So this week here on the enchanted island was a week full of work like all of them always are. The good news is that Veronica made it to church which official qualifies her for baptism on the 8th of may! So if all goes according to plans we should be seeing white in the water for mothers day! It should be a cool experience! Also with that good news we came across a good potential investigator from a member. The member has been in active for a while but has family in the church that is helping him find excitment to come back to church. He's come to church 3 weeks in a row and this last week we were able to talk with him about teaching his girl friend the lessons. From there we found out that their planing on getting married this next month and also she's interested in the lessons and even in baptism. She came to church last week but we weren't able to see her in the week because she got sick and has been in the hospital for a week now. She has something wrong with here white blood cells i believe is what she told us. So yesterday after church we went with Jiodannie, the boy friend, to the hospital to visit her, Grisel, and Elder Moran and i gave here a blessing of health. It was a good growing experience and it was Elder Morans first time in giving a blessing which was cool for him. He did a great job and i felt like Grisel received the blessing really well and will be getting better this week. She said as soon as she gets out she's going to have us over and she's going to cook for us. She's even going to make a dish that's called "mofungo" which is a traditional food here that i like a lot! Its basically mashed up platano with meet inside with a sauce that covers it! basically that's what it is and it tastes great! So we have some excitement for Grisel because i feel like she could be the next baptism here in Vega Baja after Veronica on the 8th.
Also funny story that happened this past week. So Elder Moran and i were going to visit an investigator at there house when we found that she wasn't there... But as we were about to leave we found a big iguana pretty close to our car, so we went to go look at it and he ran away from us. but as he was running away he ran into a chain link fence and couldn't get through it or under it. So as we got closer to him he got more scared and just kept driving his head into the fence trying to get through to run away from us. So seeing how he couldn't go anywhere i got up close to him and grabbed him by the tail and picked him up. So as i held him i realized how big the guy really was! His tail was huge and when we measured him from the tip of his tail to his head he was almost as tall as me! Then as we were going to take pictures we realized that neither of us had our cameras, so not wanting to let this moment pass by with out a picture we put him in the trunk of the car and took him home with us to be able to take pictures of him! We named him Luisito and after the pictures we let him go again in the jungle! It was a funny experience, especial because it was Elder Morans first time ever to hold an iguana and he was pretty scared to grab the guy. But he over came his fear with time and finally held him in his own arms. Yeah good times here in Puerto Rico!
So that's how last week went, adventurous and full of the teaching the gospel! Got to love the mission life!
Love you all,
Elder Lopez
Monday, April 26, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The work is coming along (email dated 04/20/2010)
Buenas Dias,
Sorry not to be able to email yesterday, here in Puerto Rico they like to throw random holiday's in when ever they can and yesterday just happened to be one of those. So they moved pday until tuesday. But its all good because i'm still able to write for this week. Anyways lets get down to business. This past week Veronica made it to church again which makes 2 weeks in a row. If she comes next week we can dip her in the water on the 8th of may because she's going to be visiting family on the1'st of may and be out of town. She's starting to feel a lot better in church i'd have to say and i think that she's going to become a good faithful member. THe ward here in Vega Baja has helped her out a lot also which has helped. I think she's really been able to see what the church is all about, helping one another.
Also this past week we went exploring parts of our area that seemed like they were close to touching the heavens. Our mission leader took us out to visit a inactive member that lives in a place called ciales which is right in the middle of the island basicaly. It felt like i was going back to my 2nd area in the mission, Utuado. THe Mountains here in Puerto Rico are really beautiful and this member lives at the top of one of them. It was a good 45 min drive to get to his place out there in the mountains. From the peak that we were at while visiting him we could see one of the highest peaks in all of Puerto Rico! It was really cool because the tip of it was covered by the clouds so you couldn't really see the tip top. The Members name is Neftely and he's great guy but had a problem in his family which drove him away from coming to church. He still has a strong testimony of the church but his wife wasnt' the most fond of the idea of him going to church. She basicaly told him that if he kept going to church that she was going to leave him and ask for a divorce... So that hit him hard and he decided to try and save his relationship with her and stoped coming to church.. NOw though he's not living with her and would be able to come but the problem being that he has health problems and cant be seated for a long time and cant make the drive from Ciales to Vega Baja to come to church. Yeah its a really tough situation and all began because of his family. Its tough when familys are split like this but in some way the gospel of christ is able to bring us closer as we live it. The key to the situation is "living the Gospel" even through the tough times because we can confide that God will bless us in return. Its like it says in D&C, Gods bound by His word when we do what He say's, but when we do not what He says we have no promise.
