Miracles in church...

This has been another week that has just flown by!  And, some awesome things have happened.  Brief recap - we had a ton of miracles in church!  We've had trainings all week long!  And many of our investigators are making progress!

First let me give you the update on the investigators:

First, Nelson, Marvin and Alba didn't come to church this week.  So, we went to their house the next day and told them that if they wouldn't keep their commitments, we wouldn't be able to help them come closer to Christ - they have to do their part!  We told them that we wouldn't be able to come anymore unless they first started coming to church.  So, that was the situation until yesterday.  Yesterday we were talking to a member on the phone (who made friends with Nelson one time when he came to church).  This member, out of the blue, decided to call Nelson this week!  They chatted for a little bit and the member asked if Nelson would be coming! Nelson replied that he was going to do everything that he could to come!  WOW!  The members here rock!  Our plan/hope is that Nelson comes this week to church, has an amazing spiritual experience, and feels the desire to get baptized.  Then, we'll start teaching him a lot again!

Next, Francisco has been doing alright.  He didn't come to church this past week - he didn't wake up.  We've tried, however, to work out some stuff.  So, between us and a member that lives close by, we should be able to help him get up and find his way to church this week.  It's super cool to see how willing he is to change.  He didn't quite understand the word of wisdom - for alcohol he thought the commandment was to not get drunk.  We clarified yesterday that he can't even take a drop into his body.  He accepted it immediately.  He had questions about why we had to worship and go to church on sunday.  We told him that it is what God wants.  He accepted immediately.  We're really hoping that he can continue to change!

Miriam is doing fantastic!  She came to church on sunday.  She got on a bus and wasn't exactly sure where to go.  But, on that bus was a member that she saw at the baptism!  The member helped her find her way to church!  Then, in church, she had a super spiritual experience!  In one of the talks that were given there was something shared in the scriptures that she had dreamed before ... related to baptism in the restored church!  In one of the songs she felt the spirit super strong and just bowed her head to pray.  Ever since she came to church and has began reading the Book of Mormon, she has been feeling a lot more peaceful and happy.  She has a desire to sing songs about Jesus (one of her colleagues at work got annoyed at that one...).  Coincidence? I think not!  It was the spirit!  She's making excellent progress and is loving all of the fruits that she is seeing!

Here was the huge miracle in church - Armando!  His 70 year old mom is a member of the church, and he decided to take her this week (he's not a member).  We pulled him aside after church and talked to him.  He said that he always feels great when he comes here - he doesn't really know what it is about this environment.  We tried to help him understand that this was the Spirit.  Do you want to feel like this always?  He responded "yes!"  We talked about baptism and confirmation (he was able to see Pilar's confirmation) and how those are the things that he needs to do in order to always have the spirit with him.  He accepted baptism!  We haven't been able to see him yet so far this week - our schedules haven't matched up.  But we'll see him tonight!

Pilar is doing great!  She went to the temple this week to do baptisms for the dead!  Here's what she told us afterward: "I felt the spirits of people that were waiting for me."  She is so awesome and spiritually sensitive!!!

Gianni is also doing better than ever.  A couple sundays ago we had to get on him for not coming to the "stake confence" broadcast -he had a bunch of excuses.  But, he realized that it was the wrong thing to do (a TON of things went wrong for him that day, and we opened up Preach My Gospel with him and read how when people disobey the sabbath, all aspects of life are influenced negatively).  Since that time, he has been on top of things.  They've finally started doing family home evening together (we've been trying for a while to help them do it)!

Unfortunately, this week we haven't had too much time to be with our investigators or find new ones - we've either been in other cities for the conferences and/or Anziano Osborn has been sick.  Fortunately, he's doing a ton better now.  We think it was just a combination of stress and not sleeping well built up for a long time that just erupted in bodily illness.  But, after a day of resting, he feels better.

The conferences this past week have been awesome!  I feel so blessed to be able to go to 4 of them because the things President Wolfgramm teaches are amazing!  Here's one quote that I want to share - it talks about the Holy Ghost: "It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, invigorates and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being" (Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of theology, 101).  I love that quote!  It helped remind me about how much I need help in my life and how much I want that others can have the same thing.  These truly are the blessings that come from the atonement through the Holy Ghost!  From these conferences I've been receiving a bunch of personal revelation on how to improve my prayers, why the doctrine of Christ is so crucial to me, and more about why I am here!

I've been continuing to try to do everything I can to be perfect.  And, well, I'm not.  But, I'm growing a ton!  This past week has been especially aweome because I feel like my desires are more pure than ever - everything is revolved around helping others come closer to christ and I'm not focusing hardly at all (like I said, I'm not perfect yet) on myself!  It was especially cool to try to serve, between both Anziano Osborn and I, all of the various missionaries in the mission and help them according to their current needs.  I've been seeing how crucial it is to plan, pray, and prepare to qualify for the spirit, and then do everything I can to make things happen.  My eyes have been opened to see better how much I lack.  But, somehow, God has always provided a way and has helped me a ton in serving His chiildren!

Yesterday, since Anziano Osborn was sick and bed-bound, I was able to have a very awesome personal study that lasted 4 hours!  It was one of the most edifying experiences I've ever had.  I was able to figure at where I'm at and set some goals to keep on improving.  It's so invigorating for me to see how far I've come and then see how far I yet have to go!

I love being a missionary because I love serving God and His children!

Vi voglio bene!

-Anziano Barnes