A Walk Down A Dusty Road

Ok, so this week has been great! Last week we were walking down the dusty road when a young lady said hi to us as she was sweeping her porch. We started talking with her, and set an appointment. We came back a few days later and talked with her, and her sister. Their names are Sandra and Winnie. They`re 18 and 19 years old. So, we thought we`d go to the appointment with a sister named Katy Mora who`s a return missionary and has their same age. We talked with them and asked them if they believed in God. They said that they did, so we asked if they believed in Jesus Christ. Winnie said no, and Sandra wasn`t sure. They had been studying to be baptized in the Jehova`s witnesses`s church, and were confused. We talked a bit, and they came to church with Katy. All of the classes just happened to be all about the atonement, being Easter. They felt great in the chapel. We talked a little more this week about the Plan of Salvation, and they accepted to be baptized on April 23! They said that they want to follow Jesus Christ and have faith in Him. Katy Mora told us that they started talking with Katy after the lesson, and were all worried about what they needed to buy to get ready for their baptism. She laughed and said that they didn`t need to buy anything. We recieved a reference from them named Rocio. Rocio and her daughter started asking us many GREAT questions after reading a pamphlet about the Restoration. They asked, ``who is Joseph Smith, and what`s the book of mormon.`` ``How can I read this book`` The daughter wanted to know which of the churches could lead her to prepare for the second coming! Wow, I am so excited for them because I know that through and only through our message singualar that we share that they can truly come to the truth!! 

I love you MOM and DAD and SISTERS and BROTHER and FAMILY and FRIENDS!!! I am thankful for all of the great testimonies of Chirst that you have ALL sent to me, and want to respond to every single one, but I don`t have enough time becasue i was to interested in reading all of your beautiful testimonies of the atonement, our Savior Jesus Chirst. 

Elder Jeffery at the Zoo

Elder Jeffery

´´Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great work´´

So, this week we were in a lesson with Maria, Abel, and their two children, Marianet and Oscar. Abel, Marianet and Oscar have excitedly accepted to be baptized and Maria is a less-active member since she was about 10 years old, but Oscar and Maria need to get married first. Oscar wants to get married, and we had a lesson with Maria, where she finally said that she really does want to get married with Oscar after being together for 16 years! We invited them to put a date together for their marriage having in mind of the date we´d put of their baptism in April. So, we came back to visit them on Saturday and they had talked about marriage. Abel looked at us and said that they´d talked and had decided to get married in June! I looked at my companion and we both were surprised and a little sad for them putting a date so far away. My companion asked Maria why. She explained the same concern that many couples have here. She desires to have time to plan and get settled in and have a ´´perfect wedding´´. We explained that God had sent us to her home for a reason. We said that if she gets married so far away, we could not help her with the goals she´d set and maybe she´d lose the desires she has now. My companion then invited them to accept to be married on the 22 of April. Abel accepted with ease and awaited the response of his future wife. She looked at us and looked at him and said softly but with confidence ´´I want to´´  I looked at them and started to laugh and said that the 22 was my birthday. They all laughed and I told them we could have a birthday party/wedding party. They are excited and I am very happy for the decision that they have taken to put faith in Christ by being married so that they can repent of their sins and be able to be baptized for a remission of their sins. I love this great work and love the quote ´´Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great work´´ Let us all lose our worries, lose our problems and get lost in what really matters! I want to end by sharing the new video for easter ´´Hallelujah´´ https://www.mormon.org/easter 

Have a great week FAMILY and FRIENDS and MOM! Love you all!!

Elder Jeffery

´But, the most important thing is what Elder Jeffery understands about the atonement, and he will explain it to his son.´´

Well, this week has been rainy. It rained three days straight without stopping. A part of our sector was completely flooded and the people had to evacuate their homes for a few days waiting for the jungle´s sun. I really like when it rains because it´s not hot. 