Thanks to the best parents in the world i've been able to learn a lot from the gospel of christ! For that reason I'm here on my mission. THanks Mom and Dad! Well, THanks for the letters and prayers and all the incouragement that you've all given to me! I love you with all my heart!
Your's truely,
Elder Lopez
Sorry not to be able to email yesterday, here in Puerto Rico they like to throw random holiday's in when ever they can and yesterday just happened to be one of those. So they moved pday until tuesday. But its all good because i'm still able to write for this week. Anyways lets get down to business. This past week Veronica made it to church again which makes 2 weeks in a row. If she comes next week we can dip her in the water on the 8th of may because she's going to be visiting family on the1'st of may and be out of town. She's starting to feel a lot better in church i'd have to say and i think that she's going to become a good faithful member. THe ward here in Vega Baja has helped her out a lot also which has helped. I think she's really been able to see what the church is all about, helping one another.
Also this past week we went exploring parts of our area that seemed like they were close to touching the heavens. Our mission leader took us out to visit a inactive member that lives in a place called ciales which is right in the middle of the island basicaly. It felt like i was going back to my 2nd area in the mission, Utuado. THe Mountains here in Puerto Rico are really beautiful and this member lives at the top of one of them. It was a good 45 min drive to get to his place out there in the mountains. From the peak that we were at while visiting him we could see one of the highest peaks in all of Puerto Rico! It was really cool because the tip of it was covered by the clouds so you couldn't really see the tip top. The Members name is Neftely and he's great guy but had a problem in his family which drove him away from coming to church. He still has a strong testimony of the church but his wife wasnt' the most fond of the idea of him going to church. She basicaly told him that if he kept going to church that she was going to leave him and ask for a divorce... So that hit him hard and he decided to try and save his relationship with her and stoped coming to church.. NOw though he's not living with her and would be able to come but the problem being that he has health problems and cant be seated for a long time and cant make the drive from Ciales to Vega Baja to come to church. Yeah its a really tough situation and all began because of his family. Its tough when familys are split like this but in some way the gospel of christ is able to bring us closer as we live it. The key to the situation is "living the Gospel" even through the tough times because we can confide that God will bless us in return. Its like it says in D&C, Gods bound by His word when we do what He say's, but when we do not what He says we have no promise.
Thanks to the best parents in the world i've been able to learn a lot from the gospel of christ! For that reason I'm here on my mission. THanks Mom and Dad! Well, THanks for the letters and prayers and all the incouragement that you've all given to me! I love you with all my heart!
