Power of the Lord in Ponteveda

July 27, 2015

Always when we put forth our best effort the Lord blesses us with miracles in our lives. We really have seen that this last week. Elder Bartholomew and I have been trying to put forth our full efforts in all that we are doing whether it is contacting, teaching, being obedient, working with the members etc, and the Lord has blessed us with so many miracles this week.

We were out doing area book pass bys and had one that we kept trying to get to but while we were walking towards the address we would have a really good street contact and then have to turn around and head to our next cita  in order to arrive in time. This happened several times during the week and this pass by just wouldn't leave my head. After English class Saturday morning our cita failed us and we decided to go try this pass by again. We got there and rang the buzzer but no one answered, just when we were about to turn away a man walked up and entered the building. My comp stopped him and asked him if he knew the man we were trying to get in contact with. It turns out that they are brothers. He invited us in and asked us to share our message with him which we did happily. It was a testimony that really the Lord is in control and he puts the people right in our paths right when they need to be there.

Another miracle, we were looking for a less active family that usually has no time for us to talk with them and at the beginning of the week we talked to them through the intercom to their piso and told us that they didn't have time for us but would talk to us when we ran into them in the street. Once again we had a lesson that failed on us and were out contacting in the street when we ran into this same couple. We had a great conversation with them and they invited us over to eat with them. Again in the Lords timing and when we are trying to do our best we are blessed with miracles. Another miracle, we have been going through our old investigator lists and trying to contact them again to see how they are doing. We called one lady named Idoia and told us pretty much that she didn't want anything from us. Alrighty! Another one down. Then we were contacting in the street and we see a woman looking over at us strangely, not all that weird considering we dress differently and stand out two blonde boys from America, but we go up and start talking with her. Turns out that she was Idoia the lady we had contacted but she had had a change of heart and wanted to meet with us. So we had a meeting with her the other day and it was a great lesson and she is a great person trying to do her best in the circumstances that she is in.

Another miracle, we contacted a man named Julio from Cuba, who is a great guy really excited to learn more about our message, but when we called the number he gave us it was his daughter's number and she was super excited to talk with us because she wanted to learn English and so told us that she would come to English class. We then got her dad's phone number and had a cita with him. The daughter came to English Class and at English class told us that she would love to know more about our message as well. It really was a week full of miracles from God for which I am grateful.

I had the opportunity to give a talk on Sunday and I spoke on the power of God to do all things and that we will be able to see and experience those miracles after we show our faith that miracles will happen. I felt the guidance of the Lord helping me to express what he desired that I say. It was a great capstone to an excellent week here. As a branch here in Pontevedra we are not big and we have more members leaving but it is full of some of the best people that I know. They really are modern day Pioneers for the church here in Pontevedra. I believe that the Lord has called each of them to be here at this time because of the power that each one has to make a difference. I know that each one of us has a purpose where we have been called to be in this moment. I love this work, I love each of you, and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Love Elder Gustafson