This week was full of miracles where do I even start??
First- John got his parts and was able to have his surgery, it literally was like pulling teeth to get it all worked out but in the end John has been blessed with a reconstructed leg haha. He is now searching for his lost cat out in Villa Rica. I hope he is able to find it.
Second- We had our baptism this Saturday of a investigator we had been teaching for a little while. His name is Henry and he is way cool, he is 15 years old and a true convert to the gospel. He was so excited to get into the ward he almost dunked himself before Elder Carrasco could lower him into the ward!! It was funny but he was way excited when he came out of the water. We worked really hard to get him into the waters of baptism and I was glad the Lord blessed us with that opportunity.
Third- about a month ago Elder Carrasco and I were contacting in an area in which we do not go very often. I felt a really strong impression that since we do not work a lot over in this area, I needed to pay extremely close attention to the whisperings of the spirit. As I did so, the Lord directed me through the little streets until I came to a man who was standing under the shade of a patio by himself. I felt in my heart he was someone I HAD to talk to. As I approached him he smiled and greeted me, I told him I was a messanger from Jesus Christ that had been sent this day to share a very special message with him, That Christ himself has restored his gospel in the earth and there is a True Chruch once again established. He was amazed and gladly accepted our invitation to teach him, but the only thing is, he lives in San Ramon, an area that is close to us but isnt ours. I was let down, I thought for sure we had found someone that the Lord had chosen for us. But we sent the reference over to Elder Durante and Elder Gonzalez and they taught Javier. This saturday I had toe privelige to baptize Javier in San Ramon and complete the mission I had set out that very hot sunny day to find someone and baptize someone the Lord had prepared for me to find. It was such a blessing to be able to perform the baptism of someone I personally had found, it doesnt happen very often here in the mission, many time we baptize people that other missionaries had found. But to be blessed with the opportunity to start and finish the search was a blessing I will never forget. If we had not been in that very odd part of town on that one day he happened to be over there, maybe Javier never would have recieved the restored gospel, but because I had listened to the whisperings of the spirit, I was able to bless his life, and his cousins life, and their future families forever. It is such a blessing when you look at the tidle wave of effects it will have in the future :)
We are doing good, we are working hard and we have seen a change in the things the Lord has prepared for this area. I hope that next week I still get to write you from La Merced, Transfers are this Wednesday and I hope I am still here to write you and update you all on the miracles the Lord is doing here in the crazy Jungle of Perú.
Love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!!
Elder Bell
Monday, November 23, 2015>>>The craziness never stops !!!
Well here we are, another week down that FLEW by... We have been so busy this week I barely had time to sleep, but that was probably because I was a little sick! Anyway, what a week.
This last tuesday night we helped recieve a North American patient from Villa Rica here in La Merced. Why? Well he had been working with the missionaries out there and they needed to get him some urgent care. He fell from his latter while looking for his cat on his room, he was drunk and when he saw a hive of wasps, (that apparently he is alergic to) he fell breaking his leg... Now once he got here we thought our job was over Well I was very very wrong. We then proceeded to get wrapped into a giant scam that wasnt a scam!! We needed to help him get money for his operation. So we thought, hey lets send an email to his mom and that will get everything figured out. Well, his mom though that we had HACKED his email and stolen all his information. Elder John and Elder Jorgensen in Villa Rica had called her from a payp´hone explaining the need for her to send money to western union for JOhn to take out for his operation. Well she just thought that those crazy mormons had stolen all of Johns things and we were trying to still his money now too! Well finally after a few very very long days we were able to speak with Johns mom on the phone, we got everything worked out and today, finally we got John his money for his operation. The week was looooooooooooooong due to this process. But as I look back, I realize that we were Johns only help, he doesnt speak spanish like at all, he had a horribly broken leg and without us, he would have probably been kicked out into the street by the hospital with nothing more than a soft cast on his leg. I feel good about the service we were able to provide for John I know that if Christ would have been here, he would have done the exact same and it really made me feel like I was providing a Christ like service when we did it. John has many problems and needs to get some help, but the little help that we provided, really helped him to get going in the right direction. And that is really what our purpose is, get people going in the right direction. I was grateful that heavenly father gave us the oportunity to serve in such a unexpected way but that we were willing to take on this burden to make it lighter for someone else. I hope you all have a good week and look for ways to serve those who need their burdens to be lightened.
Love you all very much,
Elder Bell
Monday, November 16, 2015>>>This week, in the HOT, HUMID Jungle
Well, we are doing good out here in the jungle. We had a great week last week, we went and visited the Native Indians here at Pampa Michi last week again, that was fun and we also had a great multi zone conference with President Henderson. We had some really fun experiences The best part of last week was when we were able to help our investigator accept a date to be baptized. He will be baptized the 28th of November, the Saturday before the end of this transfer. I am really happy for him because he came to us on his own, he calls us to remind US of our lessons with him and he is just a really really great kid. It is difficult to explain the atmosphere here in La Merced without being blunt and kinda rude, It really is so bad and so hard for the young kids to grow up and be good respectful people. But those that we find, or find us, really seem to want to be good people, to be good parents and to follow Jesus Christ. We have the antidote to help them and I know that Henry will be a really strong convert. He has really changed, he use to be really shy and timid but now he seem to talk with the other Young Men and he is opening up.
