Last week we had some cool experiences!
On Wednesday morning Elder Morton and I taught our
investigator Jose. Well, we at least had the intention of teaching him, but we
ended up just talking to him for a while. He even let us play his new
accordion! Here's a picture of us and Jose in front of his house:
On Thursday I went on exchanges with the Spanish Elders in
their area. It was cool being able to see, hear, and feel the Gospel of Jesus
Christ preached and taught to people in Spanish! A few people we taught
complemented me on my Spanish pronunciation as we read El Libro de Mormon with
them haha.
On Friday evening a member took us out to dinner to a local
restaurant in Chino called Flo's Cafe. It was cool; it had that truck stop
diner kind of feeling. It reminded me of The Hub Cafe back in Heber City where
my family and I would go for breakfast sometimes.
On Saturday we did a lot of service. For two hours in the
morning we pulled out weeds (including stinging nettle!) and stacked wood on
some property that a ward member, Brother May, lives on. He's a legitimate
cowboy! He's from Greybull Wyoming, he's a retired professional bull rider, he
lives on some property with his horse and some other animals of his, and his
handshake is stronger than steel! Since he is very weak because of his
cancer treatments, he can't take care of the property on his own, so several
members of the ward including us came and helped clean up the place. We also helped
the Castro family move out of their house and transport their furniture and
belongings to a storage facility a couple blocks away (we baptized two of their
daughters last weekend). The climax was when we had to move their antique
upright piano into the moving van...without a ramp. Our backs, legs and
shoulders were sore all throughout yesterday.
On Sunday we had a great block; all of the lessons and talks
focused on Jesus Christ's Atonement and Resurrection. I could really feel the
Spirit there during those lessons. Elder Morton and I had been fasting that
whole morning and afternoon, because during ward council last week a member of
the bishopric told us that the next Sunday was going to be Fast Sunday (because
of General Conference, wards will either fast the Sunday before or after
General Conference). So we remembered to fast, but when we went to sacrament
and read the program, I noticed that their wasn't going to be time for people
to bare their testimonies. Instead, it listed people who were going to give
talks! So Elder Morton and I were pretty bummed that we were fasting when it
wasn't Fast Sunday, but oh well, extra blessings for us I guess, right?
Some ward members that live in our apartment complex invited
us to come to their outdoor barbecue for dinner. But when we got there, it was
too windy, so we all just went inside and finished cooking the hotdogs and
hamburgers on their stove haha.
As we approach General Conference this weekend, I encourage
you all to think about the Atonement, suffering, and Resurrection of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. Think about what life would be like without the
Atonement: there would be no way for us, our Heavenly Father's children, to
return and live with Him and be in His presence, and it would be impossible to
be with Him again without forgiveness of sin. We would always have that load of
guilt and shame from our sins, weighing us down and keeping us from being able
to progress and become like our loving Heavenly Father. But because of Jesus'
infinite sacrifice, we have the ability to have that burden lifted off of our
shoulders, to receive comfort and spiritual strength when we need it most. You
should never feel like you are unworthy to repent, for that is what the
Atonement is for: to help the sinner recover and improve. And are we not all
sinners? We all need the Atonement. Church leaders have said that the Atonement
was the most transcendent event that has ever occured on Earth, with the second
being the Restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith. I wholeheartedly
agree. Our Heavenly Father's entire Plan of Salvation -His Plan of Happiness-
is centered on the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ! I believe we will
never be able to comprehend the infinite and perfect love that our Heavenly Father
has for us. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. I know
these things to be true, and I leave them as my testimony with you.
I love you all and hope you have a great week! Make the most
out of General Conference this weekend; I find that taking notes not only keeps
you awake, but also helps you get more knowledge, personal revelation, and
insight from the leaders of the Church, and can help answer questions or doubts
that you may have.
John 3:16
-Elder Ruiz
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