La Luz del Mundo

 Had some progressive lessons this week with a few of our investigators and I'm excited to see what comes of their efforts. A lesson with our friend Victoriano went well as we were able to explain the restoration of the gospel and extend a Book of Mormon. He is originally from the state of Chiapas in Mexico and speaks a dialect called Tzotzil. Of course Gospel Library has a translation available and he very excited to begin reading. He additionally invited us down the street to a sushi restaurant where he works and I ate real sushi for the first time. A lot different than the chicken nuggets I'm used to so it was quite the experience. That night we were able to see some people who we dropped a couple weeks ago. They gave us a Christmas tree for our apartment and have really missed our conversations we used to have. 

We held some great lessons throughout the week and things have turned around as far as I could tell. They came to church and are going to be amazing members one day because I am confident they will commit to baptism one day. Thursday morning we had the opportunity to help a lady move. She is being taught by the English sisters in the district and was a very kind lady. While we were moving we may have hid some cigarettes that were on her counter, we do it with the best intentions. It was also my companion's birthday and he wanted more sushi so back we went for an endless sushi deal and I'm still feeling it. The Light the World activities have been fun and we have seen a change up in attitude within the district. 

Church was a blast as four of our investigators were able to attend. Jose and Reynalda have some things to work on and they were able to meet with Bishop. Additionally we met his daughter who is interested and we will meet with some more this week. Bishop was kind to have us over at his house again today to fish in his pond and play some billiards. 

All-in-all a great week with some stressful but fun things thrown in there. Elder and Sister Kearon of the Seventy shared some more thoughts with us as a mission, one being a talk from Richard G. Scott 1995 about trusting the Lord: "Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain." Take care bye.