The Lord Guides His Work

 

Well, this week we had changes. But we don't have any changes, so nothing has changed. I'm still in Vivaceta with Elder Mateos, from Uruguay. 

I guess the coolest thing that happened this week started out with a mini disaster. But I'll start out with a little background information. Nicolás has been reluctant to speak with his parents about his decision to be baptized, because they don't really approve. We have always taught him in members' homes or in the church so as to avoid causing any problems for him at home. 

About a week ago, I randomly had a dream that we went to his house, spoke with his parents, and everything turned out fine, they didn't reject us, and we left on good terms. We had never even thought or talked about going to his house.  

On Saturday, we had a barbecue with some members. They got home a little late, so they got lunch started a little bit late. While we were eating lunch, my companion was playing around with the phone and accidentally put in the wrong security code and so now our sim card is blocked. SIM Rechazada. 

We took a taxi to the church, hoping that Nicolás would be there... but he wasn't. On our way to our apartment to find the zone leaders' number so we could call them with a payphone, we passed the street where Nicolás lives. I felt the impression that we should pass by his house. I kind of brushed it off, because we've never been invited to his house. But as we kept walking, the impression got stronger and stronger. 

When we got to the house I prayed and asked God directly if what I was feeling was real and if we should pass by his house. The dream that I had had the week before popped back into my head and also I felt strongly in that moment that we should go there right away and not worry about the problem with the phone. So I asked my companion what he thought. He was a little preoccupied with the phone, but later he told me he felt prompted that he should support me, which he did.

When we knocked on his door, he immediately invited us into his house... not what we were expecting or planning to do. He asked us if we thought it would be a good idea to invite his parents to speak with us. We didn't really have time to answer him before he ran upstairs to talk to his mom. 

The unplanned and unexpected meeting with the parents started out a little contentious. We kept quiet and patient for quite a while, responding every once in a while when there was time to respond. We shared with them what the Spirit told us to share, and everything turned out alright. We left on better terms than what we started with.

The next day, after Stake Conference, Nicolás set the hour of his baptism with the bishop for Saturday at 5 o'clock, and asked one of the senior missionaries (Elder Gomez) to baptize him.  

It was amazing to see his faith as he told his parents that he has already made the decision to be baptized, and that as he has lived our religion for three months, he knows it's not a cult that they should fear. He knows that if we ask God, He will answer us. We invited them to ask God if what he's doing is right. They're good people and I'm sure in the future we will be able to share the gospel with them, because Nicolás will be a great example to them. 

We saw many miracles that night, all because we chose to follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost. 

Elder Garrett