Hola Familia y amigos y random people who might be reading this,
This week we ran a marathon! Well, actually we just walked it. Missionaries who have cars or bikes don’t know what they are missing. This is a real mission!! haha. This new area is a hard one to work in with because half the houses are government centers, schools, or summer vacation homes that no one uses. So it’s been a little difficult to find people to talk to.
But with fasting and lots of prayer we were lead to a less active lady and her son’s family who were interested. We celebrated with hot dogs and took a picture with a giant snake in the restaurant. Don’t ask...
On Thanksgiving I had no expectations of a dinner or anything but my companion planned a dinner with new converts, a real American feast with turkey, sweet rice, applesauce, and hush puppies!! I was VERY pleased. Yeah!!!!!!
I love talking to people who were converted to the church. During lunch I heard this story from an older couple:
"It was a 1975 summer day in Santiago. We heard a big bang followed by a groan against our apartment door. We went to investigate and found two white teenage boys, with one of them lying down holding his head who mumbled 'would you...um, like to hear a message of Jesus?' We let the poor things in."
"We both liked their message but we weren’t convinced by it, until one night we received our confirmation by dream. In my dream I walked to my catholic church to pray to the virgin right outside. I knelt down to pray to the statue and as I looked up the once beautiful virgin I saw it had transformed into the devil himself. I ran and ran until I entered a building in which the devil could not enter past the doors. Turning, I saw a sign identifying the place: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."
"In my husband's dream God read from a book of beautiful scriptures he had never heard. He woke up and ran to the bathroom where he had placed the book left by the elders. As he read it for the first time he found the scriptures were word for word what he had heard in his dream. We were both baptized, sealed in the temple, and haven’t left the church since."
Wow, this work is full of miracles.
Speaking of miracles we taught an Evangelist pastor with our ward mission leader this week. He is a religious professor (and so is our mission leader haha.) We made sure it wasn’t contentious and he liked it so much we are going back in two weeks. But he kept saying, Well the Bible says...where is that in the Bible...we need no more Bible. How close people can be to the truth but be so blind to see that God is more than the Bible. It feels like I’m teaching calculus principles and someone says "well I already know algebra so I need no more knowledge." How great is this knowledge! I believe in a God who STILL talks with us and guides us like before. How can I be 19 and understand God’s nature better than a man who spent his whole life engulfed in the teachings of ancient prophets? Now I understand how poor Joseph Smith felt. :)
Everything is awesome,
Elder Phillips
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| Can't Believe I Did This!! |
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| So Fun! |
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| Look At This Beautiful Thanksgiving Turkey! |
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| Happy Thanksgiving! |
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| Most of Our District |
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| Having Fun |
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