All Is Well . . . All Is Well

Well, no complaints at all this week, it was a very, very good week!!! 

We are seeing the most miracles that I have ever seen in my mission. Starting off we had a baptism, Veronica Mera De La Cruz. It's a funny story, but we had found her daughter last transfer but never really progressed and we could never find her so we just dropped her. A couple weeks later she ended up writing us and asking us when we could pass by. We passed by and tried to teach the whole entire family, and Veronica the mom was there every time. We had invited her to be baptized and she was doubtful at first but she accepted to be baptized and got baptized this past Sunday!

Then we had another miracle with our recent convert Marcos. A while back he had his señora, I have no idea what other word to use other than señora, anyways his señora left him before we got here and he was really sad but ended up getting baptized. Over the weeks the relationship between the two was just getting worse and worse, until Marcos told us she was coming back. At first we didn't believe him and the whole entire time after his baptism he would always tell us he wants his señora and daughter back. 

Friday morning we went to visit him and he tells us that she is coming back and we still didn't believe him. We felt impressed to read Ether 12 about faith and Miracles and well, she came back. We taught them on Saturday and she told us that she doesn't want to leave her family ever again.  She was working out in the peninsula and two hermanas, while she was working, came up to her and started to teach her about repentance and how she really could get her family back and she took that as her answer and immediately came back. Our minds were blown and it was a very tender spiritual moment as she was telling us that. 

Anyways my personal studies have also been going crazy, heres a quote that I found. 

Hesed is a unique term describing a covenant relationship in which both parties are bound to be loyal and faithful to each other. …

Hesed is a special kind of love and mercy that God feels for and extends to those who have made a covenant with Him. And we reciprocate with hesed for Him.

Because God has hesed for those who have covenanted with Him, He will love them. He will continue to work with them and offer them opportunities to change. He will forgive them when they repent. And should they stray, He will help them find their way back to Him.

Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together. Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart. He has high hopes for us. …

It's a very long quote, but learning more about Covenants, the Abrahamic Covenant, and how Jesus Christ is the center of every covenant we make has made the way I teach baptism and think about covenants differently. 

Miss you all,

Elder Roper 

Another Week . . .

 

Proved and Strengthened in Christ

Another kind of normal week down here in the Playa . . .

This week we had zone conference, it was very weird considering this was my last zone conference and didn't really feel like it. We had zone conference in the first week of the transfer which is pretty weird. In the conference the Taylor's gave us a picture book to help us teach the people here. It is super helpful. I also gave my final testiomony, it was weird since it was the first day of the transfer but it was still cool to share my testimony in front of everyone. 

Then in this week we were planning of having a baptism, but we also knew that we could squeeze a baptism out. There is this family that we were preparing for baptism but the one son that was going to be baptized disappeared and so we knew we could baptize the 9 year old daughter. After trying to teach them all week and finally teaching them Friday, Dana or the 9 year old girl accepted to be baptized. She nailed the interview questions and everything but sadly the next day, her dad who is an inactive member and doesn't even live in the house said it was too early for her to be baptized and saying that she wasn't ready. 

I still think she will be baptized soon but we will see what happens. Honestly there isn't anyting new going on or anything else really crazy. Elder Boxx, one of the Elders we live with, told me during church that both companionships in the 8 weeks we have been here have baptized 15 people total. That is the most I have baptized in my mission. I can surely testify that the Lord is hastening His work and is going before us preparing His children. 

In my personal study I found these scriptures in Isaiah 40:29-31:

29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

As we wait on the Lord, we can expect to receive strength that we have never received before! 

Miss you all,

Elder Roper 

On This Day of Joy and Gladness

Well . . . another week here in the beautiful playa!! 

Beginning this week we had planned to have 3 baptisms. We had these two kids of a recent convert who wanted to be baptized and another joven que se llama Jose Luis. Honestly the week was going really well and then suddenly the dad of the two kids, Kevin, asked us when he could be baptized. He has had a problem with alcohol for some time now and never really has been able to drop it. He has always asked us how he could change his life around but could never really get through to his baptism. 

Anyways we hadn't seem him for a little awhile and all of a sudden he was there on Tuesday night and we asked the kids - Kefren and Kenneth, about their baptism. Kevin at the end of the lesson asked when he could be baptized too! We had originally told him that it would be the 9th but as soon we got home we felt like he could be baptized on the 2nd. So Kevin with his kids ended up being baptized this Sunday, completing the family!!!   

Jose Luis the other baptism that we had planned, was doing great. We had taught him Wednesday night and went through the baptismal interview questions and then Thursday was supposed to be his interview but he just dissapeared. His mom told us that he went to work and 4 days later he still doesnt show up at his house.

Anyways this week was a very solid week, we were able to find this really cool family, the mom was baptized a really long time ago and no one else in the family are members. I hope they can come to church and then we could help the kids be baptized! 

Pretty crazy that I am starting the last transfer of my mission.  I know these last 6 weeks are going to fly.

Miss you guys all 

Elder Roper 

How 'bout them Utes!!!!! 🙌