Hola familia!
Twas a looong week in Jerez for the elders Webb and Curtis. It was Semana Santa which celebrates Christ´s last week in mortality. They celebrate it by having processions where they carry huge representations of the different acts of Christ, with life size models and everything. Each one weighs a ton, litterally some weigh close to 2000 pounds. They carry it on their backs and walk all through the city with a band playing and marching behind them. It´s quite the sight to see and a little odd, but for the Catholics it´s something almost sacred to them. The music was actually pretty cool, I would take any chance I could get to steal a moment and listen. The writing is very European and old, they all had just a really cool sound to them. But Semana Santa made work tough. There wasn´t a single soul at home between 5 and 9 at night, which are our most prime pros times. And the people that are in the street and the people going to the processions! So it made for a long week, but the Lord blessed us regardless.
He helped us find two new investigators, one of them is a single mom and is scared for her kids, especially her son who is startin to head down a bad path. The other woman has had contact with the missionaries and was very close to getting baptized, but then had a bad experience with another member and decided to back out. They both are intersted and we feel they have lots of potential.
I went to Chiclana to do exchanges and have a baptismal interview on Wednesday. I was with Elder Dean, he´s from the Alpine area and he´s a fine elder. He´s been out for about 4 months now and is doing great. He´s got a lot of desire to do well and serve the Lord. I love seeing elders with that desire. He´s all business, and isn´t about to waist any time. That´s not to say that the mission is boring, it´s actually meant to be fun. The Lord has designed it to be fun, and I¨m having some of the most fun I¨ve ever had in my life. A missionary will love his mission and have fun when he does it the Lords way. DyC 4. And that same principle applies to life as well.
Like I explained in my last email, our goal right now has been to improve the relations with the members, so we took advantage of that seeing that it was Semana Santa and almost everyone had the whole week off of work. We talked with members and visted a few, and on Sunday there was a huge change in the members attitude. They were approaching us and talking to us, asking us when were would come over, and there was an apparent improvment in our relation. As I sat in sacrament meeting I felt the Spirit confirm to me that we were doing well, and that we are laying the foundation of a good work that will last here, so that was comforting. It´s always nice to get those confirmations and to know that what you´re doing is the right thing, and you´re doing it well.
There was also a baptism here. The daughter of a part member family decided to be baptized. What´s more is that the parents haven´t come to church in 19 years and they came for the first time. It was incredible, and the Spirit was very strong at the baptism, adn the parents were very happy to be there, to see old friends, and to feel the Spirit once again. Baptisms are amazing, and rescuing less active members is just as amazing as a baptism, and we had both at the same time. So despite a long hard week, the Lord blessed us a lot here in Jerez.
Easter was surprisingly low key, I think the bishop might have forgotten, because none of the talks in Church were even about Christ. One lady talked for 40 minutes and was cracking jokes and crying all at the same time. I felt like it was a stand up comedy routine. Probably not the most appropriate talk in the history of the church, but there were moments when the Spirit was present. Me and my companion feasted on hamburgers for easter dinner. I forgot to take a picture of it, but it was the best, most American hamburger that was ever made in Spain. Mission accomplished.
So this week we have a lot of appointments with the members, and we´re going to try and do two exchanges with some elders. It´s gonna be a busy week these week, but that´s okay. We have a lot less time in our area here because we´ve got to always be with the missionaries in the zone. There´s a lot that need help. But something my companion always says that I like is "success in the zone is the same as if it were in our area. We´re on the same team here." So that´s a new attitude and perspective that I´ve taken up. Things are steadily improving. We don´t have many investigators that progress, but that´s okay. We the work we´re doing with the members right now, that is going to change and the Lord is going to bless us. Sorry this email was so long, I guess I had a lot on my mind. I love you all very much! I hope you have a good week and that you seek out spiritual experiences. Cuz after all, from the words of Christ Himself, "It is the Spirit that quickinith; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." So strive for them spirit expieriences! Luvs to everyone!
Elder Webb
here´s the pictures of Semana Santa. Those KKK looking guys marched around everywhere, leading the big float with Jesus on it, and the band behind. It was quite the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment