Yes. We have to repent and bring that family to Richard’s baptism. I felt horrible because Ancelma (the girl we first met contacting) told me EVERYONE in her family was waiting for us for HOURS and that her dad NEVER goes to church…
Drat.
Worst. missionary. ever.
“Why didn’t you call me or text me? I couldn’t call you because I didn’t have your number?”
Drat.
I’m so glad we have the Sacrament. I just hope that I can be forgiven. Please forgive me!!!
But anyways, the Briceno family is very happy. I wish I could show you a video of how they are, because they are all so hilarious. They all talk and talk and talk and half the things they say don’t relate or they don’t finish their thoughts and they all talk over each other so we usually have two separate lessons going on whenever we teach them all. And Daviana bursts into tears about every other time we visit for some thing… for example, the other day we were all laughing at Bro Briceno trying to put on his baptismal suit over his clothes and she started crying because we were laughing at her dad. She’s very funny though. She laughs at everything. Especially anything to do with Brother Bonilla or “Cuckoo,” as she calls him.
Brother David’s aunt, Sister Ramona, has been in the hospital since we’ve started teaching the Bricenos. She is like Brother David’s mom because he grew up with her, and I must say, the two times we’ve visited were some of the most humbling experiences of my mission. I have seen people in poverty covered in dirt and hungry, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that’s made me much sadder than the sight of Sister Ramona bent over in pain, unable to hardly breath, but she still sits up and smiles and says hello when you talk to her. The first time we went to give her a blessing, I felt awkward and out of place and horrible to see this poor sick, dying woman, but Brother Andres bent down, put his hand on hers and explained to her what he was going to day. After the lesson, he explained to her that the blessing would be realized by her faith–and I don’t remember anything he said, but I remember feeling a great admiration for Brother Andres’s incredible love for someone he had just met.
The second time we came, Brother Bonilla gave her an unction with oil. His hands were shaking. Sister Briceno told us how Sis Ramona was waiting for blood, that her lungs were filling with water, and I don’t know, I just felt crying to see her bent over in pain like that. I’ve always hated the hospital. But Brother David thanked us profusely for coming to visit Sister Ramona, because he said that she said her pain was greatly relieved after the blessing, that it was much easier.
I am sure that Sister Ramona will be baptized on the other side if she isn’t able to get better and receive that blessing in this life. We haven’t taught her anything, but she has shown great faith in blessings by people she didn’t even know enough to be healed of her pain.
On a lighter note, Sister Duarte is having the time of her life telling this story over and over again. We were teaching Joselin Martinez’s mom, who claims to be a prophet with the power of healing (yeah, there’s lots of people like that here in C.A.) and I kept trying to get the lesson back to prophets and the blessings of the gospel, and I had open the picture of the prophet from the pamphlet, when all of a sudden she said, “Do you KNOW who that prophet is!?”
“Well, it could be Noah, or some other prophet–” I started to say.
“NO! It’s not Noah! It’s Moises! Do you know what he is doing?”
“Uh… he could be writing the ten commandments… again…”
“NO! He’s writing the leyes!” And she opened her mouth to continue, but Sis Duarte cut her off.
“Actually, it’s not Moses,” she said.
Sister Flor was shocked. “Wuh?”
“It’s Isaiah. And he’s writing revelations about Jesus Christ.”
“De verdad? Uh, it’s because he looks like Moses!”
Oh my. Ye apostates. They always want to teach us… this is the first time someone’s tried to teach me out of our own pamphlet though. It was pretty hilarious how shocked she was when Sister Duarte told her who the prophet was–I honestly didn’t know before then, but yeah, it’s Isaiah. 🙂 Aprended.
Questions:
Was that someone’s house you were helping to put a thatched roof on? Do many people live in houses like that?
Yes. We were helping a less active family do that. It was very tiring. I only went up there for the pic, the rest of the time I just handed up the palm leaves for the other people. It’s done Indian style–in other words pretty much only the very poor Indian people make houses like that, and they live a little far out from everyone else.
It’s quite safe, I think. From what I understand, there isn’t a lot of crime. We aren’t in certain areas after 6pm, and we’re supposed to be in our house at 8pm if we’re alone, but I feel like it’s a lot safer than El Salvador.