This week has
absolutely been a joyful one! I am learning so much and learning the process in
which the Lord truly changes us. It's a lot simpler than I have thought my
whole life, but I am so grateful for His hand that I am actively seeing in my
life.
Last Wednesday - One
thing I've notice is it's so hard to stay strong here... especially for those we
teach. You feel opposition in every situation here. You feel like a warrior for
the Lord. It's a war. Temptation comes everywhere. This place here too is full
of evil, as is everywhere but I think it appears here a little more than some
other places.
We went into a store last Wednesday (I wanted to get what they call "Bronx pants"...haha. [I’ll attach a picture of what "Bronx pants" look like]) and some woman said excuse me to this man as she walked by and the guy got all mad, and complained to his girlfriend, and the girlfriend said she was going to go take care of her in a very demeaning manner. So they go over and start yelling, and the woman and the other woman start fighting and then the crazy woman grabs a hanger and starts thrusting it into the other woman's eye and into her face and they were going at it knocking down all the clothes. Then the guy started beating the lady too. Everyone was running and screaming and then it was just me and my companion watching, sitting there. Haha. The girl’s face was bleeding all over and she had scars from the hanger. All because this lady said "excuse me."
A lot of
these people here are full of evil or plain crazy. Sometimes when we talk of
the word "evil" it may seem a little funny or it seems non-existent,
but when you’re in situations like this, that is the time you truly feel the
darkness feeling in the world. A lot of the people who are lost are filled with
it. You see it in their eyes, in their countenance. Sometimes I really feel
alone and the only hope I have is grasping onto the Lord. I sometimes feel a
little bit how Moroni felt...being the only person left who wanted to follow
God with some part of the Lord’s spirit, while everyone else was evil doing
evil deeds amongst murderers and secret combinations. I have days like this
where I see some of this kind of stuff happen, and I feel a sense of lost hope
for some of these people. It's a very dark feeling and I know with all my heart
the life I want now. I want none of this. It's hard because being surrounded by
all this...you begin to lose hope for society. I was standing outside watching
all these crazy people running around Wednesday and thought to
myself, "I wonder what God thinks about all of his children here that are
so lost"..."I wonder how sad and angry He must feel because of the
deep love he has for them and the vision He has of their divine potential."
Anyways it put a
damper on the day, but it's truly in those moments you come to understand
opposition, or the true depth of right and wrong, good and evil. It's during
those moments you truly feel how miserable you can be, which allows you to see
how beautiful and eternally happy and loving you feel when you embrace God's
spirit and His way of truth and light.
Thursday - Thursday at
the church, we think someone else got shot again. There were tons of cops and
there was a helicopter looking over the area. It was an intense scene. But we
are all good :)
Everyone seems to
progressing well that we are teaching.
I am learning so much
from this experience. I'm trying to read the Book of Mormon once a cycle which
means 13 pages a day. I've seen a huge difference in my life since I've been
doing this. I feel more positive, I've been learning a lot about life, and I've
felt the Spirit more in my life. Reading that book and applying its teachings
really does have a power in it that surpasses all words.
We have been tracting
a lot...most parts of the day...which I'm starting to really like. It's fun
because my companion and I just start talking and we have a great time doing
it. It doesn't feel like we are tracting and we get to grow closer and next
thing you know, it's time to go to the next appointment. We've been able to
find some awesome people for the English Sisters.
Frankie - So Frankie I
talked a little about before. He is a Dominican guy who is 32 who has 4 kids
under 12 years old. He is such a great guy. We found him by doing a previous
investigator look up. So apparently there were missionaries who came by before
us and tracted into them. They never came back so we decided to go look them
up. Well two weeks ago we were able to teach him about what we do as
missionaries and how the message we share can improve your life. Then, this
week we shared the restoration. Frankie is truly an example to me with his
faith. He is a very fit guy and used to lift weights a lot. He showed us
pictures of him back in the day and he was gigantic. He's always taken good
care of his body, but this Wednesday he went into the doctors. Turns
out he has brain cancer. He told us that he is now going to go into the
hospital to take chemotherapy for 30 minutes to an hour each day. He was
telling us all about what he found out and after he finished talking, I replied
to him, "Wow, that's a very hard situation you are in." He quickly
replied and said, "No, I am ok with it. I'm not scared at all. God takes
things that we can't handle, and he handles them for us when we truly put our
faith in him." He then started saying the following, "You know, I'm
32 and if I live until I'm 33 then I will thank God with my whole heart that
he's allowed me to live that old...If I live until 33, then that's great! If I
live to 40, then that will of course be better but I'm not scared because I'm
going to go back into God's will. He knows when He is supposed to take me, and
I know He loves me more than anyone or anything here, so I don't fear. I'm not
afraid. I just want my kids to know the same if the time comes that I leave
this earth on time in God’s eyes, but pre-mature in man's". What an
example of faith! Who more at any moment needs the knowledge of The Plan Of
Salvation at that very moment?
We are on a time limit
because we are not sure how much longer he has to live. There is a deep
impression on my soul to be able to show him God’s plan before he may go and
meet God again. He has true faith and I admire his perspective. He knows God.
He knows He loves him. He trusts him. He is a great example to me and I'm truly
learning that we will one day all fall back into God's hands whether we lived
lives doing bad things or lives going about doing God. How is it that you want
to meet God?
I love you all. Search
for God. He's there just waiting for you to find him. I promise.
- Elder Celaya
Bronx Pants
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