Hey Family!
This week was a great week with our investigators. This last Saturday we went to the temple with Miguel Angel and Mariela. We had such a great experience. Mariela really has a testimony and wants to get baptized, I think she is trying to figure out if she really wants to get married to this guy or not. But she had a really good experience at the temple.
Before this last Saturday Miguel had not really prayed and received an answer, because he had not really prayed. But the night before we went to the temple we were visiting him and I felt super strong that I could promise him that if he prayed, that without fail he would receive an answer at the temple. After the little temple tour, we had the chance to go inside and sit in the small front waiting area. After about 15 minutes he said he was ready do go. When we got outside we asked what he felt and if he prayed or not. He said that he didn’t pray because he did not feel comfortable with so many people coming and going. So we talked with him and invited him to come back in, just him and us, and this time to pray and to ask God if this church is true or not. When we went back in, he sat there with his head down and after about 10 or 15 more minutes he said he was ready to go. We weren’t really sure if he has his answer or what. Once we were outside he told us that he prayed that time and that he felt something like he had never felt before. And that he felt like crying while he was praying. He received his answer! Now he just wants to feel more ready for baptism and to have a bigger desire to be baptized. We are working really hard with him, it is only a matter of time before he is baptized.
We have some really good new investigators this week. And quite a few of them were from references from members. I think that we will have a really successful month of June.
That is kinda crazy to hear about Alie making that decision. The world really is more and more confused. Still our family and that will never change, but that might make life a lot tougher for her.
So this experience I was debating with myself whether to send it home or not. We had to go to immigration really early one morning and we were on a bus around 5:20am, when two guys started yelling at everybody, pulled out their pistols and smacked the top of the bus and was telling everybody to get out their phones and stuff. Elder Fogg and I were sitting in the very front of the bus, they were yelling at us "Why don't you have a phone?" even though it was obviously in Elder Fogg's pocket. I'm sure they were looking for a smart phone from the two young gringos. After searching our stomach looking for a phone hidden in our shirt, they took a couple Quetz and left the bus. I really don't want people at home to be worried. I know it is dangerous, but thinking about the experience later in the day I realized how calm and not worried I felt. Feeling the complete confidence that God was and is always watching out for us. I know that as missionaries of the Lord we are being taken care of. As we are obedient to the rules that we have, we will be protected from both physical and spiritual danger. Truly angels standing on our left and on our right with swords!
Elder Fogg has been out for 11 months, but his mom is from Chile so he has spoken Spanish as long as he has spoken English. Which is really nice because of how much he can help me.
It sounds like you guys have a lot of projects on the list. Try to leave some of them for when I get home so I can boss you guys around:)
Thank you for sending me your ward conference talk Dad, I will be able to read it later. I’m sure that it is awesome! Maybe I will translate it and use it for the next time that I have to give a talk in church. :)
Here is a quote that I really like by William Jennings Bryon, “Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a think to be achieved.” This quote is really quite straight forward. We all have our different goals and different things that we want to achieve. Just a reminder to go after the desires of our heart and to never give in to the idea of waiting for the magic to happen, but rather making the magic happen.
I love you all so much! Keep doing awesome!
With Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks
This week was a great week with our investigators. This last Saturday we went to the temple with Miguel Angel and Mariela. We had such a great experience. Mariela really has a testimony and wants to get baptized, I think she is trying to figure out if she really wants to get married to this guy or not. But she had a really good experience at the temple.
Before this last Saturday Miguel had not really prayed and received an answer, because he had not really prayed. But the night before we went to the temple we were visiting him and I felt super strong that I could promise him that if he prayed, that without fail he would receive an answer at the temple. After the little temple tour, we had the chance to go inside and sit in the small front waiting area. After about 15 minutes he said he was ready do go. When we got outside we asked what he felt and if he prayed or not. He said that he didn’t pray because he did not feel comfortable with so many people coming and going. So we talked with him and invited him to come back in, just him and us, and this time to pray and to ask God if this church is true or not. When we went back in, he sat there with his head down and after about 10 or 15 more minutes he said he was ready to go. We weren’t really sure if he has his answer or what. Once we were outside he told us that he prayed that time and that he felt something like he had never felt before. And that he felt like crying while he was praying. He received his answer! Now he just wants to feel more ready for baptism and to have a bigger desire to be baptized. We are working really hard with him, it is only a matter of time before he is baptized.
We have some really good new investigators this week. And quite a few of them were from references from members. I think that we will have a really successful month of June.
That is kinda crazy to hear about Alie making that decision. The world really is more and more confused. Still our family and that will never change, but that might make life a lot tougher for her.
So this experience I was debating with myself whether to send it home or not. We had to go to immigration really early one morning and we were on a bus around 5:20am, when two guys started yelling at everybody, pulled out their pistols and smacked the top of the bus and was telling everybody to get out their phones and stuff. Elder Fogg and I were sitting in the very front of the bus, they were yelling at us "Why don't you have a phone?" even though it was obviously in Elder Fogg's pocket. I'm sure they were looking for a smart phone from the two young gringos. After searching our stomach looking for a phone hidden in our shirt, they took a couple Quetz and left the bus. I really don't want people at home to be worried. I know it is dangerous, but thinking about the experience later in the day I realized how calm and not worried I felt. Feeling the complete confidence that God was and is always watching out for us. I know that as missionaries of the Lord we are being taken care of. As we are obedient to the rules that we have, we will be protected from both physical and spiritual danger. Truly angels standing on our left and on our right with swords!
Elder Fogg has been out for 11 months, but his mom is from Chile so he has spoken Spanish as long as he has spoken English. Which is really nice because of how much he can help me.
It sounds like you guys have a lot of projects on the list. Try to leave some of them for when I get home so I can boss you guys around:)
Thank you for sending me your ward conference talk Dad, I will be able to read it later. I’m sure that it is awesome! Maybe I will translate it and use it for the next time that I have to give a talk in church. :)
Here is a quote that I really like by William Jennings Bryon, “Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a think to be achieved.” This quote is really quite straight forward. We all have our different goals and different things that we want to achieve. Just a reminder to go after the desires of our heart and to never give in to the idea of waiting for the magic to happen, but rather making the magic happen.
I love you all so much! Keep doing awesome!
With Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks