Well howdy ya´ll! I hope that you have all had quite the amazing week! I
am very grateful for the birthday wishes, but I have come to realize that what
many people have told me is true; that when you start getting older you stop
wanting people to tell you happy birthday and remind you that you are getting
older! Because 21 is getting up there! What made the birthday all the better
was the package that came from home full of Beef Jerky! YES!
So this week made me
appreciate all you hard-working primary ladies! My respect! On Saturday we had
a "Mini-CCM" where we had to teach all the primary kids of the stake
between 8-12 years how to be a missionary! To be honest, the activity was really
poorly planned...but it was fun for awhile! We were given a
"district" to teach with sisters and elders. They all had companions
and everything. We taught about the Book of Mormon, about the
restoration...lots of stuff! My favorite part was taking the kids outside and
having them "contact" people. These would be fellow missionaries or
members, and they were always really nice to the kids. But I loved how blunt
they would be about telling people they have to get baptized and come to
church. It was a great experience...for awhile!
We finished our
"tour" of training the leaders of the wards in our zone. It really
ended strong with how we now knew what to say, what to look for, and what goals
to set with the ward counsel leaders. I felt a strong spirit in them as we
worked with the leaders to help them to better do their callings.
On Friday I got dozens
of confirmations that the Lord answers prayers. We were getting back from doing
divisions, and as we left in the afternoon we prayed and asked the Lord to help
us to find a family that we could teach, that was smart and would progress
quickly in the gospel to be baptized and help out this ward. Well, that night
we went to a cita with a college girl, and in walk her parents 5 minutes later
who then sit with us, listen to the message of how the gospel will change their
families and make them happy, and they agreed to it all! They are all teachers
and will be coming to church and have a baptismal date set for the first Saturday
of September! Incredible, how the Lord works like that. They also invited us to
a delicious dinner on the spot of Katrachitas! Delicious!
Also, on Saturday we had
the baptism of Maycol! (I didn´t take pictures because my SD card wasn´t
working, but his aunt took pictures and will be giving them to me!) He is a
joven (youth) who has been coming to church for 3 months now. His uncle goes to
a different ward and came with his family to the baptism. It was incredibly
spiritual, and as Maycol had changed he stood up to bear his testimony and
simply said, "I know the church is true. By being baptized I was able to
communicate with God," and then sat down as he got teary-eyed. What a
great kid. Unfortunately we had the headache that the primary kids used up all
the water in the pump, so we had to hurry and rush to another chapel and fill
up the font for the baptism! Yikes! But, luckily the members had cars and were
able to come and support him anyway.
It is a strange feeling
how one can be so physically tired (more so now that today isn't P-day for us
as we have our change meeting on Wednesday) but so incredibly happy at the same
time. How can this work not be true if it can take rebellious teenage boys who
work all day and are exhausted all the time...yet they are never not happy? I
know that this church is true and I know that any and all efforts of sharing
this restored gospel is worth it. We are able to help others to receive the
same blessings that we enjoy on a daily basis, and they thank us in return. And
one is blessed in return.
I love you all! Have an
enchanting week!
Vaya Pues!
Elder Tinkham