Your's truely,
Elder Lopez
Monday, April 12, 2010
Another week in the books (email dated 04/12/2010)
Hola,
What a week we had here on the island of Puerto Rico. We finaly got some more investigators through those chapel doors who are progressing well. One is Esperanza who we contacted forever ago but finaly is now in the groove and ready to progress. We atualy lost contact with her for almost a month because she some how just droped of the map and left Elder Moran and myself wondering what happend. I honestly thought that she had heard some false story from some friend and had started to avoid us but fortunately i was wrong in thinkning that. We had been teaching her for a week when i first got back up here to puerto rico and it looked like she was going to progress well, until she called us up one day and had to cancel an apointment because she was going to visit a family member that was in the hospital. Then from there after we lost contact for about a month and she would never answer her phone when we would call. So we were all disapointed until this past week when we decided to toke doors by her house and check to see if we could find her at home. Luckly the spirit had been with us in that moment and we were able to find her there and she gladly recieved us in again which made us even happier. As we began to talk she told us why she had been out of touch for so long. I guess her daughter and herself had got into a big conflict and they weren't talking for a long time, and she didn't feel good about the situation and didn't feel in the right mind set to visit with us .... so for that reason she had been avoiding us for a couple of weeks. But fortunatly now she is doing well and on good terms with her daughter again and is happy to meet with us again. She even had a great experience at church and said she'd be coming back next week. So to say the least we were stoked that she was able to have a sudden change from off the map to back in church! I believe from here on we should be able to make a lot of progress with Esperanza which really made my week a happy one. Its sad to see how much the devil is really attacking the family because the importance of it that he knows. It truely is a great blessing to have been blessed with such a strong family and i hope we always remember that and take care of our blessing that the Lord has blessed us with.
Also some other great news was that Veronica came to church her in vega Baja for the first time which was a hudge step for her. She had missed 6 sundays straight before she was able to make it to this one! Finaly she was able to over come all the obsticales of life and make it to church to be able to feel the spirit there. After ward she was very grateful for having gone to church because she really felt good about it. As long as she's able to keep on keepin on like she's doing right now she'll be able to make it to baptism but only time will tell. She's gone through a lot of hard times lately, but the ward here has helped them out a lot and their now doing a little better. Little by little they'll be able to make it though. The Lord will bless them a lot as they keep on doing their part.
Also here's a little experience that made a big impact on me this past week as we were finishing up our P-day. So Elder Moran and i were taking photos at a pretty cool beach that we have here close to our apartment. As we were about to leave and go to work i noticed a lady that was sitting by herself against a cement wall that seperated the beach from some houses. Her hands were covering her face and she looked as if she had been crying. My first impression was she looks like she's had a bad day and really wont want to be interupted but then before i knew what i was doing i opened my mouth and started to talk to her to get her attention. Then i started to contact her talking about christ and his atonement and resurrection. As i talked to her a little bit more she told me her name was Michelle and that she was here crying because she had just lost her brother and she didn't want her mom to see her all broken down with tears. I felt a hudge pain as she told me her situation but at the same time i knew that God had put us in her way to testify to her of Christ and HIs plan for us. She listened and excepted a card with our number on it and said she'd call us. Honestly it was really a quick experience but it made a big impact on me because i really felt the love that God has for us for sending his only begotten son to save the world if we will except Him and his plan. I remembered President Monsons talk at general conference and wished i could have some how just at that moment planted his talk in her mind so she could hear the testimony of a Prophet that Christ lives and because Christ lives we will too after death. I'm not sure if she'll ever call us but i know at least she felt a little peace of Gods love for her and her brother. Its times like these that really just make me so grateful to be a messanger of God here on my mission.
With that being said i'll wrap things up. Know that Christ lives and Loves you.
Your's truelly,
Elder Lopez
What a week we had here on the island of Puerto Rico. We finaly got some more investigators through those chapel doors who are progressing well. One is Esperanza who we contacted forever ago but finaly is now in the groove and ready to progress. We atualy lost contact with her for almost a month because she some how just droped of the map and left Elder Moran and myself wondering what happend. I honestly thought that she had heard some false story from some friend and had started to avoid us but fortunately i was wrong in thinkning that. We had been teaching her for a week when i first got back up here to puerto rico and it looked like she was going to progress well, until she called us up one day and had to cancel an apointment because she was going to visit a family member that was in the hospital. Then from there after we lost contact for about a month and she would never answer her phone when we would call. So we were all disapointed until this past week when we decided to toke doors by her house and check to see if we could find her at home. Luckly the spirit had been with us in that moment and we were able to find her there and she gladly recieved us in again which made us even happier. As we began to talk she told us why she had been out of touch for so long. I guess her daughter and herself had got into a big conflict and they weren't talking for a long time, and she didn't feel good about the situation and didn't feel in the right mind set to visit with us .... so for that reason she had been avoiding us for a couple of weeks. But fortunatly now she is doing well and on good terms with her daughter again and is happy to meet with us again. She even had a great experience at church and said she'd be coming back next week. So to say the least we were stoked that she was able to have a sudden change from off the map to back in church! I believe from here on we should be able to make a lot of progress with Esperanza which really made my week a happy one. Its sad to see how much the devil is really attacking the family because the importance of it that he knows. It truely is a great blessing to have been blessed with such a strong family and i hope we always remember that and take care of our blessing that the Lord has blessed us with.
