This week has been another just amazing week! First of all we had a worldwide missionary training meeting that was super amazing. It was entitled Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts. Really that is our objective. Our purpose is larger than that but if we fail to teach repentance by the power of the Holy Ghost there is no way that anyone can ever become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We only baptize those who are converted. We have seen that retention is one of the great problems here in this mission that sometimes people are baptized before they are ready, or because they were converted to the activities of the church or to the missionaries. Speaking of being converted to the missionaries, Felix from Torrejon no longer has a baptismal date, I would ask for your prayers on his behalf. In the conference we learned from Elder Bednar about the importance of being the conduit for the Spirit to let the Spirit teach people. Sometimes we go into a lesson with a great plan about what we are going to teach and forget to let the Spirit do the teaching as we follow the impressions that we receive. The thing I took away from his talk was to get out of the way and let the spirit teach. I wish that I could share everything that I learned in those two hours but suffice it to say that I love the way that the leaders of this church can receive such revelation and communicate it to us in such a meaningful way.
Other than that we have seen more miracles this week. It's really just incredible. Like I'm not really sure how I would describe it if I didn't know that there is a God and that He can do all things. One day this week we went and stopped by the church and as we were there one of our old investigators with whom we had lost contact came walking into the church and told us that he had been on vacation and that, that day he had felt prompted to go stop by the church to see if we were there. (Considering that we are not usually just at the church it was a miracle in and of itself that he found us there not to mention that he had felt the need to come talk with us.)
Another miracle this week, last night we were out trying to contact as many people as possible in the street but not getting anything. As we kept going we saw a car pass by and then stop pull over to the side, sort of, put on his hazards and jump out of his car and come running across the lanes of traffic to stop us. He asked us if we had a church in the area, that he had family living in Utah and that he wanted to come and visit our church on Sunday. I was dumbfounded for a second, then gave him a card with our address and meeting times, got his phone number and then he excused himself to move his car, behind which was a growing line of angry drivers blaring their horns. It was one of the strangest things I've seen. I know that that was a miracle sent straight from the Lord.
We have also seen progress with our investigators, especially with Jose Luis and Manuel. When Jose Luis came into church on Sunday he was really excited to tell us that he had been reading the Book of Mormon that morning and that he had found an answer to one of the questions that he had all his life. I love the power of the Book of Mormon and the ability that the Spirit has to change our lives when we invite it in. Manuel as well is making great progress, his attitude towards the church is changing he has started referring to the church as we as opposed to you and is beginning to read from the standard works again. He knows he needs to be baptized and he feels of its importance. Please keep praying that the correct things will happen in his life so that he can make that step that he needs to. Lucy as well is doing well, she has been very busy this week and so we haven't been able to visit her but the change that we have seen in her is 180 degrees. It is so exciting to see the change that the gospel has made in her life. Life in Talavera is amazing! Things are great! He Lord is amazing!
I love you all,
Elder Gustafson
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