Hola! A beautiful week of sharing the gospel and serving the people of Ataco. I'm learning a ton every day, growing in so many ways, and having the time of my life. Missionary work is hard but my days are filled with mini-miracles and I feel my Heavenly Father's love all the time. There isn't much more you could ask for. Maybe a hug from my parents, but I'm not going to start thinking about that.
This week we made a lot of progress with our investigators, Rosa Elena and her son Fernando. Fernando is 12 years old and one of the most impressive children I have ever met. We have been teaching him for about a month, and he loves everything about the gospel. He is at church every Sunday, attends all activities during the week, and is reading the Book of Mormon as if his life depended on it. Fernando asks us every lesson when he can be baptized. His mom, Rosa Elena, is slightly more apprehensive and rightfully so. She works in San Salvador, and is only here on the weekends, so we've only had two lessons with her. At first she was pretty closed off, but this Saturday she really opened up to us. She said that she's nervous to take a leap of faith, but that if our message was true it would be the best thing that's ever happened to her and her son. She took a Book of Mormon to San Salvador with her this week, and promised that she would read it. She has a sincere desire to find the truth and I know that the Lord is going to help her, and of course we are going to also.
The happiest moments of my life this week were with Hermano Antoni. Hermano Antoni is a 73-year-old man with a heart of gold. We've clicked since the moment we met, and he is one of my favorite people. When we met he had been inactive for about 20 years. He told us that he wasn't sure why he stopped going because it had been so long. We've slowly been helping him remember the testimony he once had. In our lesson this week something touched him just enough, well the Holy Ghost touched him, and yesterday morning Antoni was in the chapel with a white shirt, tie, and the biggest smile. His wife fell into my arms in tears after church, crying because her 20 years of prayers had been answered, and that she couldn't be more thankful. As I was thinking about the 6 weeks spent visiting and helping Antoni, it made me think how long he has been inactive.... 20 years, and for some reason, my Heavenly Father blessed me with the opportunity to help this man, and for this man to help me. This work is the most amazing thing I've ever been a part of.
Walking home Saturday night we were stopped by a chef in front of a restaurant. He wanted to know who we were and where we are from, which is a usual thing. While talking I found out that he had lived in Simi Valley for 45 years! We talked about Zuma Beach and Balboa Park. He asked me what on earth I was doing here, I explained that I was sharing a message of Jesus Christ, and he said that he felt he better listen. We had a great lesson, and are going to meet with him again this week. As we were leaving he gave us each a full pizza, soda, and cake. He thanked us for bringing a light into his life that he had never felt before. It was such a random, amazing experience - and proved once again that my Heavenly Father is placing people in our path.
Well, I hope that you all had a wonderful week, and that the next one is even better! It's hard to believe that 3 months have already passed in this crazy little adventure. I know that this is the true church and that we have a message of eternal love and happiness to share.
I love you all!
Hermana Houston
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