One
crazy week. When I was talking with my family on Christmas day, I
started hearing a lot of fireworks when Rachel got on the phone. It was a
hot day and I´m pretty surprised we didn´t have the door open a crack
with the fan to cool down the apartment, but later I realized it was a
huge tender mercy. When I hung up the phone, there was pounding on our
door and I opened the window to see a police officer asking to enter our
house to go on our balcony. He then ran away when something else caught
his attention. We looked out the window upstairs to see two police
officers beating and arresting a man on the roof next to ours. Our
neighbor had been shot in the leg and taken to the hospital (he´s okay
now). We remained in the house until the noise calmed down outside and
then went to our normal day activities. We stopped by a family a little
later and the wife just hugged us. She told us that six armed robbers
had a shoot out with the police right outside of our apartment, the
sound of fireworks was actually gun fire. She was very scared because
one of the robbers entered into our little aisle way and she thought he
had entered our apartment looking to escape. I had a huge pit in my
stomach as I thought about the armed robber desperately entering our
apartment, looking for an escape. The closed and locked door was the
reason he climbed up our neighbor´s house. It was a blessing and miracle
that we were protected, all those stories about angels protecting
missionaries are very, very true.
Santa Lucia Christmas Baby
One of our recent converts
called us also on Christmas, being just short of 9 months pregnant we
urged her to call us when she needed anything. We practically ran to her
little house above her store to find her exhausted. She didn´t say
anything, but just led us to a room where we found a new born baby
covered in blankets on the concrete floor, just over 24 hours old. She
gave birth to him alone in this room and called us just because she
wanted to hear a message. We read her the story of Christ´s birth in
Lucas 2 and it was unbelieveably realistic as the humble birth of Christ
was quite similar to the humble circumstances of this new baby. We
cleaned her house and dishes and it was one of those moments when the
beauty of life is ever apparent. It was the second Christmas miracle
that we saw. But miracles are actually just blessings from God, and it
felt like He was guiding us very closely all Christmas day.
I
want to extend an invitation to all those who read my blog. Attached is a
reading chart of the Book of Mormon that I am following every day to
finish for General Conference. A lot of you have asked me why I´m on a
mission and I would like you to follow this reading chart and find out
for yourself. As missionaries, we are lied to, rejected, cursed out,
told to go back to our own country and even robbed. But not a single
person that I have taught in this past year, who has read this book and
prayed can (or has) rejected the truthfulness of it. Read with me and
know of the reason why people leave everything they have to serve
Christ. And if you´ve already read it, read it again with me. And
whether it´s your first time asking God if it´s true, or maybe your
second or your third time with a growing testimony, or the 20th time,
ask Him again. I will be asking with all of you on April 4th and I
promise every person who does this with me, will be changed for the
better with the answer you receive. I love you all and part of me wishes
I was there to celebrate all this past week, but my heart knows it
belongs here for now. Please read with me before the next conference, it
will also help me have more strength I need for this second half of my
mission.
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