Ok, so we had another good week, specifically because there was another baptism in the branch!! It was a niña inscrita (I don`t know how to say that in english...it means that she`s not a convert, that she`s an 8 year old girl who has grown up with member parents), so we didn`t teach her, but it was still a good help for the branch! She`s a really sweet little girl, and my companion got to baptize her.Also, we have really great investigators, and have had some great capaciation lately from the Mission President, and from the APs, so we have been able to find and teach more effectively lately.And, we`ve had some great help from all the members here as well, to go with us to the appointments we have, and have helped us to teach as well. The Lord has shown his hand in helping us be able to visit all of our most promising investigators, that all live outside of Santiago (which means that we basically have to wait until they can come into town to visit them), and we`ve had very good, spirit-filled lessons with all of them! :)Another piece of good news...Javier had the priesthood conferred to him yesterday, and was ordained to the office of a priest!! We`re so excited for him, and he`s excited to be a part of it all!Anyway, that`s about it, but I`m gonna see if I can send a couple pics, but once again, this computer holds some kind of deep hatred for me...Elder Budge Fernanda, the little girl that was baptized this Saturday! (My companion was there, too, but he just missed the photo)
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So I`m alive and happy and good, and most of all, JAVIER GOT BAPTIZED!! But I`m out of time, so keep up the good work, as always, and just a little bit better! :) Elder Budge Good afternoon, everyone! I`m glad to say that we are doing just marvelously here in Santiago! We have found more and more people, thanks to the members` help, that want to listen to us and that really have a true desire to follow the path that God has prepared for them. So I`m sending a giant thank you to all the members that have given good referrals to the missionaries, because the work is so much more efficient and effective with your help!! Also, JAVIER IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!! This saturday, at 6:00 pm!! :) It`s all set up to be a great day for a man who has made so many sacrifices and has shown the fruits of his repentance so clearly as we have been meeting with him. He amazes me every time we talk with him, and I`m so glad he`s taking this crucial step of baptism. If I can find a way to fix my camera or buy another one, I`ll be sure to send pics next week of his baptism so you can all join with me in this special occasion :) But, keep being strong, do what that "little angel on your shoulder" tells you to do! Elder Budge HAPPY LATE MOTHER`S DAY!!! TO ALL! And I hope that everyone had a really good day yesterday! In retrospect, I wish I would`ve sent a happy mother`s day wish last week, so that you could have had it on the actual day, but I spaced it :/ But as for us in Santiago, Nayarit, Mèxico, we are good! We had the wonderful opportunity to go to a mission council last Tuesday, and it really strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon! It is such a great book, the best in the whole world! And the best part about it is that you can ALL know, personally, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is true! That it is the word of God, and that if we live what it teaches, we will have eternal life, living forever with our families in God`s presence! It`s awesome, right!? If you want to know how to have that personal witness, just read the last two paragraphs of the introduction, and Moroni 10: 3-5....it`s all there! :) Anyway, I just want to leave you all with my personal testimony of all that I have said, and all that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches...that it`s true, and that God, through the Holy Ghost, has personally let me know of it`s veridity. Love you! Elder Budge Okay, so we had another good week this week! I feel like I say that every week, but it`s the truth! I really love the missionary work that I am doing, and am so grateful to the Lord for all that He gives us and does for us! I hope that everyone can try in their prayers tonight to just give thanks to God for all that we have. If we humble ourselves before Him, and recognize His hand in all things, we are promised more happiness and love in our lives. Just try it, and you`ll see the blessings! If there is one thing I`ve learned this week, it`s that we have to be humble and realize that we are nothing, less than the dust of the earth, as it says in Mosiah 4 in the Book of Mormon. So let`s be humble, and know that without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we couldn`t do or be anything. Javier came to church again this week, his 4th sunday at church, so he`s really close to being baptized! He had been drinking wine for basically his whole life (he`s 73 years old), and we just taught him the word of wisdom, and committed right away to live it! The spirit is so amazing! That`s it for this week, folks, but remember that God does work miracles, if we are willing to put in our part. I love you lots! Elder Budge Hey! We were able to teach Sergio, Edith, and Elsi again, and they once again surprised me with their ability to understand and believe the doctrine! They are just so awesome! Definitely a blessing from God that we were able to find them and that they have such a desire to learn! Also, we have a golden investigator named Javier, a 73 year old man whose family members are members of the church, but he still isn`t. He understood and showed his understanding of the sacrament so well this week, as he had an appointment scheduled with the doctor for his wife at a time that would have conflicted with them attending sacrament meeting, but the Spirit helped them realize what had to be done, and they did it! They all (Sergio, Edith, Elsi, Javier, and his family) were at church this Sunday! :) God has blessed us immensely as we have been striving to do His will, instead of our own. And this time, I think pics are really coming! I love you all so much! Keep calm and live the gospel! :) So, to start off, we had a really cool experience this Saturday with Leticia´s baptism, a lady that I taught from the área that I was in for like 2 weeks, before they changed me to the other part of this Little town, Tuxpan. So I got to interview her, my sixth interview (interviews are kinda scary, but really cool experiences!), and got to baptize her!! She asked me to baptize her, and it only took like two times to successfully do it!! (Out of the 6 people that I have baptized, I think I ´ve only had one baptism where I haven´t had to do it at least twice...kinda sad, but it still counts as another soul on the path to heaven, right!? :) She is a really good person, and is excited to belong to the church!
Anyway, always remember that I love each and every one of you!! You are all children of God, and therefore He loves you so much, way more than we can imagine. He is always there, waiting for us to accept Him in our lives, but we have to do our part in letting Him be a part of our lives, through praying, reading the scriptures, going to church, etc. I have a very strong testimony of this, that He really wants to help us live happier and to work our way back to live with Him again. Let´s just do what we have to do! Have a great week! Elder Budge |