Mi Gente!
Date: September 27, 2010Area: Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua
Okay!
This week we had activities planned for every single day (takes some time away from the work, but animates the people so well). SO the events were going very well for us until Thursday, when the STORM hit. Hahaha. It was actually rather pathetic. We slept in the church, made an emergency plan (thanks to my Eagle Scout power) and ate basically nothing. But the storm was whimpier than a Nor'Easter! I was so surprised. Anyway, after it passed, we went back to the house and dropped everything off and then I headed back out to work with my companion.
Saturday we baptized two little girls and then on Sunday we baptized a couple. All-in-all a great weekend for baptisms in my area!
I love getting emails from you all, especially when Sunday night rolls around and I think to myself, "I really want emails tomorrow...". Yeah, pathetic but true.
This week I really thought about converts and baptisms here in this area of the world. The people here know and understand what we teach them, even if just in a general sense, and then I realized something amazing after our baptisms were all done and over with on Sunday afternoon. The blessing and curse here is that the conversion begins at baptism. The people have to keep going to church and praying otherwise they don't grasp the gospel, they start to falter and then just stop coming altogether. I assumed in the States that when there was a baptism it was amazing and the people basically had testimonies before they got baptized, and over the past 15 weeks I've been repenting of that thought. ;)
The Lord has a lot in store for these humble, amazing people and I just hope that in the future I can be part of it. I love these people here so much it's hard for me to explain how much I care for them, worry about them and just desire them to have everything and become better than myself (my [companion] included!). I am so grateful for all of the opportunities that I have been given in my life to learn and to grow and prepare for this mission service, and I am SO grateful now that I have to opportunities to serve and use the talents I've been given and be able to develop myself more to become a good dad, husband and life-long servant of the Lord.
I love you all. Stay strong and keep the faith. Do whatever it is you need to do to have the Spirit with you at all times. Also, live life to the fullest...don't waste your time on foolish whims and desires.
Love, Elder Braden D. Bolton
This week we had activities planned for every single day (takes some time away from the work, but animates the people so well). SO the events were going very well for us until Thursday, when the STORM hit. Hahaha. It was actually rather pathetic. We slept in the church, made an emergency plan (thanks to my Eagle Scout power) and ate basically nothing. But the storm was whimpier than a Nor'Easter! I was so surprised. Anyway, after it passed, we went back to the house and dropped everything off and then I headed back out to work with my companion.
Saturday we baptized two little girls and then on Sunday we baptized a couple. All-in-all a great weekend for baptisms in my area!
I love getting emails from you all, especially when Sunday night rolls around and I think to myself, "I really want emails tomorrow...". Yeah, pathetic but true.
This week I really thought about converts and baptisms here in this area of the world. The people here know and understand what we teach them, even if just in a general sense, and then I realized something amazing after our baptisms were all done and over with on Sunday afternoon. The blessing and curse here is that the conversion begins at baptism. The people have to keep going to church and praying otherwise they don't grasp the gospel, they start to falter and then just stop coming altogether. I assumed in the States that when there was a baptism it was amazing and the people basically had testimonies before they got baptized, and over the past 15 weeks I've been repenting of that thought. ;)
The Lord has a lot in store for these humble, amazing people and I just hope that in the future I can be part of it. I love these people here so much it's hard for me to explain how much I care for them, worry about them and just desire them to have everything and become better than myself (my [companion] included!). I am so grateful for all of the opportunities that I have been given in my life to learn and to grow and prepare for this mission service, and I am SO grateful now that I have to opportunities to serve and use the talents I've been given and be able to develop myself more to become a good dad, husband and life-long servant of the Lord.
I love you all. Stay strong and keep the faith. Do whatever it is you need to do to have the Spirit with you at all times. Also, live life to the fullest...don't waste your time on foolish whims and desires.
Love, Elder Braden D. Bolton
