THREE Families in Harmony with the Lord

In this weeks email I wanted to tell you about the THREE families we are getting ready for baptism this month; First off the Martinez family. Jorge and Hermalinda live in the poorest part of our area and it has really been a humbling experience working with them. They have so little and yet are sacrificing so much to live the Gospel. We actually met them thanks to the branch President and we have been working with them for about two months now. They are going to get married September 23 and then enter the waters of baptism September 27. They have a huge family of about eight kids. It’s so much fun when we teach them, because when we arrive all of the little kids go running through the house yelling “MAMA, LOS HERMANOS”. The kids are big fans of the magic tricks you guys sent me, so thanks again for those. But I have really seen the way the Gospel touches the hearts of those who are ready to receive it with the Martinez Family. They tell us everyday just how happy and excited they are to finally be putting their lives in harmony with the Lord.

We received a reference from the Bishops wife last week of one of her friends who isn’t married but her and her boyfriends are excited about tying the knot. When we arrived to meet them, they were in a hurry and were heading out the door. So we made an appointment to return, but after they left we began talking with her parents. Eliseo and Hercilia are in their 50s and are definitely a cute little couple. We began talking with them and we found out that they weren’t married as well. We began to teach them about Matrimony and all of the blessing that the Lord has ready for them if they are will to obey this commandment and get married. We began to explain to them about the “Matrimonio Massivo” that we are getting ready and they both instantly told us, “Yeah lets do it, what do we have to do” We were definitely excited to get them ready to get married but it wasn’t until our next appointment that we began to teach them about the Restored Gospel. We taught them the first lesson and Elder Salvatierra and I both felt that they were ready to be challenged to baptism. We challenged them and they both accepted to get married September 27. They both came to church yesterday and afterwards they told us about how they hadn’t felt so sure about anything until we challenged them to be baptized and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. Eliseo always has a handful of questions but he has received an answer to his prayers and the two of them are progressing together. This family, the Marin Family, is what every missionary prays for, and I am so thankful I have the opportunity to help them along.

The last couple is the Rios Family. Wader and Rosa aren’t your typical jungle couple, mainly because THEY ARE ALREADY MARRIED. I know, crazy isn’t it, but it’s true. Their kids are already members but for some reason the missionaries that were here a long time ago didn’t teach the parents. So here we are cleaning up what some bum missionary didn’t do, lol. But the two of them are really excited. Wader came to church yesterday and after Sacrament Meeting, I leaned over to him and asked him how he felt and if he had any questions. He was silent for a moment and then he told me “I know now more than ever that this is the only true church on the earth” I smiled and agreed with him. They are going to get baptized September 20. They truth is definitely going forward even here in the Jungles of Peru.