We also had great training last night with our ward council. Seeing how the church is really young here, just about 30 years, the members dont really know how to lead and guide the people. We helped everyone realize the things they need to do first in the their own families before they can help someone else to progres.. We really made an emphasis on the importance of going to the temple and making the covenants in the temple The Leaders really understood us and we pray that they may continue doing to right things to help their own families progress first.
I know that the family is the most important unit we will ever have in this life or the life to come, I wish more and more people here understood that time is precious within the family and they would make a few more sacrifices for the family rather than working 12 hours a day. I know that if they made these sacrifices the lord would bless them and they wouldnt need to work extra hours and would have more time with their families. I love you all and hope that you too can apply this. Maybe work a little less to have more time with your families, we never know when the lord will call one of them home.
Have a great week you all and love your families more and more everyday!!
Elder Bell
Monday, November 9, 2015>>>The rains a comin!
Hello everyone. Life is going great here. The rains are about to start coming! I hope at least! IT has been extremely hot the last few days and I am really hoping the rains start to come. When it rains it pours but it cools everything down and that is what we are looking for. This week has been crazy. We presided 2 funerals and I helped bury a 1 1/2 year old baby boy.
I am going to copy and paste what I wrote to my President about this :
"We went to two funerals this week, we were asked to dedicate the graves... That was a first for me... very strange. One was for a member, the other was an intersting find. We were walking in the street and two ladies came up to us asking for some help we stopped and talked to them for a minute and they told us that the younger of the two had just lost her 1 1/2 year old baby boy, and he was never baptized. They felt like they had condemned their baby to hell because of that and were looking for the Father to come and bless the baby before they buried him. We explained to them what sin was and that a baby was sent from the presence of God and had no sins, that it was impossible for them to actually sin. We comforted them a lot and they invited us to come and bless the grave site, so we felt compassionate and we went down and taught the family most of the plan of salvation and they ALL LOVED IT. We blessed the grave and WE put the caskett in the grave and then WE buried it... That was the weird part of it all. Everyone afterwards asked us to visit them and explain more to them the doctrine. So We hope that they turn out we were able to comfort them in a time of need and that was sufficent for me".
The lord prepares people for us even when we dont expect it. We must be ready at all times and in all places to recieve these people and to help them find that which they do not know. It was really comforting for us to help this family in need, especially in a moment when they thought they had lost their baby boy forever, but in reality it isnt like that, they will have the opportunity to return and be with him forever. This is the message that brings me the most joy and peace is knowing the plan and then helping people apply it in their lifes so it actually can happen.
I am so grateful for my family, and the love they show me. With the knowledge I now have, I know we will be together forever and that nothing on earth can seperate us.
I love you all and hope you have a great week!!
Elder Bell
Monday, November 2, 2015>>>The start of November
Well here we are in the first parts of NOVEMBER!! Wow how fast this year has flown by!! I hope you all are listening to your Christmas music and putting up Christmas trees... just kidding, if you are STOP IT NOW.. it is too early....
I am still here in the jungle just enjoying the heat.. It is weird to think that we are in November and I am still sweating as I walk in the streets and lay in my bed because it is so stinking hot here!! Next year will be different that is for sure.
This week we had a few really cool experiences. Last week as we were thinking of what we could do, we decided we would stroll the streets and contact a few people. I had never been to this side of town so I was being led soley by the Spirit of the Lord. I would come to a corner and ask the Lord, Which way should I go? When I felt impressed to go a direction, I went, without hesitation. As we did this for about 10 minutes. I saw a man sitting on the front step of a house, instantly I felt impressed to talk to him and share with him our message. I walked straight up to him, greeted him, and share with him my testimony of the power and influence of the Holy Ghost that had led me to him. He was amazed and accepted our invitation to be visited in his home. Unfortunately he lives in San Ramon, so we had to pass along the reference to Elder Durante and Elder Gonzalez, but they visited him the next day and he attended church yesterday, with his aunt and cousin. They have a baptismal date to be baptized the end of this month. I love that the Lord trusted me enough to go and find our brother Javier and to share this gospel with him at a crucial time in his life. To be able to be a servant and messenger of the Lord is what I love the most of being a missionary, The work that gets done is not done by me or any other missionary. ALL is done by the Lord, in his time and season. But having the ability to change someones life with the true gospel of Jesus Christ is really the most rewarding feeling I have ever had.
Apart from that we had kind of a slow and poopy week but nonetheless we know that we are being blessed and guided by the Being that knows all and will reveal to us in His own time where we should go and with whom we should speak.
I hope you all have a great week in the cooling temperatures, I am going to a water fall today ;)
Love you all,
Elder Bell
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