Monday, August 20, 2018

August 20th,2018 Letter #41


Lili and Alfredo got baptized this weekend, but I don't have pictures of either of them. I'll get a picture of Lili's later on, but I didn't even get to go to Alfredo's baptism (I'll explain in a sec). Sasha will hopefully get baptized this weekend, but the plan is shaky right now. Lili and Alfredo were found within the last month or so, but Sasha has been around for a good while. Lili is 14 years old and is the neighbour of a member. She was pretty bold in pushing forward towards baptism because there was very very little family support, but she did it. Her family said that she will not be having a party for her 15th birthday (which in México is the most important of all birthdays for a girl). But she said it just made her sad for them that they would react that way and that she would still get baptized anyway. I had the privilege of baptizing her and it was a neat experience.

Alfredo is the boyfriend of a member and he's the most humble dude I've ever met. He's 16 and completely independent. He technically lives with his Grandma, but has responsibility for all of his costs. He accepted the Gospel extremely quickly and he trusts us a lot. He seems significantly happier now than when we first met him. 

Sasha is married to a member but comes from a Christian church background. She loved her old church and doesn't want to change, but feels that she should be at her husband's side so she's making the effort. But every week when she's goes to church she gets upset all over again and doesn't like the idea of joining. So we'll see what happens with her. 

We went to IHOP for Pday just to chill for a second because yesterday/last night was another one of those days. Around 4:30pm Elder Breinholt got a sharp and sudden pain in his abdomen that wouldn't go away so we went to the hospital and long story short he's doing better, but we're still not 100% sure what's wrong with him. The insurance that we have couldn't agree with the hospital staff so we didn't get a real room last night. I was therefore left with a metal stool to "sleep" on. Needless to say I think I managed about an hour of total time asleep last night. We had been on our way to Alfredo's baptism when it happened so that's why we missed it. I called the Zone Leaders and put them in charge of the baptismal service. It was much easier to help the medical staff with their questions this time than it was with Elder Marquez because now I actually communicate in Spanish so that was a blessing. We ended up in the same hospital as last time. 

When I said I was reading the headings in the Book of Mormon I meant to say that it was only the headings. That way I could get a good grasp of the story of the book without reading all of it in one go. 

You can surely send these emails on to a group if you'd like. I live with the assistants and therefore have the privilege of a washing machine in the house so... ha. I've been to Walmart. It's pretty much the same except you're supposed to tip the baggers. 

One tender mercy was just seeing the baptisms come through this week. It's stressful waiting to see if problems will arise because they so often do. One thing that made me smile was just how excited Lili was after her baptism. It was a simple thing, but fun to see. I'm a big fan of all the music I got in the package (it did arrive this week).

Love, 
Elder Finlinson

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