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
