Week Two in the Field: What a joy it is to labor in the Lord´s Vineyard!

We´ll go to the poor, like our captain of old

And visit the weary, the hungry, and cold

We´ll cheer up their hearts with the news that he bore

And point them to Zion and life evermore. 

What a joy it is to labor in the Lord´s Vineyard! This week we observed a miracle from the Lord. One of our investigators, Hermana Yoly, recently had her mother and son baptized into the church. She however,was not convinced of our message. She basically said it would take a miracle for her to be baptized.

Then we recieved a text message from her. She got the answer she needed from the Lord. 

She´s getting baptized.

Things are also going well with our investigator Cristino Garcia. He is the one who lives in very poor conditions in a papaya orchard. The other day we visited him and his 12 year old son José at 6PM and the sun had already set. They have no lights in their home and were eating what meager food they had in complete darkness. We brought a flashlight and were able to have a visit with them. At the end of our visit we asked little José if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and enter the water of baptism. He said yes and we asked him who his example was in that decision. He replied that he was following in the footsteps of his father.

Cristino is a man without a job. His son works everyday to provide for the family. And yet, José still considers his dad to be his greatest example. 

Cristino began to cry and shared with us how much his son meant to him. This Sunday we went to pick them up to come to church and they weren´t home. We were so worried but felt overwhelming joy when we realized they were at their neighbors house, inviting them to come to church too.

I bear my witness that the church is true and the blessings of the Gospel extend to everyone. Whatever injustice we see in the world is made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. God answers prayers. The heavens are open and God speaks to man. Our Savior has unlocked the gates of Heaven and let us in. These things I have come to know for myself. You too can learn of these things through faithful prayer. God loves you and wants the best for you!

Love,

Elder Dawson

(Questions from Mom's email)

Has your district started the English classes in your chapel?

Yes. We had 12 people come the first week! We taught the alphabet and greetings.

Will you have to teach every Saturday?  

Yes, from 10 AM to 12 AM

Was the Office game left in your house or did you buy it?

My companion bought it before I came here. He thought it was just like a board game so I had to explain to him what the office was.

Are your shirts staying pretty white or do you need some more?

The lady who cleans them gets them super white so Im good.

Do you want me to send you a backpack or is your shoulder bag OK?

I am going to buy a backpack here I think. They're cheap.

I'll send you some beef jerky.  What else would you like?  I'm getting things together to send you for Christmas.  Do you need more music, t-shirts, ties, books?

Maybe a recipe book? No one here has ever had things like chocolate chip cookies and its always appreciated if you bring something from America to someones Family Home Evening.

Are you tired of the rain or are you use to it?

Hasn't been raining too much and I always carry my umbrella with me so it turns out okay.

I neglected to thank you last week for the Greenie package. Thank you so much! I have a lot to do during my emailing time and so sometimes I forget. That was great though. Thank you for thinking of me and spending time to put things together. I shared a lot of the stuff with my investigators, people think its so funny that we literally eat meat as a snack in the US and stuff. I cant speak as fluently as I would like but its nice to show love with a little gift.

Thanks for your love and support!

(Questions/comments from Dad's email)

We want to make chocolate chip cookies today for P day but we do not have a recipe. If you could send us one that would be great. Thank you!

My favorite meal is probably fried chicken. People here eat an obscene amount of fried chicken, its great haha. We also had tamales at an investigators house the other day and those were good.

This is at a River in our area, I think its called Rio Lobos.