April 18 in Orizaba

Well Orizaba finally began to pick up!  

This week we had 2 miracles: J and V. 

J is 26. He lives with his mom and his little brother, who's 22. We met J at a ward activity, where all the members went to go play soccer and invited other people to come too. At the activity we talked to him and he didn't seem that interested, but then when we went to go teach the son of a member who's not baptized, J was sitting outside the house! Then it turned out that the person we had had the appointment with didn't show up, so we just invited J inside and started talking with him! He expressed his ideas that nothing really quite "fits" in the religion he grew up in (he's Catholic). He didn't understand why there are so many different religions if there's only one God, and why do so many people break His commandments that he's given them through the Bible (if they actually believe). We taught him about the Restoration and he's really interested! He thinks it makes sense that there should be a prophet in our day and that there should be a Restoration. He's preparing for baptism in May. 

V is 17-18 (I forget). She has a friend who's a member in another ward, and she invited her to church and a bunch of church activities, and then the missionaries over there found her and passed her to us! She's got a ton of doubts about EVERYTHING. She considers that she is searching the churches in order to find the one that is correct. She's worried about her family, which is her, her parents, and her little sister (who's 15). She is searching for that peace and to just be happy. Fortunately, that's a direct result of living the restored gospel!!!!

The closer and closer I get to finishing this thing, the more I realise what a blessing the mission has been to me, in strengthening, more than anything, my testimony of Jesus Christ. I know that He is MY Saviour and Redeemer, and that He died to pay the price for my sins. I know that through true and sincere repentance, whatever person can receive remission of their sins and have a true change of heart, if they will just live the principles of the restored gospel. One scripture that I have been meditating on a ton recently is Moroni 7:24. For now it might be my favorite scripture. It says something like this: "All good things come of Christ; otherwise, men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them." When Adam fell, mankind became "sensual and diabolical": essentially, the fallen, the natural man. This "natural man" is an enemy to God. So our physical natures are basically against the good things of God, unless we become changed from our fallen and natural state, by the redemption, and atonement of Christ, and repenting and living His gospel. 

Thus, all good things come from God. We, being enemies to Him, could receive no good thing, were it not for the sacrifice of Christ. All good things come of Him. I know it. 

Talk to you guys next week!