breaking up is hard to do

and it's even worse in the mission field. One of my investigators, who reminds me EXACTLY of bianca flores, dropped us the other night. Well, more like, her mom doesn't want us to teach her anymore. It's a long story, but my heart sunk when I found out. I think mostly because she reminds me so much of Bianca, it was really hard to say goodbye. I walked away knowing she'll be taught again though. I wrote a huge note on her progress record telling future missionaries to go back and teach her. If I'm not still here. But I have a little bit of peace in my heart knowing that she loves and wants the temple. She'll get there some day.

 

This by no means is meant to be a sad email, because it's NOT... because like the good ol' Liz Phair song says, "isn't this the best part of breaking up, finding someone else you can't get enough of? someone who wants to be with you too"

 

yay cheesy love songs.

 

That same night we had a first lesson with this guy named Engles. He's from the dominican republic, here for baseball. He's had a nuts life. We started talking about faith and repentance and his whole life spilled on our laps. He's been arrested over 20 times, been a drug dealer of all the hard and nasty stuff, been declared dead once or twice in the hospital and came back, and has huge scars from being stabbed and all that other goary stuff. There's soooooooooooooo much more, but you get the point. We had a super powerful first vision and committed him to baptism. He said he wants to get into this. And he wants to be baptized. The thing is, when all his bad stuff happened, his mom started doing vodu like sacrificing chickens and nuts stuff like that, and suddenly everything started working out. She wants him to be baptized into her beliefs now.

 

I'm fighting with vodu now. This could get tricky.

 

but he's a stud, and I have a super good feeling about him. He said as we were leaving "I've seen missionaries around in the D.R. and mexico everywhere I go...and I always wondered, why don't they talk to me. am I not good enough? they talk to everyone else...why wont they talk to me?"

 

And then we found him.

 

it's cool stories like that where you hear people say, "the missionaries just showed up, and I didn't even see them coming or leaving. they just magically appeared."

well I now know how that happens.

1) the spirit guides you

or 2) which is much more common, you hide behind walls to make a contact seem nonchalant.

 

but really. my previous stalking skills are realling coming in handy :)

 

We also met a guy named Antonio. He's 26 and just moved here from Nicoragua. right when I met him he told me he had a dream almost exactly like Lehi's dream. at the end he said he was being led to the "living waters" and so many things were holding him back and he was scared but he knew he had to go.

then we showed up.

I'm like "what more of a sign do you need? you have a dream, which is almost exactly like one we show you in the book of mormon. it's about you going to the living waters, which is Jesus Christ. You have two girls show up on your door right after talking about Christ and baptism, and one of them just happens to have the name Waters."

that's almost as good as a flashing neon sign.

I didn't say that naturally. it's a bit more difficult to convey in spanish :) but I was sure thinking it.

He's super stoaked about church, and he says he wants to be a missionary too. We just need to work out the whole working on sunday thing.

 

to add ontop of my giddiness, I HAVE MY VIOLIN! while Hermana Wheatley was getting ready for bed I just played for about an hour. it felt SO GOOD. I never would have thought that I would miss it so much, and I'm already being asked to play for things. I know music converts, so i'm hopefully I'm intune enough to bring the spirit. (pun totally intended) But thank you so much for making that work out with Kelly Killpack! and I LOVED the package(s) and post cards.

 

Sounds like everyone is doing pretty fantastic. The snow sounds awesome. We have had some rain, and a few of us (ok, the Hoyos and I) are praying for snow, so I can teach them how to make snowmen..it's a weird thought that these kids have never seen it! Keep praying for miracles. I KNOW they can happen, they happen everyday, and most of the time we fail to recognize them.

be safe. be happy. pray.

love you all

love,

hermana aguas