Tuesday, Sept. 16
Heidi y Peter!
I love you guys so much!
We had a wonderful night tonight! First we had a lesson with Octavio. We tried so hard to find a member to come with us, but after many phone calls, we just had to go member-less.
Octavio. 42 years old. Male. Humble, smart, gentle, kinda reminds me of Peter. We arrived and called him and he let us in the complex. We told him we were going to try to get the member that lives in his complex to come with us too. He waited at his house for us while we didn’t find her, called more members and prayed for help. After the prayer we were feeling pretty confident that something would fall into place. We invited the lady just getting home if she would like to hear a spiritual message we were about to share with her neighbor and she almost agreed. In the end we just taught him at his door. It was such a wonderful lesson. :) He read the foyetto we left with him...all of it. He even tried explaining it to his wife even though she is less open (mas duro) to things like this. He was almost apologizing when he was telling us he wanted to come to church, but he needed to take it slowly with his wife because she didn’t understand why he wanted to meet with us. Keep in mind, this is our second lesson with Octavio. He than tells us that in order for him to know if all he read in the foyetto is true, he has to read the Book of Mormon. Wednesday, he intently ready Moroni’s promise and he agreed to pray.
Rebeca. We stopped by her on the way home. Rebeca has been one of our favorites for a long time. With our luck she should have her baby this Sunday. We stopped by after giving her a little break so she could miss us. She was overjoyed to see us on her porch again. We were warmly and excitedly welcomed in. She was there with her husband Julio, and we just laughed with them and left them with a prayer and a commitment to have a family prayer nightly. Jessenia is the member we picked to be her friend and today Jessenia drove her to her doctor’s appointment. They are genuinely friends. It’s perfect because they both have fire in them so they can find each other exciting. I’ll send you a picture of Rebeca.
Wednesday, Sept. 17
I’m beat. The heat is killing us slowly. We found Mariade los Angeles for the first time in 2 weeks (since we found her). She is back from Mexico and recovering at her house.
Today we met the neatest Persian man. He was looking for an apartment along Saticoy and Mason where we were crossing. He is a modern-day pilgrim. He felt undeniable feelings that God lived, which caused him and his family to be persecuted in Persia. He fled to Turkey so he could have religious freedom. His son is currently in a Persian jail because of his beliefs. Ali told us that he was still looking for the truth about God.
Ali is too smart to be thrown off or diverted from his desire to learn about God. He petitioned us for the difference between “Mormons” and the other religions. He kept saying, “this is the same, this is the same,” until se told him God called another profet named Joseph Smith and his eyes lighted up as he exclaimed, “this is different.” He latched onto the picture and wouldn’t let us get through the First Vision because he insisted on being told exactly who the 2 personages were. Upon being answered, he exclaimed, “Oh yes, I know!” He had a dream about receiving an answer like that from God.
Upon hearing about the Book of Mormon, he wanted it in his hands while the magnitude of the book rushed over him like waves. “Give it to me”... I suppose it was a request, but it was not very negotiable. I wish people would stand up for their salvation like Ali did. You had to witness it, but it was like a child discovering a treasure or unraveling a mystery and having too much uncompromisable desire to even be able to hide the anxiety. I would call it the best contact of my mission.
Bezos y abrazos, Hna. Christensen
p.s. Hna. Avila thinks I should go by “Harper” when I return to the real world.
p.p.s. We get transfer calls this Saturday xoxo
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