Also some other great news was that Veronica came to church her in vega Baja for the first time which was a hudge step for her. She had missed 6 sundays straight before she was able to make it to this one! Finaly she was able to over come all the obsticales of life and make it to church to be able to feel the spirit there. After ward she was very grateful for having gone to church because she really felt good about it. As long as she's able to keep on keepin on like she's doing right now she'll be able to make it to baptism but only time will tell. She's gone through a lot of hard times lately, but the ward here has helped them out a lot and their now doing a little better. Little by little they'll be able to make it though. The Lord will bless them a lot as they keep on doing their part.
Also here's a little experience that made a big impact on me this past week as we were finishing up our P-day. So Elder Moran and i were taking photos at a pretty cool beach that we have here close to our apartment. As we were about to leave and go to work i noticed a lady that was sitting by herself against a cement wall that seperated the beach from some houses. Her hands were covering her face and she looked as if she had been crying. My first impression was she looks like she's had a bad day and really wont want to be interupted but then before i knew what i was doing i opened my mouth and started to talk to her to get her attention. Then i started to contact her talking about christ and his atonement and resurrection. As i talked to her a little bit more she told me her name was Michelle and that she was here crying because she had just lost her brother and she didn't want her mom to see her all broken down with tears. I felt a hudge pain as she told me her situation but at the same time i knew that God had put us in her way to testify to her of Christ and HIs plan for us. She listened and excepted a card with our number on it and said she'd call us. Honestly it was really a quick experience but it made a big impact on me because i really felt the love that God has for us for sending his only begotten son to save the world if we will except Him and his plan. I remembered President Monsons talk at general conference and wished i could have some how just at that moment planted his talk in her mind so she could hear the testimony of a Prophet that Christ lives and because Christ lives we will too after death. I'm not sure if she'll ever call us but i know at least she felt a little peace of Gods love for her and her brother. Its times like these that really just make me so grateful to be a messanger of God here on my mission.
With that being said i'll wrap things up. Know that Christ lives and Loves you.
Your's truelly,
Elder Lopez
Monday, April 5, 2010
Easter Weekend (email dated 04/05/2010)
Saludos de Puerto Rico,
So i hope that everyone had a great Conference/ Easter weekend back home in happy valley Utah! As for our weekend here in the field it went great because we got to listen to every single session of Conference there was. Honestly i was praying that there was going to be a 6th session, but i guess that wasn't in the Lords will. I guess the advice of David A. Bednar is why, "its better to teach a man to fish instead of simply giving a man a fish." Some times we just want all the spiritual things given to us with out much effort put into finding it out for ourselves. This was my case many times before the mission... But sense then I've really began to notice the importance of learning to fish for our own personal inspiration. Really out here in the field we don't have anyone to tell us how to approach any situation, just the Holy Ghost. And we only receive from the Holy Ghost when we're worthy and searching and listening. Just as a man who's given a fish will be hungry a day later, we will be spiritually hungry if we don't go out looking and doing our part to gain spiritual knowledge by reading the scriptures, meditating them, and praying for confirmation of the truthfulness of them. In these next 6 months until the next Conference comes around we should all develop and learn how to fish for spiritual inspiration by following the advice and teaching that all the Apostles and Prophets taught us this General conference. Now if you missed a session your lucky because we live in a time that you can watch it all over again at the touch of button. So I'd encourage you to do so because this conference rocked!
