Ripped my pants!

Hey everyone! 

 

Sorry this email is going to a bit all over the place because I’m just trying to remember everything from the past two weeks  

 

It has been a fun two weeks. We had two really awesome baptisms! One with our friend Francisco and one with another friend Fernanda. They are both awesome people with really great stories. Francisco was always a bit indecisive in the lessons and things, so we were kind of worried about him, but the week before his baptism he really strengthened his testimony and then at his baptism he shared a really sweet, simple testimony. That was a really cool experience because his cousin (who is a member returning to activity in the church) got to baptize him and confirm him the next Sunday!  

 

Fernanda is really solid and has been talking with the missionaries since before I got to this area. She has a really strong testimony and got baptized with her boyfriend who lives in the area next to us, so we had a joint baptism. We have also received some really awesome references from members who are progressing really well.  

 

We also had a fun contacting activity as a zone. We went to a town where we want to put a set of missionaries and just talked to a lot of people. It was super fun and we got to meet some really cool people! And that’s where the title of the email comes in. We got back from the activity, and we arrived at the church where I was setting a box of Books of Mormon on the ground and as I stood up the whole back of my pants ripped. It was so embarrassing but also super funny. Another elder let me borrow his jacket and tie it around my waist so that nobody would see. That was fun. I 

 

t was also day of the dead last week, and it was really cool to see all those fun traditions. Last year we were still not allowed to leave the house because of the pandemic so I didn't really get to see that last year.  

 

A few days ago we went to a stake conference, and I got to see a family I met in my first area. We helped them become active again and in that stake conference their daughter spoke because she was in home MTC preparing to serve a mission in Dominican Republic. It was so cool to see because in that area I felt like I could have done so much more but things didn’t come out how I wanted. But it was so cool to see that I got to be a part of this sister going out on a mission. That was so cool.  

 

Another fun thing is that today we went as a zone to an old mining town called Mineral del Chico where we toured a mine and then later had a devotional and related the things we saw there to the gospel. While we were in the mine, there was a part where the guide told us all to turn off our lights and it was pitch black! Then she explained to us that back in the 1600s when the mine was originally running, they didn’t have lights or lamps to help them mine and they did all their work in complete darkness. We thought a bit about how hard it would be to work in those conditions. Then we related that to life and how people are in spiritual darkness and trying to solve their problems and challenges without the light of Christ in their lives. And then we talked about how we as missionaries are a way that these people can receive spiritual life in their lives. It was really cool and helped me understand the huge role that we as missionaries play in the lives of other people. It made me think of a few scriptures I really like. 

 

3 Nephi 12:14-16 

 

14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

15 Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;

16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 

 

3 Nephi 11:10-11 

 

10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.

11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world... 

 

Jesus Christ is the light! And if we let him into our lives, we will have a completely different perspective on our challenges and problems in life. You’re all awesome and I hope you’re all doing fantastic.  

 

Love, 

Elder Stevenson