Con Toda La Fe

I find myself back in Hermosillo. After another few months of being gone in another pueblo I've returned yet again to the central city and the familiar phrase of, "The heat has just started." Luckily I've been able to bless the rains down in Mexico with the various storms we've had. I quite thoroughly enjoy sweating in the street, hoping to find who we are looking for, only to look towards the horizon and see a wall of raindrops come hurtling towards us, leaving us a tad more soaked than we were with our sweat. I enjoy even more thoroughly having the spirit be poured upon us and our friends in teaching, but being drenched in whatever way is delightful. 

However, being back in the area right below where I was here a few months ago, I feel more accepted. I was embraced by the strong personalities and it felt more normal to talk to them. I was even literally embraced by a Brazilian member of the old ward and the nice salute of "Elder Deven-knee!" I love seeing my Sonoran friends. The longer I roast in the sun and stuff myself with the carne asada, the more natural it feels to talk to these Sonorense. Perhaps my gringo accent still hinders the fluid communication. but I find joy being in their presence rejoicing in Jesus Christ. One of my assisted converts found us in the street while riding his bright orange motorcycle. Without skipping a beat, he called me by my name and he told me of his baptism. Although I wasn't able to be there, he later mentioned that that day is one of his "days of birth" when he was reborn in Christ. 

My joy in Christ further grows in our lessons we have with our friends as we teach. The Spirit gives almost tangible guidance. I had a few lessons with my first companion in this area where the Spirit seemed to touch the people in a way that seemed rare. I was awed by the way basic doctrinal principles so easily connected to the needs of my friends. With one friend in particular, he has been wanting to make great changes in his life and the life of his family. We had one lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and talked about what repenting really is and how baptism is a small step to guide us to our grand desires. We were able to follow that Spirit filled lesson with others about eternal families and temples that have stuck with them even almost a month later. 

This past month I got to see how faith requires action and hope. I received another gringo companion at the beginning of the month of September. His daily phrase of "con toda la fe" (with all of the faith) was contagious both to me and the people we taught. Within a few days he showed me how to work more effectively and to talk to the greatest amount of people about Christ and His ministry. Like a well-oiled American machine, we did everything possible to give out Books of Mormón and invite people to be baptized. On a special occasion, we got to invite several people to baptism in the same day. We got to the house of two of our friends, a younger couple that wanted to get married. The girlfriend was a younger woman with a grand desire to get to know Christ and the boyfriend was a mature man that had been away for a few months and wanted to repent. We had already been talking to the girlfriend for a little while, but this was a first appointment with her boyfriend. We talked about Jesus and His Atonement. As we talked about His suffering in Gethsemane, we felt the love of God. After explaining the principles of repentance and baptism, it was clear that they both had the desire but that it would difficult due to time and their economic situation. They had told us that it would be possible to be baptized in a few months. However, my companion, con toda la fe, explained that as a representative of Christ we have to act in faith. He asked them if they would be baptized and married within the space of about 2 weeks. When he began the preach the gospel phrase of "Seguirá el ejemplo...", (follow the example of Jesus Christ) the Spirit poured itself upon us. Even thinking of that moment now I feel it. We felt full of the Spirit and that this was right. We didn’t know how we would do it nor how the marriage process works or how we would get the money to do it. But we had the faith the tell them that "Yes you can repent. You can be clean again. You can change. Jesus does love you.” It is real. The glory of God was manifested to us and I could see what it meant to our dear friends in that moment. 

We followed that lesson with a visit to the family that we had talked to previously about families and temples. We sat with them in the construction site that the father watched over. We sat on our scuffed up metal chairs with the near by street lamp lighting our faces. The father has the desire to bless his family and to finally receive the peace he has been looking for. He grew up in a difficult family situation that his own father as well grew up in. The mother as well wanted to help their 3 young energetic and smiley kids have the best future they could despite doubts in the fact that two gringos were speaking to them. As we explained the chains they could break free from for their families and build their "house" on the rock of Jesus Christ, we told them how they could do it through baptism. A similar Spirit guided us to show them how they could be baptized as a family and could be with their children forever. It gave them hope. They have since then been changing in their personalities and priorities. They seem a bit more happy each time that we get to visit them. 

We followed that special day with others like it, having the faith to show our friends it's possible to receive these blessings and how to get them. It became more natural to offer these ideas to our friends and people we had just met. 

I love the joy I feel from these people and their own joy. I love rejoicing with them over their new temples that will be finally built in their own cities. This is the time of Mexico. 

Que hermoso día en Sonora 

Elder d'Eveghhhhnay