The Gift of Tongues and the Gift of Hands?

Hey!!!

The Gift of Tongues and the Gift of Hands?

I don't remember if I ever mentioned to you guys much about our investigator named Lizet.  She is an 11-year-old girl that comes from a family of less-active members.  I've only ever met her dad two times, but she's always with her grandparents.  Something interesting about her grandparents and many of her aunts, uncles, and cousins is that they can't talk or hear so they communicate with sign language.  We've always asked a Sister that knows sign language to accompany us to the lessons and translate for them (that was fun because when I first arrived with Elder Davies, he couldn't talk much Spanish, so he would tell me something in English, I would then tell it to the Sister in Spanish and she would say it to them in Sign Language :D  ).

Lizet has put a baptismal date several times before but they always fall because for some reason or another, she hasn't been able to keep coming to church.  For example, about a month ago, she had a baptismal date, but then she got really sick for like a week and had to miss church and couldn't meet with us and thus, couldn't get baptized.  So finally about two weeks ago, we got back in contact with her and started visiting her and we challenged her to pick a new baptismal date. 

Sunday afternoon I was on interchanges with Elder Harrison (The Assistant, lives in the same house as us and we do interchanges together a lot) and we passed by to visit her.  We didn't have the translating Sister there with us, so when they answered the door and I tried to motion towards the house and communicate that we wanted to visit Lizet.  Then Elder Harrison just starting signing a bunch of things to her.  I asked him how he learned Sign Language and he told me that he once taught a family like them.  So we taught the lesson and he was able to translate everything.  That inspired me to learn more than just the Hello, How are you?,  Good, Thank You, and Can we do a Prayer that I had known how to say.  Right after that lesson, I asked Elder Harrison to teach me, and I learned and memorized the whole alphabet and many other useful signs.  And it just stuck!   I feel like I was able to learn it all really quickly, as if I had already known it before.  Then I realized that  I was being blessed in my efforts of learning Sign Language.  I realized then that the Gift of Tongues was extending even further so that I am able to share the gospel with this family!  I am so grateful for the talents, abilities, gifts, and knowledge that the Lord blesses us with as missionaries so that we might become even greater instruments in His hands.  

Lizet told us that she has prayed and talked with her grandparents and her parents and that she feels that she should be baptized the 23 of April (in two weeks)!  I'm so Excited for her!

Investigators

Alejandro -  He is still progressing a lot.  He's the 22 year old that we found recently. He continues to come to church, to learn more about the gospel and leave behind his old way of life, and to build friendships with other members.   He has told us that he wants to get baptized and he's thinking about the 23rd or 30th of this month!!!  He has been one of the finest examples of a Golden Investigator that I have seen, never missing a week of church since we started visiting him and always willing to visit us very frequently.

Reyna - We've been visiting her since I got here in Coyoacan.  She got really close to baptism, then she decided that she wants to read more of the Book of Mormon before she gets baptized.  Then she kind of lost contact with us and quit going to church.  But just recently we found her again.  And we decided to start inviting her husband to listen to us too.  She always told us that her husband doesn't like religion and wouldn't want to hear from us and all that. But we invited him to hear us anyway.  And together, they came to General Conference on Sunday!  I'm so happy because I feel like now, the both of them can inspire and motivate the other and that they can progress together!

The Offices

The Offices are good, just very different.  It's still missionary work, but a different kind of work that someone's got to do.  It's been hard to adjust to not being able to teach so much.  We get to work about 4 hours a day in our area.  But I love what Brother McKenna sent me

"In all that we do, I really believe what the Lord said: "Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual" (D&C 29:34).  We live in a temporal world where we deal with things like money and balancing ledgers, etc., but everything we do can be made into a spiritual work that leads us and others to Christ.  And you are definitely doing that in all the spiritual and temporal duties you are fulfilling as a missionary."

That helped me out a lot.  And I feel like it's very true!  Although I might not be out there teaching, I'm helping the cause of missionary work through helping the other missionaries to have what they need (rent for a house and utilites, money for food and transportation, medical care, etc) so that the mission can keep working properly and everything can run smoothly.  

General Conference

General Conference was Amazing (as always)!!!  I especially loved the Priesthood Session, but all of the sessions were Awesome.  We went to the Stake Center in Tasqueña to watch the sessions.  I watched all of the sessions in English except for the Sunday morning one, because we had several investigators and members that came to watch it.  The church is true and the leaders of the Church really are men chosen by God to lead it!

Have a Wonderful Week!!! I Love You All!!!

Elder Jarrett