Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission -Elder Jensen: Changing Tires and Changing Lives

Changing the tire before going to the baptism.

Dear Family,

What a great week! I think I really am starting to enjoy more and more each week that goes by as I learn to love these people even more and more!

This past week I had the amazing opportunity to be part of two more baptisms! J. and J. were baptized this past Saturday! It was pretty much a huge blessing from the Lord because they have cousins and aunts and uncles who are members of our congregation and one Sunday they just showed up in the Sacrament Meeting. We got to meet them a couple weeks ago and started to teach them and saw that they both have such a special spirit and desire to follow Christ the best they can. They want to keep the commandments the best they can and they really enjoyed their baptism (me too!). I just really love the people here in my new area. It seems like so many people have been prepared by the Lord and they really are so willing to listen to what the Lord tells them and follow their Savior the best they can. I really hope that I get to be here for a good amount of time and help as many people as I can to have their lives changed forever as they make promises with their Heavenly Father and follow Christ.

The baptism itself was also a miracle because as I mentioned, Santo Domingo is a little separated from everything. There is one member who is a recent convert (actually almost all the members are recent converts) who has a truck but as he came to pick us all up to go to the chapel for the baptism, his tire popped. Luckily in Santo Domingo there is a gas station so we stopped there (the truck barely made it) and the member and the two of us missionaries had to change the tire. It was actually pretty fun despite the little bit of stress. The good thing was that we had told everyone an hour early for the service because everyone shows up late to everything and with that extra hour we got where we needed on time with the spare tire and everything! It was a pretty cool blessing!

For a little interesting side note this week I found some cool stuff in one of the Megapacas. The paca´s are basically just goodwill shops that are all over the place but there are a couple that are really big and like a Goodwill store in the states. I have already bought really nice Ecco shoes at one of these stors and today I found some cool stuff that I didn´t buy but I enjoyed. We elders always look for ties and today at the Megapaca there was a BYU tie and also U of U tie right next to each other! The other fun thing was a big plaque to hang up on the wall to do a Family Home Evening! It had Song, Prayer, Scripture, Lesson, Activity, Refreshments and all that stuff on it! Also there were some church CDs and some CTR ties. Who knows what you can find in those places!?

I am really enjoying my time here in my new area. Also my companion, Elder Banegas is really helping me to learn a lot. He has had some so many awesome experiences and has amazing advice to help me really get more out of this experience and really work closer with the Lord. Recently we have been doing something really awesome. We have been pleading with the Lord each day that he will guide us to a family that we can teach. A father, mother, and children that we can teach and a family that can one day be sealed in the temple and be together after this life. We are asking for this almost in every prayer and doing our best to act in faith and show the Lord through our works that we really want this amazing blessing to teach a family. The Lord is really helping me to have this goal in my mind and not have fear in talking to whatever family that we see or meet and offer them the greatest blessings that the Lord has for his children. It really is such a cool thing to plead to the Lord and know that if we have faith, show the Lord this desire with our works, and search for his guidance, that this miracle can really happen and a family can be sealed in the temple one day. I really am learning more and more how I must not do this all on my own, but seek the Lord´s guidance in all that I do and let him do the work as I am his hands.

I am excited for another week in the Lords work! This week we will have another baptism of a 16 year old youth named B. We have been teaching him for these couple weeks and he really asks us amazing questions and is really learning and living the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He even wants to be a missionary some day! I am so grateful to be here serving the Lord and learning so much about how he loves each one of us!

Love,

Elder Jensen