Also this past week we had our Transfer meeting which is when all those who are being transfered get moved and all those who are finishing their mission give their good byes. It was pretty crazy because i'm seeing all of my good friends out here on the mission are starting to go... and next thing you know in 3 transfers time it will be my turn to hit the death flight like they say out here in the field. Time just keeps on moving fast doesn't it.
But to be honest there is a lot to be done in this short time! Elder Moran and i have one more transfer to get some people in the water but as for right now everything is going really slow! So we're praying that this conference and a new transfer ahead of us is going to provide for a great 6 weeks and we can get things moving finally. Every one seemed to be an vacation for Spring break which really held us up on our investigators this week, But now Easter and spring break are behind us so i'm looking forward to some good work this week!
Also i would like to give a shout out to my new little nephew Mason who came into this world this past week and who i haven't been able to see or meet yet... man i love my family! They just keep on growing while I'm away on the Lords work, but that's o.k. I Love to hear how great you all are! Now I'm going to be able to see 2 little new ball players when i get back here in 4 months. Congrats Scott and Steph! Your definitely in my prayers out here!
So that's the short update from Puerto Rico for now, so until next week, keep your head up and stay strong while you keep on keepin on!
Love always,
Elder Lopez
So i hope that everyone had a great Conference/ Easter weekend back home in happy valley Utah! As for our weekend here in the field it went great because we got to listen to every single session of Conference there was. Honestly i was praying that there was going to be a 6th session, but i guess that wasn't in the Lords will. I guess the advice of David A. Bednar is why, "its better to teach a man to fish instead of simply giving a man a fish." Some times we just want all the spiritual things given to us with out much effort put into finding it out for ourselves. This was my case many times before the mission... But sense then I've really began to notice the importance of learning to fish for our own personal inspiration. Really out here in the field we don't have anyone to tell us how to approach any situation, just the Holy Ghost. And we only receive from the Holy Ghost when we're worthy and searching and listening. Just as a man who's given a fish will be hungry a day later, we will be spiritually hungry if we don't go out looking and doing our part to gain spiritual knowledge by reading the scriptures, meditating them, and praying for confirmation of the truthfulness of them. In these next 6 months until the next Conference comes around we should all develop and learn how to fish for spiritual inspiration by following the advice and teaching that all the Apostles and Prophets taught us this General conference. Now if you missed a session your lucky because we live in a time that you can watch it all over again at the touch of button. So I'd encourage you to do so because this conference rocked!
Also this past week we had our Transfer meeting which is when all those who are being transfered get moved and all those who are finishing their mission give their good byes. It was pretty crazy because i'm seeing all of my good friends out here on the mission are starting to go... and next thing you know in 3 transfers time it will be my turn to hit the death flight like they say out here in the field. Time just keeps on moving fast doesn't it.
But to be honest there is a lot to be done in this short time! Elder Moran and i have one more transfer to get some people in the water but as for right now everything is going really slow! So we're praying that this conference and a new transfer ahead of us is going to provide for a great 6 weeks and we can get things moving finally. Every one seemed to be an vacation for Spring break which really held us up on our investigators this week, But now Easter and spring break are behind us so i'm looking forward to some good work this week!
Also i would like to give a shout out to my new little nephew Mason who came into this world this past week and who i haven't been able to see or meet yet... man i love my family! They just keep on growing while I'm away on the Lords work, but that's o.k. I Love to hear how great you all are! Now I'm going to be able to see 2 little new ball players when i get back here in 4 months. Congrats Scott and Steph! Your definitely in my prayers out here!
So that's the short update from Puerto Rico for now, so until next week, keep your head up and stay strong while you keep on keepin on!
Love always,
Elder Lopez
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