This last week Elder Wedel and I served many hours helping
ward members. We cut down some cyprus trees with a chainsaw, dug out massive
boulders with a skidsteer again, and built a chicken coop. But our biggest
service opportunity of the week was a cleanup project for people's
homes/property that was destroyed/burned/affected by the Blue Cut Fire six
weeks ago. It was organized by a volunteer group called Team Rubicon, and boy
were they organized and structured! This was a big service project, but not a
lot of people came and signed up to volunteer, so the fact that almost all the
missionaries in the high desert (80 +) came and volunteered both morning shifts
on Friday and Saturday basically saved the entire operation haha. We all had a
great time, and the local residents were very appreciative and grateful for our
service. We did a lot of demolition, tearing down walls and shoveling debris
into waste bins until nothing but the foundation was left. Very very dusty,
hot, and sometimes stinky and gross. But it was worth it. I would do it
again in a heartbeat. We were told by Team Rubicon that about 105 houses were
lost because of the fire. We were only able to clean up 6 houses total during
the weekend, but we left a positive impact on those whose homes we cleared
out. When Elder Wedel and I finished each evening, we would take off our
safety glasses and masks and we looked like chimney sweepers haha.
Giving all this service during the weekend has made me think
a lot about the Savior's earthly ministry and how He dedicated His life to
helping and serving others. He performed miracles of healing, spent time with
and showed His love for those that were looked down upon or rejected by
everyone else. He even gave His own life, that mankind may be saved from sin and
death.
On Sunday one of our investigators came to church. And in
our second ward, a Korean lady came to sacrament meeting, wanting to learn more
about the Church and what we believe. Elder Wedel and I were supposed to attend
a temple prep class with a member, but our WML asked us to teach the Plan of
Salvation during Gospel Principles, telling us that a Korean lady name Anna
was at church and she could potentially become an investigator! So Elder
Wedel and I taught the Plan of Salvation, focusing on her during the class. She
does not have very good English, but all of us in the class could understand
what she was trying to say. The Spirit was definitely there during that lesson;
I could feel it, and I could see the Spirit's influence on Anna. She told us
throughout the lesson that she felt very good inside, and that she understood
everything that we were saying and teaching to her. She said that during
sacrament meeting she started to cry when we all sang "Choose the
Right" for our closing hymn. After class our WML came up to us and told us
that right before we started the lesson he said a personal prayer and asked
Heavenly Father to bless Anna, Elder Wedel and I with the gift of tongues, that
Anna might understand what we were saying and teaching., that the three of us
could communicate clearly with one another. And during the lesson even Anna
told us all that she was very surprised that she understood practically
everything we said! What a miracle! Miracles can and do happen! I have seen
many miracles and tender mercies from the Lord while I have been serving a
mission. I know that our Lord Jesus Christ is mindful of us each and every day.
He knows us personally and individually, and loves us so much. I am so grateful
for the knowledge that I have of the Restored Gospel. I love my Savior and my
Heavenly Father. I love y'all, take care and I'll see you next week!
-Elder Ruiz
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