Where in the World is Elder San Diego?: Feast For A Feast!

Hey Hey Hey!!

Apparently my little brother met Bill Cosby! Cool stuff. Elder Mendoza and I had a boss awesome week finishing up the change and had some great experiences with our investigators, converts, and members of the ward.

Can´t remember if I already mentioned this, but we had a dodgeball tournament as a mission last Monday in the which my zone got trashed! Funny story: one of the games, I was the very last person from my team and I was against 2 other elders from the other team. One of them had one of his arms in a sling so he wasn´t very threatening. His name: Elder Regalado. So, story is, I didn´t have a ball and he comes running at me with a ball in his left hand, the sucky throwing hand. So as he is hobbling towards me, I can´t help but laugh at the sight and when he threw the ball, you wanna know what I did? I touched it. And then it dropped to the ground. Hero of the story: handicapped Elder Regalado. Loser of the story: me. It was so funny and we all got a blast out of it. Good stuff.

We also had a mission conference this week and had a great time together as we had a mission talent show thing. Really cool and funny skits and such. Then, bum bududum! We had Carlos´s baptism on Saturday! Hurrah! It was great and I again had the great pleasure of baptizing him! Such a great guy and future servant of the Lord. He is a super neat and great guy and will do great things for the Lord. The cool story about Carlos is that one day we were looking for an investigator but she wasn´t at home so we started to leave but he was observing us and was curious and so he called us over to talk with him. He accepted a baptismal date the first visit but had a few problems that kept him from being baptized. As we listened to the promptings of the spirit, we were impressed with things to say, and things to have him read. As he followed through with those little commitments, he found out that the Book of Mormon really is true and that it is evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. As we prayed for him, God miraculously provided the circumstances for him, leading up to his baptism, to complete with the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. The experience I had with him during that time has been one of the best to see the workings of God in Carlos, to have him call us over when we were prepared by God to meet him and when he was prepared by God to receive us. I have learned a lot about listening even closer to and heeding the promptings of the Holy Spirit. All in all, I had such a great time working in Jardines for the Lord and feel content for what me and my companions have done there.

Today, I got changed to a new area called Peralvillo and my new companion is Elder Andrew! My first gringo comp in the mission! He is super cool and is from Idaho. So, we are getting ready to tear up the area and do great work.

Sad story: last night as I was saying goodbye to members, investigators, and converts, my stupid camera decided to throw a fit and all by itself, deleted all the pictures I had from the past three months of the mission. Why does technology hate me?! We just have a hate-hate relationship going on here. The truth, I did cry because lots of memories were in those pics, but it´s okay because as a sister from my ward told me, "you carry those memories in your heart." Great counsel. That helped me out a lot and Elder Mendoza, being a great comp, said he will go back to the families we visited (since he´s staying in that area) and take pics of them to send me the photos to have them with me.

Well, that´s pretty much all for this week! I got a letter today from my bishopric back home and I thought I´d post here what they said and invited my ward to do. Here it is:

**As summer is now upon us we as a bishopric and ward council wanted to extend a special invitation to the ward.We are calling it the “feast for a feast.” We invite you for 90 days to participate in a spiritual feast. We would like to invite every member of the ward, as part of a summer reading program, to read the entire Book of Mormon by September 1st. This will mean you will need to read approximately 6 pages per day. Following this 90 day feast, on September 8th we will have a temporal feast. We will have a big ward barbeque on that night and it will be a feast. As part of the festivities that night we will set aside some time to hear a few individuals share their experiences in reading the Book of Mormon. As you prayerfully read the sacred record this summer we would again invite you to record impressions,feelings, insights, doctrines and principles that enlighten and fill you. Elder Richard G. Scott taught, “As each impression came, I carefully wrote it down . . . Had I not responded to the first impressions and recorded them,I would not have received the last, most precious impression.” (October 2009 Conference Address) As you write down your impressions, “the Holy Ghost . . . will show unto you all things what you should do.” (2 Nephi 32:6) We promise the Holy Ghost will show you how to implement the words of Christ in your lives and as you write down those impressions, more will come.

As you faithfully read this summer we remind you of three promises the Lord has made to each of us who faithfully study the word of God. 1. 2 Nephi 32:3 “Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” We promise you as you read faithfully the Lord will tell you of things you should do. 2. Jacob 2:8 “And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.” We promise you The Book of Mormon will be salve to your soul. 3. 1 Nephi15:24 “And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.” We promise you increased power to thwart the wiles of the adversary.

We testify that as you “try the virtue” (Alma 31:5) of the Word of God, it will change your life this summer. We pray that you will feel the Lord’s richest blessings and lay claim on his many powerful promises in its pages. The Book of Mormon will bring a man closer to God than any other book (Joseph Smith Jr.). Moroni said in Mormon 8:12 “And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these…”. We pray that you will have your own witness to that statement in the next 90 days as you feast upon these sacred words of Christ.**

I love this challenge and invite all who read my blog to do it also! I promise that as you read and study the words contained in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ that you will find the peace you are looking for. You will be enlightened by God and He will show forth great power in your life as you read His word. I love you all and wish the very best for you!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego