Miracles! (Jan. 22, 2024)

Hey everyone, another week down out here, things are going great!! I think the Lord knew a Bills loss would hurt pretty bad so he blessed up big time so I don't have time to get down too bad hahah. We were extremely blessed this last week, we had a lot of prayers answered and some very spiritual lessons. 

I started the week with an exchange in Talca with Elder Calizaya and it was a lot of fun, we did some service and taught some powerful lessons to some of their friends. After that, I had the rest of the week here in San Javier with Elder Biggs to go and get after it. We've found a lot of people, but it had been hard to find people who are really willing to keep commitments like coming to church and accepting baptismal dates. We set goals and prayed hard that we could be lead to those that are prepared to be baptized right now. A few days passed and it was just the same thing every day, good lessons, but no one ever wanted to commit to anything. Until Friday we were walking down a road and I saw a house and felt the spirit super strong that there was someone ready in that house. we knocked the door and a guy named Brandon answered the door and he is very prepared. He accepted a baptismal date within 10 minutes of talking! He came to church yesterday and loved it, he loved the way he feels and says he's been searching for the right church and he is confident he has found it. It was such an amazing miracle finding him and we're going to keep doing everything to keep him progressing and get him baptized here soon. The other miracle happened on Saturday, there was a part member family that lived close to where we had lunch, so we went over to contact them, they haven't been to church in over 10 years and haven't had any contact with the church. They didn't want to talk to us at first but I noticed the dad was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers hat and I had to pretend like I thought that was cool and made a connection and then he got excited and invited us in haha. The family loved the NFL and that struck up a big conversation which was so awesome, and then without us even having to invite them, they got quiet and the spirit came into the house and they decided it was time for them to start going back to church. They showed up the next morning, and we went there with another member yesterday afternoon and put their 2 daughters and date to get baptized! It was so awesome! They are such a cool family and I know that God sent us to them at the perfect time! 

This week really strengthened my testimony of how we receive blessings. I love whe Alma is teaching the humble Zoramites in Alma 32. He talks about the importance of planting and nurturing our faith. He also tells us what we need in order to receive blessings from heaven. He teaches that faith, diligence, and patience are the things that we need in order to receive blessings. I know that this is true. If we continually exercise our faith, and we're always diligent, blessings will come, but we must be willing to accept them in the Lord's time, and that's why patience is also necessary. I have absolutely learned in the mission that as I patiently work with faith and diligence that the Lord always provides blessings!

I love the mission and this gospel, it's the best! There is no greater joy that we can experience than what this gospel has to offer us. I know that this joy comes from the spirit which testifies to us the truth of the gospel and the reality of the living Christ. I'm so grateful that I am able to participate in helping some of God's children have the opportunity to return to him. I know all of this is true, it has to be!! Because if it wasn't, I wouldn't have many reasons to be happy after knowing we went down to the Chiefs again, but I really am happy, because I guess somehow I finally came to the realization that there are bigger things that football, still sucks, but I choose eternal life over super bowls. I hope you all have a great week and that you can all find daily blessings and miracles, and be sure to cheer for the Lions!

Elder Micheli