Elder
Alor is leaving tomorrow and my new companion's name will be Elder Marinez (or
something like that). I'm staying in Xanath.
Juana's
baptism didn't come easy. She lives in a little community outside of Papantla
and they have dirt roads. It rained hard the day of her scheduled baptism and
the next day (Friday and Saturday) so we had to ask permission to baptize her
on Sunday before the meeting (which is at 9). We got that permission Saturday
at 9 PMish. So we made the necessary calls and set an alarm for 4 AM so we
could fill the font. We got up at 4 and walked to the church (which in
retrospect probably wasn't safe, but hindsight is 20/20). We tried to turn on
the boiler so the water would be warm and.... no gas. So we walked back to our
house, grabbed a little metal heater for heating water in buckets and got ready
for church because we weren't going to be coming back. When we got back to the
church we tried to warm one bucket at a time for a few hours, but that didn't
do a thing to an entire font of water so it was still really cold. What's more
is that Juana and her family didn't get to church until 8:30ish so we had to
rush everything. We talked to her son about the water because she's 88 and we
were worried the cold water would end more than just her life of sin, but he
said something to the effect of: "Oh don't worry, we live in a small town.
She bathes in cold water daily." So that was good. We had to baptize her
twice though because the first time she tried to grab the edge of the font as she
went under.
No
investigators came to church on Sunday so we have a lot of work to do this
week. We have a few investigators, but we'll have to go on a quest tomorrow to
see why nobody came to church.
District and Zone meetings are weekly. Splits
come when they're needed.
I've been studying the war chapters in Alma lately
and I was thinking about when Moroni writes Pahoran in anger about how the
government isn't helping to protect the freedom of the people. The reality is
that Pahoran couldn't help due to rebellion in Zarahemla and he himself was in
need. Moroni wrote with the intention of seeking help in protecting the people,
which is good, but he made assumptions about why someone else might not be
doing his part. We ought to keep that in mind when somebody else doesn't do
their part or seems not to want to help with something. We never know what
might be the reason for someone's lack. We shouldn't assume, but look for how
we might help them.
I
heard the Gummy Bear song this week in the street and I lost it. Elder Alor
thought I was nuts, but I found it funny.
We
had a super good chocolate cake this morning that a member gave us. I'm
starting to realize that even though I'm getting used to spicier foods, I don't
really like the taste of Jalapeños. The weather has been warm and somewhat
rainy.
My favorite part of the week was this morning. We were out and about
looking for a gift for José Emiliano because Elder Alor is leaving and we just
so happened to find José and his mom in the street looking for a present for
Elder Alor. I thought that was neat.
Love
you, Elder Finlinson
Juana's Baptism
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