Welp, sorry for not writing emails for the past couple of weeks, we have had some busy p days and has been hard to find time to get the email out.
4 Weeks into the 7 week transfer and we are doing pretty good. We were able to actually have people come to church which has been a struggle these past couple of weeks and we have been trying to invite everyone to church and those who listen to us to baptism. This has been a newish look from President Taylor, but we simply achieve our missionary purpose better by inviting ALL to church and to baptism. It's been interesting to see the growth in the mission.
Also, something that is very interesting in this sector or just the Isla Trinitaria is that there is an energy or something here that is not anywhere else in Guayaquil. We went to the suburbio or just a little northern and it just felt a lot more peaceful and a better vibe and then coming back to the Isla was just kind of a weird energy to it. It's a very weird vibe and you have to be here to feel it haha. Although it is cool because as missionaries or even members of Christ's church we can share so much light which the people and see people's faces light up even when we just say buenas tardes or invite them to church.
President Taylor has really focused on the power of our calling. He has helped me realize that in our sectors, especially in mine, we carry a very strong and powerful spirit that the people recognize from us being the Lord's servant. We had interviews with him and he simply explained that Elder Westover and I are the only ones that can truly share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the only ones that can invite people to be baptized and receive a remission of their sins. It was a very good interview. We read 1 Nephi 18 where Nephi gets tied up on the boat and he had realized that this wasn't the first time Nephi was tied up. Nephi was writing this looking back on it and probably thought in that moment that the bands were going to be loosed immediately how they had been before. But in verse 11 I think it mentions that the Lord let Nephi be tied up to show the Will and Power of the Lord. Something very interesting to apply to our own lives.
Anyway, that's all for this week, it has been a busy week and a busy p day playing soccer in the hot sun in the surburbio. I got to see a couple of older buddies in the mission and even my trainer who's a dawg.
Have a great 24th of July for me!
Love you guys!
Elder Roper
