Heartbreak

Marko January 14, 2013 1 Comment

Dear Family and Friends

Well, another week has come and gone. I really can’t believe it! time goes by so fast. It’s been raining here for the past month straight. There is so much rain! There is mud everywhere and there’s been a lot of flooding. It’s gone back and forth from being really hot and muggy and wet or being really cold and muggy and wet. There really is no in-between. Texas is weird! But I like the rain so all’s good!

Trying to Find new Investigators

Well we have been doing a lot of finding lately, which means knocking our eyes out (but I love knocking) but we have also been trying to work through the members because everyone knows that is the best way to find new investigators. We have tried teaching a couple of part-member families. There have been some uncomfortable situations, and we have gotten rejected pretty hard, but we have gotten a couple of referrals from some families so that’s good!

People are not Progressing Fast

For a while, the only person we have really had progressing has been Juan Padilla. Outside of him, we had a ton of names on our board that we have taught once or twice but they just don’t go anywhere. We are teaching a ton of first lessons and getting a ton of new investigators but they just aren’t going anywhere. I guess that’s just the story when you serve a Spanish-speaking mission. People don’t have the guts to tell you no the first time but then they just ignore you after. Oh well.

We Found Maira Again!

We have started to see a couple of those people rise up to the surface though. We are starting to get a couple people that seem to have more potential. First of all, we found Maira this week at her job, a little Mexican taco restaurant. She moved and her phone was turned off, but she was really happy to see us. She said she’s been reading and right now isn’t a good time to see us but she is moving into her own place by the end of the month and we can come by then and teach her.

Camelia Chavez

Also there is a lady named Camelia Chavez. She is a mother of four teenage boys who really worry her. Especially her youngest one. He is always out on the street. She works three jobs to take care of her family. She only gets five hours of sleep and it’s during the day. But she still makes time to meet with us. Yesterday, as soon as work was over she went home and made lunch for her family and booked it over to church.

She only made it to the last 20 minutes of sacrament meeting (our meetings are backwards here. Sacrament is last). The speaker wasn’t the greatest. It was kind of a weird talk. He was just rambling and going off on tangents. Plus, he was speaking in English, so it was being translated by a member into Spanish. And it wasn’t being translated very well. Plus, there was lots of kids and they were going crazy. It was just really loud and distracting and the talk wasn’t the best. I was just praying, “Lord, please help Camelia feel the spirit. This is probably really different than any other church she has seen. We are in a bank for crying out loud. There are kids screaming, and I have no idea what this speaker is talking about. Just please, help him talk more about the Gospel and more than anything, help Camelia feel something.” I prayed over and over that she would feel the spirit, even though things were going crazy around us.

The last hymn was called to serve, which in Spanish has four verses. by the last verse, I saw her wiping the tears off of her cheeks. The Lord answered the prayer.

She is a really sweet lady. She has been listening to us intently and the members did a really good job of fellowshipping her after church. It’s always awkward when someone comes to church for the first time. But it went well.

Beto and Yaneth

Beto and Yaneth, they are still bosses. That’s all I need to say about them. We are teaching her aunt now.

Juan Padilla

As for Juan Padilla…. man my heart is breaking over him. I think I have said this before, but it’s just insane how on a mission you leave behind everything and everyone you love but you find new things and people to love. But with that, come some of the deepest heartbreaks I have ever felt. If you know me, you know how much I love sports. The only thing I can compare this sort of heartache to is the way I used to feel when BYU would lose a big game. haha I know it sounds stupid, but that’s what it’s like. Except this is worse.

Juan… there are lyrics from a song I really liked back home that describe his situation well. “caught up in the crossfire of heaven and hell, and searching for shelter.”

On Tuesday, we had a lesson with him that I thought that Elder Jones and I prepared very well. We read from Mosiah 18:7-11^[1]. We focused it more on his desire and less on the things that are holding him back. We read this and we asked him, “do you feel these things? Do you have this desire?” he said yes! So I asked him, “then Juan, what have you against being baptized? What would hold you back from getting baptized tonight?”

There was silence for what must have been at least five minutes. No one said anything. Juan just looked down. I thought we finally broke through. I thought we finally did it. I was waiting for him to tell us that he was ready and that we were right and that he felt the spirit and was going to be baptized.

When he finally looked up he told us that he just can’ t commit right now. Maybe he will get baptized, and it is “likely” but he just can’t commit to the date of the 26th. He said “maybe that day will come and I’ll just decide to do it. But I can’t promise you.” We all know what that means. I started telling him that this isn’t between him and his wife or him and Armando his brother in law, it’s not even between him and us. It’s him and the Lord. He got a little defensive and said that he knows all that, but we just need to stop pushing him and have more patience. Little by little he keeps saying. There come the little heartaches.

Yesterday, the Maldonado’s came to church without him. Juan had woken up that morning and decided he didn’t want to go to church. “Just forget about him elder,” said Hermano. Maldonado. “if he doesn’t want to change, just leave him.” His wife disagreed and said that we should keep pushing him until he tells us he isn’t interested anymore. But they told us that if they hadn’t taken the truck to come to church, Juan and his wife would have gone to catholic church.

Juan’s 8 year old daughter, Jaqueline, loves coming to church and loves primary. She has been reading and praying with the Maldonado family too. But they said that this week she stopped doing all that. Hermana Maldonado asked her if she still wanted to go to church and she said “I want to go to catholic church.” But hermana Maldonado said that she was way sad. She said you could tell someone told her to say that. I think we just need to have a sitdown with Juan’s wife. The business we are in isn’t always a joyful one, I’m sorry to say. There are some pretty hard moments. You have this feeling that you would do anything for people. and I mean ANYTHING! I have never been able to say that about someone or something before. I would do anything for some of the people we teach. If only they could just SEE. I would do anything..anything..anything. That’s what makes it so easy to have your heart broken I guess. we will see what happens with him. will keep you posted.

On Saturday we got to drive out to Houston to listen to Elder Ballard speak to us. It was pretty sweet!

Well sorry for the novel. Hope y’all are doing good. Love y’all!

Carlos

p.s. Elder Viitanen could get changed into an English speaking missionary?!?!?!?!??!?!!??!?!?!?!?!!?

 

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