Buenas tardes mi querida familia!
Thanks for all the emails this past week as it has been good to keep up with how everyone is doing! Holly and Curt, thanks for the encouragement and advice, and it is sooo true that I have been learning a lot of things that are going to help me for the rest of my life, just like my patriarchal blessing says.
Well this past week for me was a really incredible week. There were still a lot of challenges and things, but this week I feel like we were able to see fruits of our labors. So this past week was changes, and all the elders I came into the mission with went home. It was super weird to say goodbye to all of them considering as well that they have been some of my best friends for the past 2 years, but I actually got to meet Elder Russell´s parents who came down to get him so that was cool, but overall a very strange and baggy day. But the rest of the week was very good so it made up for the bagginess of changes.
So on Thursday in our zone meeting, what I did with all the new missionaries and well everyone in the zone was that we read in Alma 24 where the anti nefi lehis bury their weapons as a testimony to serve god, be better and not sin. So we related that to this change that we have and that over the next 6 weeks everyone in the zone is going to do something better and achieve something that they want to achieve. Everyone put goals down of things they want to achieve or change in this change, then we put all the papers in an envelope and sealed it until the last week of this change when we are going to open it up and see how we each did personally. There are quite a few things that I want to be able to change and achieve before I finish the mission, and I am confident that I will be able to do it because I cannot fail. So later on that same day we had a ward activity based on the iron rod. It was really awesome because what we did was set up a rope in the church like an iron rod with twists and turns and going through classrooms and stuff and what we did was blindfold everybody, and they had to hold fast to the iron rod to get through the “course” and arrive in the sacrament room where we had a tree of life. It was a pretty cool activity that probably could have been planned out better because we were running around at the last minute trying to get everything ready, but it turned out well. It was super funny as well to see all the members blindfolded trying to hold onto the rope and almost falling when encountering obstacles and such, but it was good.
The rest of the week we spent on divisions working with a few missionaries to help them out and train them in new responsibilities. So first I went with a new District leader we have in the zone to help him out in his area which is definitely an area of faith as we say here in the mission for areas that are a little more difficult. It was a good day, but I realized that there is a lot of work to be done in this area, and the new district leader has a lot of work to do to be able to help out his district and be a strong leader. But I feel like the divisions were really good because I was able to help out this elder get a new vision and have some animo about his area and his district, and we went over some ideas and things that I think will really help him. I feel like I’m realizing as a leader my main responsibility is helping missionaries be animated and have a vision of what they want to achieve and how they can do it. It’s been really cool because I can definitely see how I am going to use these skills for the rest of my life.
Also, on Saturday, Jacinto got baptized! It was awesome because we went to go get him for his baptism, and he had already left on his bicycle, and actually beat us to his own baptism! He was super happy, and it was so cool to see him with his wife and his family, now that only 1 daughter has yet to be baptized in his family. It was really cool to be a part of that and see him be confirmed yesterday as well, they are such a humble family and really feel and know that this gospel is true which is the joy and hope of every missionary.
Yesterday on top of all that, we were able to have 6 investigators in church! It was awesome because this super humble family was able to come to church even though the dad didn’t because he has some challenges that he has to overcome. The night before when we showed up at the house of this family to teach them, the dad was smoking, so we just sat down and got straight to the point which was to teach the Word of Wisdom. It was a super powerful lesson where afterwards the mom said that she felt a burning inside and it was so cool to be able to explain that it was the holy Ghost testifying of the truth of our message. It was super cool, and then they showed up to church as well. Another 15 year old kid who is a recent convert and super animated brought a cousin and one of his friends to church as well, and then the daughter of Jacinto who up to this point has refused to listen to us came to church! It was just a Sunday of miracles and we are just stoked to be able to work with these people!
It was just a great week and I think the divisions helped me and my companion out a little bit to be able to get a break from each other and focus on helping others. I think this last change, even though I am focused a lot of what I want to achieve personally in my area and everything to finish the mission, I really just want to be able to leave my legacy through being able to be a positive influence on the other missionaries in the zone.
Im doing great, and im really excited to able to work a few extra weeks! Say hi to Orrin for me now that hes home, that’s super weird to think about, but tell him hi and that ill see him in a few more weeks!
Love you all a ton, Se cuiden mucho! (And happy 4th of July!!!!)
-Elder Henderson
So these are fotos from yesterday when a member invited us over to eat seafood and she gave us entire crabs to eat!
the pictures of the baptism of Jacinto
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