and received the spiritual confirmation that it is happening. This has been a hard process for me, learning how to feel the promptings, and how to react to them. I have just begun and still have a lot to go. But I love it.

So the experience, was talking to a man of 45, with whom we have had a lot of lessons with and he was telling us, basically, that his life was so bad right now that he did not want to meet with us during the week because he can´t give us the mental attention that the subject requires. I understood because his life is really complicated right now, but after listening for 15 minutes of him telling us that he just wanted to come to church and not commit himself to doing a lot during the week. He said that every time he gets close to the Lord, by doing what his right, his life gets worse. I could tell that this was a sign that the Devil is fighting for him not to join the church, but he did not have that perspective yet.

After listening I told him that this was the time in his life that he needed Jesus Christ and His church the most. We read Ether 12:27, and invited him to prepare to be baptized so that he could really focus on getting an answer. He agreed that if he received an answer he would be baptized, and said that he would keep his commitments, having faith that they would lead him to getting an answer. He believes the Book of Mormon is true and that should be enough, but he wants more. We shall handle that later.

I love you all, I did not do justice to the story, but it was a great moment, and am working hard to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost always, so I can have more experiences as such.

I love you sooo much!!! And have the best week ever.


Quote of the week…a man (or women) never stands taller than when he is on his knees.

Love,

Elder Driggs