Konichiwa! It's been getting hotter in Upland! This past
week Elder Jeppsen and I were slammed with things to do. We had zone conference
in Rancho Cucamonga at the mission office on Thursday along with the Ontario
Zone, so I got to see my old companions Elder Hulterstrom and Elder Porritt who
are serving in Ontario right now. I was taught a lot by the Spirit at that
meeting, I loved it. It's such a neat experience to be able to record spiritual
impressions and personal revelation from the Holy Ghost. On Friday morning we
drove up to Mt. Baldy and helped move rocks and silt in a lady's yard. She is a
neighbor to a member of our ward. After finishing our project for the day she
was so grateful for our help. She had expressed to us that she has a belief in
God and has a favorite church down in Pasadena, but due to medical problems she
can't drive that far. So we told her that she is more than welcome to come to
our church on Sundays, and she could even carpool with her neighbor who is a
Church member. She was supportive of and happy about the idea and she said
she'd talk to her neighbor!
Later that day we had an awesome lesson with our
investigators Ronald and Abdulia. We taught them the Plan of Salvation, and
they had some really good questions. When we got to the part of the lesson
where we teach about the three degrees of glory, Abdulia said, in regard to the
celestial kingdom, "Well, that's the place that we should shoot for
then!" And she's right! We should be trying our best each day to choose
the right, to do what Christ would do. It's vital that we seek to make
decisions that help us draw closer to Christ. Ronald and Abdulia love Elder
Jeppsen and I; this is the second week that they've fed us lunch after a lesson.
Unfortunately they will be out of town to Hawaii and then to Bolivia until late
July or mid-August. But Abdulia firmly said that they'll continue to read from
the Book of Mormon together while they are gone. And we got their emails so we
can keep in contact with them while they are away. They are such a wonderful
couple.
I gave a talk in sacrament meeting on Sunday about
building our relationship with Jesus Christ, and I based part of my talk on
Elder Bednar's general conference talk last October, called "If Ye Had
Known Me". It is such a good talk! His talk helped me realize I need to
come to know Christ as my Savior even more than I know now. I highly suggest
reading the talk yoursel, it is awesome:
I've grown to love giving talks in sacrament meeting,
because I get to talk about the gospel and share my testimony. And what better
topic to speak on than the Savior Himself!
Over the course of my missionary service, I have come to
better know my Savior Jesus Christ. I have been able to continue to build my
personal relationship with Him, and I am so grateful for that. I love you all
and hope you have a great week!
Elder Ruiz
Us and our wardmates driving home from service up in Mt. Baldy.
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