Today will be a quick update. Our Spanish group is growing slowly but
consistently. We had new Investigator named Ruth come to church for
the first time yesterday, and she definitely wouldn't have come unless
she had the member support that she did. It reminded me of how
important and crucial it is that members and missionaries work
together to bring souls to Christ. Man, it makes me pumped to hear
about Kess, please tell him congratulations and that I'm proud of him.
I'm sure several of you played a critical part in the process of his
conversion.
So it was Ruth's first week at church, and she seemed pleased with
everything's she heard and learned. But I couldn't help but notice her
figetting with her translation headset throughout the beginning of
sacrament meeting, so I decided, you know what? I can't expect these
people to come and wear headsets in a so called "white person" church
if I won't do it myself! So I got my own headset and learned a lot. I
learned how they must feel to be one of the few people who need
translation. I learned how frustrating it is when the translator
doesn't say things exactly because they can't be translated exactly,
and how frustrating it is to have old translation equipment that makes
loud static and sometimes doesn't work. I learned that it is difficult
for a member, let alone an Investigator, to stay very interested in
the church if they have to deal with those kinds of things. Now, I'm
not blaming anyone or anything. But I am growing in both my compassion
and love for these people. So often I get down or discouraged because
they seem to not care as much or not to be flocking to the doors of
the church! Why not? Well it's hard! It's hard to be a Latter Day
Saint, and it's especially hard when you can't speak the language. We
will work out the kinks, things will get better as time moves on and
the Lord answers prayers and guides us to those who will gain
testimonies and stay strong. This work was never supposed to be easy,
but it sure has been worth every effort I've put into it so far. This
is the salvation of God's children! It's the fulfilling of the
prophecy that “Every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his
own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained
unto this power” (D&C 90:11). I'm grateful for all these opportunities
to learn and to serve.
We have been praying that we find families that will be prepared to
receive the gospel and be baptized. Last week we found three different
families and a total of eleven new Investigators. It's been clear that
Lord wants this group to grow!
Well I love you all!
Elder Collin Christensen
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