Hollaaa!!! Ok so this week started off extremely hard, but turned out great! This week was the first time in my mission that I got sick, Guatemala sick and it was not fun! Not fun at all! I had it all....chills, fever, stomach, stomach, stomach issues, body aches. AJ DKD DFKDKFD FKDF!!!! It was not fun! I do not know what happened, but it seriously took every inch of faith and determination that I had to go out and work!!! What made it harder too is that we were struggling, struggling, struggling to find progressing investigators and people who really wanted to change and progress!!!! But Dios da valor!!!!!!!!!!!! And I have such a testimony that no matter what happens, this is His work and He will help us. Not everyone is going to listen to us. The majority of the people are not, but that that cannot discourage us.
This week, man. We had the most interesting rejections. Door slams, we passed by an Evangelical church and this one guy came running out yelling at us telling us to repent. It was crazy. We just stared at him while he was yelling at us and when he stopped i had nothing all I could do was smile and say hola hermano. como esta! And my comp started laughing and he just screamed Don’t call me HERMANO! You cannot call me that!!! Because I am saved and you are not!! We are not brothers because you are not alive in Christ!! It was crazy! Then we found this family who we thought was going to be really positive. they let us in. we shared our message...gave them a Book of Mormon they seemed positive....told us they wanted to read blah blah blah. We came back the next day and evangelicals were at their house so she answered the door and told us sorry we are Christians and threw the Book of Mormon in our face and said don’t come back!!! Ohhh man. This is what we work with alllll day.
We had a meeting and president asked us why it was sooo hard to baptize and find the chosen here. Well because he was comparing Guatemala to Nicaragua. Nicaragua baptizes 650 people every month!!!! Yes, 650. That is crazy! And our mission, well all of Guatemala we baptize an average of 80 per month which I don’t know how that is in comparison to the rest of the world, but he was just basically telling us that that is not enough and just asked us what the problem was and one elder stood up and said, The Evangelicals!! And I just laughed to myself because that is so sad, but a lot of times soooo true!!!! They purposely go out of their way they are extremely proactive in their dislike towards us and seriously do all they can to stop people from listening to us and the problem is majority of the people here are evangelical and if they aren’t, they are scared of the evangelicals. It’s sooo frustrating, But, I don’t know why I’m telling you all that. I know that that really doesn’t matter because this is the Lords work so it will go forward!! We just need to do our best and try!!!!! But yeah, the beginning of the week was hard, but despite all this, my comp and I just tried our best to keep going, keep going, and this weekend the blessings flooded!
This weekend we were able to find two families that seem extremely positive. They came to church and loooooved it! The only problem is they are not married, but who in Guatemala is??? So yesterday we taught them and it went really well. They want to get married and keep progressing in the church. The wife is really happy because she’s always wanted to go to a church. She would always ask and ask her husband, but he didn’t want to go to any church because he said he didn’t like any of them! So we passed by them on the street and we contact every family that we see so we passed by them and I just said, hoooooolllllllllllaaaaa! como esta!!! And my comp and I both started giggling because I think, well I know that I scared them! They had the funniest, most shocked look on their face! And asked if we were talking to them and if we knew them!? It was really funny, but we started talking to them about our message and invited them to learn more and if they wanted to come to church with us and surprisingly the husband was a little hesitant but said, sure!! The wife seriously looked so shocked and when we talked to her yesterday, it was because she said that she never ever thought that would ever happen because she has asked and asked and nothing, but he accepted and he told us he didn’t know why he accepted either. It surprised himself he said, but they came to church and looooooovvvveed it and are excited to keep receiving the lessons and progressing in the church!!!! I have no doubt in my mind that the Spirit touched his heart and that is why he accepted. But it was sooooo cool. A miracle to me and such a blessing because that seriously never happens to us!!!! I don’t want to get my hopes up yet, but I have a really good feeling about this family!!!!
But highlight of the weeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk again the HANDCART angels!!!
Angelina is doing great!!! The handcart angels are still alive!! One of the members donated a bed to her because her entire family sleeps on this one twin, maybe it’s a full sized bed!!! So sad. We went over to deliver it and it was just the cutest thing because the little kids were jumping up and down when we came driving up jumping and cheering new bed new bed!! And it was one of the best sights. I wish I had a movie of it!!! And so I jumped out of the car and started jumping up and down and cheering with them. And the little boy, Manuel he has 5 years he jumped on my back and gave me the biggest hug and said, Thank you Hermana Garcia for teaching us the gospel!!!!!!! It seriously was one of the most touching experiences. When we left, Hermana Angelina was in tears because she was so touched by the help of all the members and she too gave me the biggest hug and told me, Thank you!!!! And I just felt an overwhelming feeling of love and told her, no thank God!! I started to just cry because I felt so grateful that Heavenly Father allowed me in a small part to be part of their life and to be able to bring them this beautiful gospel. No matter what happens, this is what it’s all about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just felt so grateful and it seriously is what makes EVERYTHING worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Despite everything, I am doing fine. The mission is hard but these experiences are eternal and truly are the most beautiful anyone can have!!!!!!! I love Heavenly Father!!! I know He hears and answers prayers and that this is His work!! I have faith that although it doesn’t always seem like it, this work will mean something to someone because it really is the work of the Lord!!!!! With all my heart, I loooooove you all!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Prestos todos prestos.....the church is true!!!!
loves!!!
Hermana Ali
First Companion MTC and CCM, Hermana Williams