Where in the World is Elder San Diego?: "My Peace I Give Unto You"

Hey guys!

We had a good week despite a few setbacks. The family that was to baptized this past weekend told us that the grandpa wants to get baptized too and asked his wife to wait for him so they could get baptized as a family. So, she and her daughter and grandson decided to wait another week and a half until he gets off from work to be baptized with him. We were a little sad to have them wait longer for the blessings they will receive from baptism but decided that it is still great that they have the desire to enter the gospel as a family and that they are still super excited about baptism.

We visited with the family of 6 that we found and taught them about the restoration of the gospel. The spirit was felt strongly and we started to use the six steps, but they still have a few doubts and worries about changing from being catholics. We cleared up a few concerns but were limited on time to resolve more of their doubts and concerns. So, we put a sort of half baptismal date for next week that we are working towards so we are going back this week and going to set a firmer baptismal date for them and work more with them through the spirit. We also have another family lined up to be baptized this Sunday.

Tuesday evening we were contacting to finish up the day. Elder Wood was on one side of the street and I was on the other. As I was contacting, I remembered what Elder Gutierrez and Elder Andrew, our zone leaders, had told us in our zone training meeting. They said the purpose of contacting isn't to get an appointment, but to find the chosen of God in that given moment. As I remembered that, I said a little prayer so that we could be helped to find that person who so desperately needed us.

As Elder Wood and I reviewed that night the appointments we had set up, we talked about the potential of the people we had contacted. Elder Wood said he found a cool lady who seemed pretty interested in what we had to share. So, the next night, we went back to the appointments and all the others had fallen through. She was the last one we had to meet with. As we looked for her house, we found that there was a closed gate with a little staircase leading up to the house. We stood and waited for a minute or so when a person came out as he was leaving and said we could go through. So, we knocked on her door, she invited us in and we talked with her and her son and daughter. (Judith, Luis, Abigail) So we talked a little bit and she opened up to us and said she really needed peace in her life especially since her husband left her for another woman. We explained about how through the atonement and gospel of Jesus Christ that we can receive that peace in our lives. The spirit was super strong and we invited them to be baptized and they accepted! It was a great experience and every time we have gone back since, we feel the spirit strongly with them.

Some cool things about that experience is that we had set a goal for that day to find a family of four who we would invite to be baptized, and we did! (she has another younger son who is 6) So we got the four, and the little one will one day be baptized in a few more years. Also, when Elder Wood had contacted her, she was off to the side of the sidewalk and a big group was passing by my companion and he felt to contact her instead of the big group. And, when she felt the spirit and we asked her what she felt, she said she felt a lot of peace and that from the moment we stepped through her doorway, she could feel it.

Great week and another to come! I love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego