november 15th

Hello! Hope you all are happy and healthy! The work is going well--we are working a lot with the families of recent-converts and helping our recent-converts. They are going out teaching with us, going to the temple, planning on going on missions, etc. It is what President Dalton calls the double harvest--when recent-converts help us teach and baptize and retain because they have such strong testimonies and an incredible impact on their families and other investigators. 

On saturday, a member(Erik) took Wellington to the garden of the temple. Wellington loved it! On sunday before church, he had an interview with the bishop (he also received the priesthood after church--we got to be there for the ordination--I felt like a proud mother lol) and bishop asked him to bear his testimony during sacrament meeting--Wellington told how he got to know the church and was converted--how he met an elder a while ago and went to church but then the elder stopped coming over(he was transferred). Then one day he got a text from his sister that said, ``two of your friends are here. one is american and the other is argentinan. they are pretty.``(haha). He said he thought, ``but I don´t know an american or argentinan.`` Then that weekend he met us and we taught him and now he is a member. He gave a powerful testimony and the spirit was really strong--it seemed like he was a pro at giving talks, it was really cool. He told about a dream that he had where he was dressed as an elder or something--he said he will go on a mission. Then a returned missionary, Jefferson, gave a homecoming talk and the spirit of missionary work was very strong. Jefferson talked about being a witness at all times. He told a story that is more or less...

Once there was a minister who gave a sermon on Matthew 3. He taught that it doesn´t say that Jesus entered the waters when he was baptized, he was just baptized along side the River Jordan. One man in the congregation thanked the minister at the end of the meeting and said, ``That was the best sermon I´ve ever heard. Now the Bible makes so much more sense to me. I was always confused by so many of the stories, but now I understand them now. When it says that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were in the fire, they weren´t actually IN the fire, just close by. Daniel wasn´t really in the lion´s den, just close by, right next to the cave. Jonah wasn´t actually IN the whale, just swimming along side...``

Jefferson expounded using similar logic, ``Now we don´t really have to go to church, just live really close to one. We don´t need to really read the scriptures, just open them....`` The principle was comical but it´s a good one. We can justify so many things because of our unbelief/human logic. But the truth is that miracles happen when we act and exercise our faith. Many miracles are unbelievable to many--miracles in the Bible, modern-day miracles(the story of Joseph Smith, etc), but they are still real. Miracles do happen today. The heavens are not closed. We just need to be examples at all times by acting on our faith instead of making excuses and encourage others to act on their faith(like test Moroni´s promise about the Book of Mormon) too. His talk was really inspiring; I hope I can apply the lessons I learned.  I hope that I can continue to do that throughout my mission and for the rest of my life. I have gained such a testimony of this work and I am so grateful for my mission. Hope you all have a great week and see the miracles everyday!

--Sister Sadie Bledsoe