This week I had the great privilage to have lunch with Elder Costa, a member of the quorom of the seventy. After lunch, he finished talking with the District President and turned to me and my companion. He said something that really impacted me. He said: ´´In the Book of Mormon, Lehi wrote what he understood about the atonement, and then taught it to his son, Nephi. Nephi then wrote what he understood about the atonement and then taught it to his son, Jacob. Jacob then explained what he understood about the atonement.´´ He went on with a few other names and examples of the Book of Mormon, and then looked at me and said, ´´But, the most important thing is what Elder Jeffery understands about the atonement, and he will explain it to his son.´´ 

I´m learning a lot about the importance of the gospel in everything we teach as missionaries. We had a few lessons with some investigators, teaching the law of chastity and the sabbath day. We simply reminded them that in order to live the gospel and therefore apply the atonement one must have enough faith to come to the chapel even though there are things to do, and that repentance is also required in this life, so in order to be baptized they must get married. They understood why and realized that they need to live the gospel in their lives. That family, Abel and Maria came to church yesterday and are have plans to get married and Baptized! Abel no is a member nor his two children, Marianet and Oscar. I am thankful for the atonement. We had one investigator ask why he needed to have faith in Jesus Christ, because he`d heard of people who had had faith in many other objects and people. I am glad that I could testify to him and say that there is no other person or object that can take upon my sins and leave me clean from the stains of this world. Only faith through Jesus Christ and his Atonement will bring us eternal joy. Our investigator, Juan Carlos, is learning about Christ and decided that he too wants to know for himself of the atonement of Christ. 

I am excited for this week that comes. It`s a pleasure to be a missionary of a true church! Have a great week MOM and FAMILY and FRIENDS.

Elder Jeffery

Moto Taxi Driver Miracle

There are just TOO many things to tell you this week!!! It´s been an amazing week with many new investigators that have accepted baptismal dates, but I feel like I will share a miracle that I will never forget to you. 

It was 11:45 am on Wednesday when three missionaries and I climbed into a little tiny motorcycle cart on our way to check other missionaries´rooms. I was so squished that I took of my shoulder bag and put it in the little back department of the moto. We all jumped out of the moto and walked into the missionaries´ room. We were just finishing up with checking the room, when I realized what I´d done. I looked at my companion and said that I´d forgotten my bag in that motorcycle cart. So, my camera, shoulder bag, and mission scriptures were all in the back of one of the million motorcycle carts in Puerto Maldonado. We started to think and remembered that it was red and white and had white seats. The driver had a blue shirt. So, we went to the radio station and asked them to anounce it on the radio. I had a strong desire to stop working and search for my bag because I knew that it would almost be impossible to find it if I waited until the next day. But, we had scheduled appointments. I had a impression that seemed to say that I´d be ok and that these ´´important things´´ are not the most important thing. I learned  a lesson that day about how to decern between important and most important. So, we went to the apppointments. We called every missionary in the zone and told them to be on the look out for the description. My companion and I were on our way to our last appointment that day and saw a moto that fit the exact description. We tried pulling over another moto. A man stopped ubbrutly and asked where we were going. We said yelling, ´´follow that moto car!!!´´ He opened the door where his wife was in the car and he said, ´´ well my wife´s in the taxi but just hop in let´s go!´´ We squezed into the moto and booked it towards the taxi that was already three blocks ahead. It turned the corner and this driver didn´t stop as he drifted accross the asfalt chasing the driver ahead of us. He pulled up aside the driver and yelled for him to pull over. The driver pulled over and my companion stuck his head in the window and started interrogating the taxi driver. The man was so afraid he could almost not breath as he explain that he was just starting to work and that he didn´t have any shoulder bag. So, we payed the taxi driver that brought us and went to the appointment. On Friday, we walked into the appartment and Elder Andromidas and Cabral asked if we could take a picture with them. So we took a selfie together. As we looked at the picture my companion said, ´´no way!´´ No way! I asked what happened and I looked at the picture which had Elder Cabral in the back holding my shoulder bag! I was so excited and gave him a big hug. The sister missionaries had been asking every taxi driver as well as we had been doing and found my bag!! The driver had been searching for us the whole time and wanted to hear the missionaries´ messaje!! The best part is that he lives in our sector!! We´ll be going to his house this week. I know that sometimes we get stressed over the material things of this world, but I learned and continue to learn that the promise of the Lord is true when he says that the desires of the rightous will be give according to their faith and obedience. So, when you have hard times, just focus on the Lord´s will and he will provide and you´ll feel good! THat´s my week and I am thankful for the mission and the people I can serve. There´s MUCH more that happened this week, but no time, so I love you all and hope you have a great week. Mom and Dad I am excited for your trip and am excited to visit the amazing people of Peru and the wonderfull places with you! 

Elder Jeffery