Monday, August 26, 2013

Hey everyone!! Wow! How crazy to see the late and great Elder Reiber. He looks good, very experienced. I have a picture taken with him in that exact same place 2 years ago. Makes me happy to see good buddies so strong in the gospel like that!

What a week we`ve had. I heard a great quote this week that I`ve seen applied. In a talk by Elder Holland he said, "salvation never was a cheap experience... but if we`re willing the Atonement will carry us!" I thought a lot about that this week. These last few weeks I`ve felt like a new little missionary, we`ve been setting goals like crazy and just want to take into our lives every good thing. Its been a great work week and we`ve felt a special spirit of determination and love for the Savior to help us keep motivated. We`ve been able to accomplish A TON this week. We`ve been a little bit lazy with our zone for the last couple weeks- with things going on we`ve let time escape us a little bit- so we kicked it into gear this week and got a few great visits done with the elders here and were able to finish the week off having the opportunity to serve at least one of the companionships every day! What a blessing! For us I think it was the best thing that we could have done. Ha, by Saturday night though after returning from an area we were absolutely drained! Elder Anaya when he gets tired gets a little hysterical which makes things so funny between the two of us. I had the greatest blessing though, strengthens my testimony that in ALL situations our Heavenly Father is there to bless us, when I fell asleep I had dreamed that I fell asleep in the dream. :) Sunday morning it was like starting fresh! We have been really looked after in the work. 

Great news, Elder Anaya and I will be staying together this last transfer!! SO happy! He has really been a great influence for me so it`s for sure that I`ll be ending well. When we got the call from the assistants, we were so nervous, I thought that Elder Anaya was gone but when we got the news, woo happy moments! (it`s a bro thing I guess). Our area also is getting reduced in half which creates a little bit of stress relief and is also gonna present a lot of great opportunities for us to work better with the members and focus better on the investigators that we have. For the most part we keep the majority of our progressing investigators- we loose a couple which is hard.. Gabriel and Andrea especially is gonna be tough to loose. Luckily we`ll see them at church and for everything that happens there`s a reason. We will be staying with our main man Roberto though. We`re developing a lot of patience with our investigators, but we still love each of them, we haven`t seen any in church the last 2 weeks which is a HUGE bajón, but it`s helping us to pay more attention to their needs and study to be able to provide them with blessings that they can have in their lives. Roberto this last week really came to feel that what we are teaching him is true. He has been studying so sincerely the Book of Mormon and really has captured that spirit of truth. He tells us that the Joseph Smith story just makes so much sense and is very necessary. Also with Andrea, she has always been a little bit, doubtful about the Book of Mormon. She reads when we give her things but always stays with her own feelings of doubt. Elder Anaya felt inspired to give her a chapter in 3 Nephi and when we went back to verify that she told us, "Elders I really felt like I had to read this whole chapter and when I read it, I felt something new!" Just goes to show the power of the Book of Mormon. She is a big fan of the bible and we were finally able to help her see that both help us to come closer to Christ!

Darn, running low on time, but wanted to share a quick scripture with you guys. I`ve had a great week studying on things we can do to come unto Christ. I think in my own changes this week that I`ve had I`ve been able to see also how much Christ wants to come to us. I do know that His ways are just and when we choose to obey Him we are sanctified. In Isaiah 1 it bears testimony of this principle:

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

I know that God loves us and His son Jesus Christ! They are so willing to keep their end of the bargain. If we will "reason" with them and repent of our sins, I know we will be forgiven!

Gracias por las cartas, que tengan una buena semana.
Elder Jolley

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