Semana 27!!!

Hola Todos!

So this week was GREAT!!!  Honestly probably one of the best weeks I've had here in Ita Enramada! (haha) One thing that we've really been doing this last week is working with a few less active families in the really poor part of our area. I think I told you all, we decided to start working a little bit with Michele and her family again. We had familiy night with them last Tuesday, and it was GREAT! We taught them off and on all week last week, and decided to pass by on Saturday and talk about the Restoration and invite Michele to be baptized...  Like I said we gained the confidence of the mom last week, but we didn't want to lose it, so we touched the subject of baptism timidly... (haha) Anyways, we had a lesson FULL of the spirit and when I asked Mirian (her mom) she was like, "Honestly, I made a mistake in my life and had to fix some things. While I was in the middle of it I feel like the members abandoned me and I swore that I would never go back to the church, and that my kids wouldn't be baptized there again."  Turns out Mirian had to go to jail a few years back and the members of the church haven't been very forgiving since... AHHH!!! I've never been so annoyed with ward members in my life! That's the time when the members need to HELP this family the most, not shun them and ignore them! I just kept thinking, "What would the Savior be doing to help this family?" I know the last thing he would be doing is abandoning them! There's ALWAYS a way back to the path, it doesn't matter how lost we are. Mirian should ALWAYS feel welcome at church regardless of the things she's done in her life. Anyways, moral of the story is, don't judge! And we now have a game plan with Michele! We're going to pass by A LOT with members and organize a visit with the Bishop... Keep winning over the confidence of this family and I KNOW Michele will get baptized! If not this Saturday the next!

Another less active family we've been working with is the familia Cesped! They're AWESOME! They're like a younger version of the familia Flor! They have four young kids, and the oldest is named Patricia, and she's eight! She hasn't been baptized either! The dad, Antonio, has a drinking problem, (sound familiar?), and it's gotten really bad recently... we passed by to visit them on Tuesday, and his wife was there alone. We stopped to talk with her, and she bassically told us if Antonio doesn't come to church this week and put his life in order, she was going to kick him out of the house! We were like, "Whoah, don't do that! We'll organize a visit with Bishop and help you guys!" So that's what we did... We visited them on Friday with the Bishop and his wife, and talked about the Word of Wisdom and repentance. It was a really powerful lesson, and Antonio told us at the end he was going to quit drinking and bring his family to church on Sunday! Sunday rolled around and when Hermana Bennett and I got to church there was the Familia Cesped sitting in the chapel!  Ahh, I've never been so happy! (haha) We set a goal with the family, and Patricia is going to be baptized the 26th of March, and Antonio's going to perform the baptism!!! He just has to keep going strong with not drinking!!! AHH, it's going to be the best! I really do love this family and they remind me so much of the Familia Flor, it's not even funny!

Anyways yeah, (haha) so much other stuff happened this week, but I don't have time to write about it all! It was a GREAT week! I'm doing so good! Pray for Michele and the Familia Cesped por favor!!! I love you all have an awesome week!

Hermana Austin

PS I got all of your Christmas Cards last week and just wanted to tell everyone thank you! I appreciate it a TON!! It's always fun to get mail from home!  

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