Hey!
I had my first baptism this last Saturday. Her name is Olga Castro and we were so excited for her. Her husband is a little on the anti side and lied to some member faces that he was going to listen to what we had to say. I don't get why people lie. I think that he know it's true, he just doesn't want to change. Which is something that I don't understand about us humans. We recognize that God promises things in the scriptures, but we still sin, thinking that for some reason our pathetic life we've made for ourselves will bring some kind of happiness compared to the "far and better land of promise" that Alma 37 talks about. I can't believe I never understood that before....
We also had a really great family that told us they aren't interested because they don't want their daughter to be confused about what is right between the Catholic church and the LDS church. That to me just screams that she's recognized the Spirit. It's so sad that people don't want to change. One of the biggest things that I've learned from being here is the reality of agency. The truth can be there staring that someone in the face. They'll even admit that it's true, and yet, they don't want to change their Catholic tradition that they hardly know anything about.
Being here has also helped me to recognize the power of truth. The crazy thing about us as missionaries is this: we aren't trying to convince anybody of anything more than to get on their knees and ask God. The thing that is on our side as Latter Day Saints is the truth. Who cares who makes fun of you or who says something to try and discredit our beliefs? Who cares?! The truth is all that matters. The people who fight against the B of M and the Gospel are the ones that are going to suffer eventually, so might as well give them a chance to accept now and bear testimony of truth.
Another thing that I've learned is the importance of the basic doctrines. I remember going to Gospel Doctrine classes before where the teacher were teaching from great books that were written by the apostles or church leaders. Those are great to study for our own personal study , but when it comes down to it, the only things that matter are faith, repentance, baptism/sacrament, and the gift of the Holy Ghost/following the Spirit, and enduring to the end. Those are the things that the Spirit bears witness of, the Gospel of Christ. There's no point to teach more than that, because we have a hard enough time just keeping up with that.
We have another family that is pretty great though. The Brito family. The dad is super involved (which doesn't happen often) and the mom and the kids also have a lot of interest. We've got a family night with them tonight, so I'm pretty excited about that. We also have a 14 year old girl committed to baptism for the 29th of May! Her name is Maria and her dad was skeptical before but he's sat in a couple of lessons so we're hoping that his hear has been softened.
Sorry this letter is really random. I tell you, I really don't know what else to say. My everyday life is so different from all of you (except Kyle), but it's just regular to me, so I forget what happens day to day sometimes.
I love you all and share the truth with someone today!
Love Hna Cooper
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