Elder Benjamin Michael Conover Mission Blog : Week 60: The Confirming Truth

Hey Guys!

This week was a little different, but it was a good week, and we got to see some great miracles in the work.

First off, on Monday, we played a little bit of soccer with some other missionaries, and then in the afternoon, we got to experience the roller coaster of the mission.

We went to the house of a woman who was super nice to us, and seemed to really want to listen. When we got to her house, her husband came out, and he wasn't so nice to us. He told us that there is no way that we can help him and that all churches lead to God (a common misconception here). We decided to testify as hard as we could about the Restoration, and it felt so good. In the end, he denied us way hard, but it felt so good since I could feel the Spirit strongly, confirming the truths that I testified of. It was such a privilege. I was thinking about this experience, and I was so grateful for it, because it feels so much better for me to be able to take persecution and mean words, than to receive a ¨I Dont Care about what you´re saying but I'm gonna listen¨ look. I read a scripture in the Bible this week that I loved:

And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. ( Acts 5:41)

Truly Being and Feeling like a testator of the Savior, admist persecution is such a blessing!

Anyways, in the afternoon on Monday, we got to teach a new woman, Isabela. She has a lot of problems, and she just is so sad, and cannot feel love what so ever. As she was talking, it brought tears to my eyes, and it felt like all of my worries and complaints melted away. It was incredible.

Monday was great. and we were happy, and then came Tuesday. It was difficult for a number of things, but because of some things out of our control, we felt like we weren´t able to work at all. It was hard to accept that, and then in the next two days or so, we got dropped by Fernanda, the woman we found last week, and Guadalupe, Gabriela´s daughter, decided she won´t be baptized :(. However, we did still have miracles!

We got to teach Isabela again, and it went well. We taught her about the Restoration, and invited her to read the Book of Mormon, and to be baptized. She accepted both, and she committed to the 5th of November! We then challenged her to give up alcohol and tea, and she agreed, and gave us her tea to destroy! It was amazing, and she said that she feels better when we are there to talk to her and help her!

This week, we also went to Mendoza for a night, which was fun, since we got to stay with one of my best friends in the mission, Elder Levander, whom I haven't seen in like 4 months. It was so awesome.

Anyways, we also got to teach Cristina again, and she had read the Book of Mormon with her entire family, and they liked it! We talked about the Book of Mormon, and invited them to baptism (which we are trying to do within the first two lessons), which they didn't accept, but they are going to pray and read about the book of mormon!

Finally, in church, we were in Sacrament meeting, and I was sitting there while the sacrament was being passed. I didn't feel too great, and I was wondering why. After a few minutes, I had a thought come, that basically was ¨Love the members and make them happy.¨ It was surprising, but during the rest of the meeting, I looked at each member, and tried to think of the positive, loving attributes they each have, and see them as our Heavenly Father sees them. Then, after the meeting, I ran around to each member that I could find, thanking them for everything and trying to make them feel loved. It made me feel SO good immediately, and allowed me to forget about my own problems and worries. It was amazing!

Funny

Argentine English Shirt of the Week: ¨Feed Me and Tell Me I´m Pretty¨

So public breast feeding is a very common thing here, and we see it on the daily. But some how, Elder Crist NEVER notices it. However, he finally got it this week. We were walking, and there was a woman in the sidewalk, that was very prominantly breast feeding, and I knew there was NO WAY he wouldnt see it. After we passed, I looked at him, and he looked at me from the corner of his eye, and said, defeated, ¨Ya, I saw that one.¨

Finally, we were talking to a guy in Mendoza this week, who could speak really good English, and I complimented him on his English....his response....¨Ya, I know.¨ hahaha it was awkward.

I love you all!

Elder Conover