Sunday, July 26, 2015

Week 77: "No Elders, you two are the real life savers, keep preaching the gospel."


So it was a great week! 

AWESOME, in fact. here is why

1. After several weeks of teaching, We were able to see the baptism of Pitbull´s wife and daughter!!! (see the photo....try and tell me he doesn't look like pitbull...) Berenice and her daughter are two people that we have been teaching and they are so awesome. They made lots of sacrifices to be able to make these decision and we are so happy for them... and for Pitbull....

2. We found the COOLEST COUPLE IN THE WORLD!!!! Luis and Lupita (see foto....) Luis is a member of the church, and he is a marine, and his wife Lupita, who is not a member, works in the armed forces of Mexico. They are so legit their story of why they wanted to become involved with the military services are incredible. I gained so much more respect for all those who are serving their country in the armed forces. Luis was telling us all about what he does as a marine. Here in Peñasco, he is basically a coast guard and he has to go out and save peoples lives when their boat catches on fire or when some disaster goes wrong. He literally risks his life every single day to save the lives of others. When I asked him how he can have that kind of bravery every single day, he responded, "Look Elder, I believe that we are here in this life to serve. If you come to this world and you do not live your life for the benefit of others, you will live it in vain." Goosebumps rushed through my body as I looked into his eyes as he said these words. What a powerful teaching, and a living example before my eyes. This man is truly incredible. A few days later, they called him to spend some time in Mexico City, so we had to say goodbye for a time. As we did, I said to him, "You are literally my hero Luis, Keep saving lives!", to which he responded, "No Elder, you two are the real life savers. Keep preaching the Gospel!" 

3. In one of our meetings we had this week, one of the missionaries told a story that represents why we should always obey the Lord and be diligent in what he commands. There once lived a man who spoke with God. God told him that he was to go to a giant boulder that was stuck in the ground and begin to push. He would push all day until the evening, with all his might. That was to be his task. So the man did as he was told, and everyday woke up, went the rock, and began to push. Night would come, and the man would retire to his home, exhausted from a long day of pushing a motionless rock. Days, months, years passed. The man had been pushing for 20 years, and he never saw the boulder move a bit. So the devil come along, and began to tempt the man, saying, "why do you even bother pushing that rock? Do you not see that you have been here 20 years, and you haven't achieved anything? Why not give up? You are wasting your time." The man thought to himself,  "He´s right. All this time, and the rock has not budged. Why would you do this God? Why would you ask me to push this rock all this time, if I was never going to be able to move it!?" In his anger and frustration, The Lord spoke peace to him, saying "My dear son. I asked you to push the boulder, but I never told you that it would move. You think you have failed because you did not see your success, but your sight was wrong from the start. Look again, and you will see." The man looked at himself and realized, that because of his pushing for countless years, his legs and arms had transformed completely into rock solid muscle, allowing him to face many other challenges that faced him in his life. He only thought he was unsuccessful because he could not comprehend the will of God.

I don't know why but when I heard that story I loved it. The moral is that we may not understand why God wants us to do certain things, and we may even question why God´s Will is what it is, but we must always remember that everything lies in the hands of Him who knows all things. If we do what we are asked and we push with all of our might, we will one day look back and see the fruits of our efforts and thank God for what he has given us, even though often times it is not what we expected. 


I love you all, have a great week! Enjoy the Seattle sun for me!

Elder Bernal



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