Hello families and friends,
Week 2 is in the books, and things are going pretty well. The weather is nice and sunny here in Long Beach, the work is going really well, and all is well. While the work is going well, it is a little difficult and I am still getting use to the regular routine and talking to everyone. But other than that things are going really well.
This past week my companion and I have been working hard at helping me meet the members in the ward along with the current investigators they have. Still am struggling understanding what they people are saying and communicating with them. Right now I am probably catching about 25-30% of what people are saying and mostly listening for words I recognize. I still don't get frustrated after lessons though, and still have a strong desire to learn the language and use it as much as I can. This week my companion and I are going to focus on finding new investigators and help our current investigators get baptized.
We are really close with this one member, Hermano Alverado, at getting baptized. Right now all he needs to do is get married and fix his work schedule so that he can attend church regularly. But he has such a strong testimony about the gospel and has a strong desire to follow Christ. One evening his fiancés brother was over and we invited the brother to listen to the lessons. He said no, but Hermano Alverado asked him to. Then Hermano Alverado started sharing his experiences with listening to the missionaries and how his life has been blessed since he started listening to the missionaries. The Spirit was super strong during that lesson, and even though I couldn't understand most of what he was saying, I could feel that he was ready to be baptized. Hopefully this week he can get his work schedule fixed, he has plans to get married sometime this week. So we might be having a baptism this weekend.
One thing that my companion has been having me do is take the lead in teaching the first lesson which has been good, but also very nervous. I remember getting ready to start and really thinking about what to say. Then my mind went blank and I couldn't think of how to start, or even the words I needed to say. It was silent for a good minute and very scary. But then in a split instance almost everything seemed to flood into my mind and all the nervous feelings seemed to go away. The lesson we taught went really good and the Spirit was so strong during that moment. Even though my Spanish was still pretty broken and I couldn't understand most of what was being said, I could tell that the Spirit was in the room with us just testifying of the truthfulness of our message. It was a great experience and one I will never forget.
Well I think I am going to wrap this up. The Gospel is true and can bless everyone. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father and we are all His children. I know that Jesus Christ lives and through Him we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. Everything is possible through Christ. He has helped me so much in these first two weeks it is indescribable. This is the work of the Lord and He is hastening it. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve Him and help others come unto Christ. I know these things are true. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Roberts
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