We taught the family night in our ward this week. We made made a packed dome of flour and placed a peso coin on top. Then we put a coin on top of a rock. We had each person cut a portion of the flour dome until the coin fell. Then the looser had to fish it out with his mouth. It was a big hit! The message that we shared was that we all need to built our foundations on the rock of Christ. He will never let us fall.
We had a few experiences this week that made me think about the foundation of my faith:
We passed by for Rodrigo and his Aunt, Ruth. I've been wanting to invite Ruth to be baptized ever since I've arrived, but we've never had an opportunity. When we passed by this day her daughter was asleep on the couch and Ruth was sitting alone at the table. We called Rodrigo over and begin teaching the Restoration. A knock at the door interrupted our lesson. In came the Evangelist Pastor guy and his wife, along with the rest of the congregation. We moved to the kitchen with Rodrigo while the Pastor began holding a prayer circle sermon thing in the other room. It was interesting to teach about Joseph Smith and religious confusion while hearing loud shouts of bible verses from the other room.
As missionaries, we do not attack other religions. In fact, we want people to have faith in Christ. However, there is only one church on the whole earth who has all of the truth. We have the fullness of the gospel - all of God's word, all of the covenants and ordinances, and the permission and power to act in the name of God. This church is True. It is something that I feel with all of my heart. The only thing we can do is share what we know and invite people to find out for themselves.
Next, we were contacting and we found a less active lady who let us into her house. She seemed super nice as she showed us photos of her grandchildren. Then Hna Burt invited her to come to the capilla. The lady's whole demeanor changed and she began to attack the church and all of our beliefs. She talked about Blacks and the priesthood, about polygamy, and about Joseph Smith. She ended by saying that we were brainwashed and treated inferior to men in the church. We quietly excused ourselves from her house. In the dark street I decided that no matter what happens in the church I would remain a faithful member.
There are so many opportunities to loose our faith these days. The social winds are trying to knock down our carefully cultivated testimonies. It is not bad to have questions or doubts, as long as we turn to the right sources to find our answers. Remember that contention and confusion don't come from the Lord. I heard a quote once that says something life, "Pure doctrine changes behavior more completely than the study of human behavior changes behavior." I know that is true because I have found answers to many of my questions while studying the scriptures, conference talks, and church books.
On a more positive note, our menos activos Huayra and Hna Calizaya are doing wonderfully. They are both reading and praying. It is really neat to see the light of the gospel come back into their lives. The transformation is real :)
I love every one of you so so much!
Hermana Davis
