Monday, October 18, 2010

Bautismo!

Elder Watson, Luz, Celeste, Elder Cranford

Hey! :D

First of all, Happy Mother’s Day! It was Mother’s Day yesterday here in Argentina (and I am pretty sure almost all of Latin America).

Alright, this week.

First off, we had two baptisms on Saturday for two cousins of a less-active family. Their names are Celeste and Luz and really are great. I baptized Luz which really was an amazing experience. She has been kind of on and off about being baptized because she is scared of water. Saturday morning she told me she didn’t want to be baptized because she was scared. I talked to her as well as one of her Primary teachers and she was decided to go through with it. Her sister went first and kind of threw herself back in the water which scared Luz. She ran out and didn’t want to do it. Nothing I said, her mom, her sisters, the members would convince her. It wasn’t until her father came (who isn’t a member...yet) and said that he would be right by her the whole time would she do it. So he was at the top of the stairs of the baptismal font and I baptized her.. Not only could I feel the Spirit, I can understand more of the role of a father on his kids. When there is love, understanding and trust between a father and his children, the children can do anything as long as they have their father’s support.

Now, applying this to the Gospel, we have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us and wants to help us. How many times are we scared or afraid to follow a commandment or a prompting of the Holy Ghost? How many times do we think we cannot do something even if we tried our hardest? This is where our Father in Heaven comes in. God wants us to follow the commandments. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to learn and progress in this life (that’s why we have trials). He is willing to be right next to us as we try to follow His will. He knows what is best for us. We just have to trust in Him. How do we build that trust and confidence though? This is where fervent, heartfelt prayer, scripture study and going to church come in. We can build trust in Heavenly Father as we learn and understand more of what He wants us to do. We learn and understand more about the Father through Jesus Christ (Christ teaches His apostles that knowing Him is knowing the Father - not the same person but as knowing a son can lead you to know what his father is like). We learn about Christ through fervent scripture study, really thinking and applying what Christ teaches us and understanding the example Christ has set for us. We can find many of his teachings in the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. When we read both, we can come to know more about Christ and what he wants us to do. As we learn this, we know what the Father would have us do because the Son doeth nothing but what he hath seen from the Father. (John 5:19)

As we learn this, we can start to recognize all the blessings and help from God we have received in our lives. Our families, friends, homes, the food on the table, etc., etc., etc. Really there are just too many to count. As we start to recognize the blessings, we can trust in the promise that we are obedient, that God will bless us. As we strive to be obedient, because no one is perfect, we can start to see the support in our lives that God gives to us. But all of this doesn’t come in a snap of the fingers... It’s a long, long process that takes a lot of concentrated effort and persistence. We are going to fall, a lot. But we just have to get back up and keep on going. It’s like riding a bike. We are going to get a lot of scrapes and bruises (or maybe only a few if you are lucky) but as we overcome the obstacles, the blessings of God will come pouring down from Heaven. As an authorized representative of Jesus Christ, I promise that as you obey God’s commandments, he will bless you. We can ask for help. He wants us to ask for His help. As we humble ourselves down in prayer, recognizing of our own strength we are nothing, and as we strive to carry out what the Father would have us do, we will be strengthened and guided in all that we do. We won’t avoid all the obstacles... More might even come in the way. But I promise you that you will have the strength to overcome every single trial and follow the example of Jesus Christ and obey the commandments.

We had stake conference yesterday. We learned a lot about cleaning the windows to see the real side of people, not taking offense (because really when we are offended we are just giving our free will to someone else. No one else can MAKE us offended. We choose to be offended), the missionary work and not judging others (because we will be judged with the same judgment... scary thought if we are really hardcore, no?)  That really was just an awesome experience because we had an Area Seventy come and speak and I just learned a bunch! :D 

OH! Funny story. Actually a couple. As my last name is Watson and my badge says Elder Watson, a lot of people quote Sherlock Holmes to me. Elementary, my dear Watson. (In Castellano of course (Not Spanish because that is TOTALLY different.... haha.)) Even the Area Seventy came up to me and said it as he shook my hand. It’s hilarious.

Another funny story. Jack Sparrow lives in Villa Adelina. Not the actor Orlando Bloom but Jack Sparrow. We met him one day in the train station and he stopped us and talked to us for a bit. It was on P-day so we are already strained for time so we had to go. But before we left, he picked up Elder Southern to guess how much he weighs. We saw him a couple of times and how he talks, walks, runs, (smells) and how his looks match Jack Sparrow (the character). Kind of weird but funny.

What else... Oh. Photos... Sorry Mrs. Wortham... I’ll stop taking snapshots. Literally I haven’t really even been thinking when taking pictures. Just thinking, oh that’s cool. But yea. I don’t exactly have a lot of time to think and plan, but I will mejorar! (Get better)

Wow... So many people getting mission calls and getting married... Time really flies.

Well, I don’t know what else to say. The work is great and we have more things to do than we have time to do them. But I am having a blast and serving the Lord 24/7 is the best thing I have ever chosen to do. EVER. :D

I sent home some pictures. One is the bicentennial peso ($1 coin) which is worth about 25 cents. Another is a monedero where you can keep all your change to ride the bus and for things like that. The others are the 20 peso bill and the 50 peso bill which are 5 and 12.5 dollars, but are like 20 and 50 dollars to the states.

Love you all and miss you. Write me if you have time. I’ll write back asap. Today I am starting on the list I have to write to people. Not too long, but if I wait... Well, let’s just say its better to do it now... :D Be good, stay safe and don’t get into too much trouble. Love ya,

Chau!

Elder Michael C. Watson 

1 comment:

  1. Loved your analogy of the Father of Luz and our Heavenly Father. Thanks for sharing this! Also, how wonderful that you write such great letters to your family. Good job! We're praying for you Elder Watson.

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