Week 63/76 What Do You Have? A Knife! No!

This is gonna be a long one... lo siento.

This week we had 2 intercambios between a zone conference, leadership council, and zone council. All the while trying to invite our friends to be baptized, come to church, plan Ana's baptism, and find new friends to teach. 

So yeah, we were just about completely wiped and found a few minutes to nap whenever we could throughout the day. 

We had to conduct zone conference. It was more complicated than I thought it would be. There was a miscommunication with the counselors and how long they had to talk, and then the APs presentation went 45 minutes long, and the whole schedule was off. We tried everything to stay at least close to on time but it looked hopeless when 1 o'clock rolled around and our mission president and his wife hadn't spoken yet, but in the end, President only ended like 5 minutes later than we expected, que milagro!! 

My first intercambio of the week was in a sector called Santa Sabina, with hermana Quintero. We only had a few hours but we spent it well. We met some unlikely friends in some street contacts, and even though they didn't look the part, they seemed very interested in our messages. Unfortunately our last contact of the day was a very catholic old lady who didn't appreciate it when I explained that we get the Holy Ghost only after we are baptized in the true church. Sorry. 

My first Leadership council! It was just like another mini zone conference. Then we had lunch together, and apparently because it's the end of the year they have to use up the budget, so we had some rico hamburgers, and cake!! 

After the council, we were working like normal and as we got to a members house my companion recieved an email asking for the closest airport for her flight home! Ahhh!!!! Shortly after, I received the same email, how has the time flown by so quickly :( at least it made my mom happy! 

Then we had zone council, and it went really well. We used a puzzle that my mom sent me a few months ago to teach about the vision and unity, and I think everyone liked it. The office elders brought us 16 boxes of 36 copies of the book of mormon in each box. And while we are grateful for the books, it takes arm workouts to a new level when you have to carry the heavy box across the city of concepción. 

We had our second intercambio of the week, and I got to go back to collao! 

I never thought a sector could change so much in one year. But me and Hermana Hales had a great day! I got to see some old member friends and we invited a mom, daughter, and cousin all the be baptized. Then the next day after we finished our intercambio, Hermana Hales and her companion put another friend on date! Vamos!!!

We got home on Saturday just muertos. But the work continues. We left the house on Saturday with 2 friends committed to come to church and finished the day with only 1. 

Our friend Sonel was basically like, "why do I need to be baptized if I was already baptized, I don't believe in religion, and all the churches are the same?" We have taught the Restoration like 4 times, in Spanish and in Creole. He's also come to church twice. It might still be a language barrier thing, but I don't know how many more times my companion could have said the words "power and authority of God" and have him still not get it. 

Finally we got to Sunday. Our friend Ana accidently slept in and didn't make it to church, but it was probably better that she didn't, because we only had to worry about our situation and not an amigo too. 

Basically we are sitting on the bench, the testimonies are starting, we are still waiting to see if Ana will show up, and my companion writes out a text "I think I just saw M." 

Ok, context. M was a guy in the street who talked with the missionaries before I got here. I never met him, but we did receive various strange messages, actually like lots of strange messages from him. Sin embargo, during intercambios on Tuesday the hermanas had a videocall and actually put him on date! But as the week went on and the strangness of the messages turned into insults of our spanish, and what seemed like gibberish, we decided maybe it'd be better to take him off date, stop teaching him, and put a warning in his contact for future missionaries. 

So then he shows up at the church building, and the elders (unknowingly of the situation) invited him in. He sat down at the back of the room, and me and my companion were like "oh no, we blocked him and now he's at church, How embarrassing! Should we talk to him?" Then we received a message from one of the counselors saying that our unexpected friend had a knife!

We contacted our mission president and moved to sit by the elders. Then we spent all of sacrament nervously waiting and praying. It was a very long hour, and the testimonies were in one ear and out the other. Luckily he left before the hour ended, and we were extra careful to not be alone and we went with members to our lunch appointment. Everyone is ok, we are going to keep being careful, and por si a caso, our friend Jesus leads a motorcycle gang and already swore to protect us from any danger, and he's coming to church with us next week! 

Apart from that, it was a great week, and I wanted to end with a little tender mercy I saw in the midst of a chaotic weekend. 

In my personal study on Sunday morning I read some verses that really helped me. 

"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. And he said unto Alma: Thou shalt go before this people, and I will go with thee and deliver this people out of bondage." Mosiah 24:13,17

In spanish the word deliver translates to librar which means 'to free'. He will free us from bondage, danger, disappointment, sadness, stress, weakness, and everything! I love that in verse 17 it says that He will go with us. We aren't alone. Christ is always there and willing to free us from captivity and to stay by our side. 

You know that feeling when you've been wearing something for a long time, like a watch, or some type of jewelry, and suddenly you don't have it and it feels like something is missing? On Friday I realized that I had misplaced a small ring I bought from a street vendor a few weeks ago. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I did like the ring, and I bought it in my old sector so I didn't know when I'd be able to get a replacement. I had search everywhere, but between the conferences, councils, and intercambios in different sectors, I figured it got lost in transit. 

Then after our crazy Sunday scare, the Lord knew I needed some assurance.

As we skeptically went to the streets again to visit other amigos, I grabbed my cardigan and we headed off. As we walked, I reached into the pocket of my cardigan and found my little ring not lost but left in my pocket. 

I know that the Lord was walking with us then and that he sat by my side as I shuddered in sacrament meeting. He showed me that I was never alone, I've never been alone, and that I never will be.

I love you all so much! Have a safe week! 

- Hermana Pratt