Ok, I know that's a bad way to start out, but I'll explain. And no, I don't really hate them, I'm just a tiny bit perturbed. (I think I used that word the right way). So yesterday, we got back from church, and decided that we were going to go visit one of the recent converts. She hasn't been to church in at least two months, and she told the other Elders that yesterday at one would be a good time to come by. So we did, and she was still asleep, so we didn't end up talking to her. But! One of her friends answered the door. His name's Ivan, and he's living with Jennifer's family (The inactive convert) so he can be closer to work. We ended up just visiting with him for about five or ten minutes, then her mom came home and we were talking to both of them. Ivan speaks Spanish as a second language, and Jennifer's mom speaks English as her second, so I was just visiting with Ivan while Elder Padron talked to the mom. And I missed most of this, so sorry if the details are a little off. Also, when I joined the conversation, it was in Spanish, so I probably misunderstood a ton. But here's what happened:
Elder Padron and her were just talking about religion and stuff, and she said something along the lines of that she's been looking for a feeling in her heart for a while, but hasn't been able to find it. Son Elder Padron was prompted to share a scripture, I think it was Mosiah 2:40, but it's the one that says to "Consider the happy and blessed state of those who keep the commandments of God" (don't sue me if that's a misquote) and she said that she felt the spirit when he read that! So then he shared the super boss scripture from 2 Nephi 31, I think it's verse 8 that says that we need to be baptized to follow the example of Christ. And the Spirit was so strong! (Keep in mind this was still on the doorstep, with a woman that we'd met 15 minutes before). We hadn't even asked her about baptism yet, and she spent a good five seconds thinking about it!
And then, the train.
Now, the train here is a lot different than the train in Centerville, Utah. There, it just drives by, blows the horn twice, and keeps on going. But here, it blows. And blows. And blows. And BLOWS for a solid minute and a half when it passes through. Which it decided to do right when she read the scripture on baptism. And It got super loud. and the spirit left. CRAP!
So after a few seconds of the train, just enough time for the spirit to leave, she said she'd been baptized twice already, and doesn't really want to commit yet. But still, that was just 15 minutes! And we set up a return appointment on Wednesday, when we should be able to talk to her and Jennifer. So it would be awesome if at the same time, we could reactivate Jennifer and get a BD with her mom. But there'll be more on that next week.
But we do have a baptismal date! I don't know if I talked about this, but we've been meeting with a man named Mark. He's been taught the lessons and has been investigating the church for a few months, I don't really know exactly how long. But we got him to commit to quitting tobacco and coming to church (which he didn't do this week, he was out of town) and being baptized on the 30th of this month! So I really hope that happens! He's a great guy, and super nice.
It's different here. There's no mountains! I can't remember if I said that last week, but there are no mountains! Two years without having a constant landmark, no matter where we go! It's gonna be hard. But I think I should be able to make it.
Also, a magical thing about yesterday. Daylight savings time is truly an inspired thing. Let me just say, some nights 8 hours is not enough. And two days ago was one of those times. My alarm went off at 6:30, which is now 5:30, and I decided to just lay in bed until the alarm on the cell phone went off. I woke up an hour later and almost had a heart attack! I'd completely forgotten about daylight savings! But I was actually rested, for the first time since the CCM!
You know, that's pretty much all that happened this week. We super deep cleaned the house. Looks a lot nicer now. Also we played Monopoly and Uno for 4 hours on Halloween, cause we weren't allowed to leave the house after 6. Nobody even knocked on our door for candy. But Uno was fun! Got wrecked at Monopoly, though.
So yeah! That's my mission life this week! Not super eventful, but you know, sometimes that's how life is. And yet, it feels like I was just writing home yesterday! Time is weird.
Love you all! The address I'm at now is:
312 West Hill
Alice, TX, 78332
Hope to hear from you! Email and letters are both great. So, until next week!
-Elder Chamberlain
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