4/4

What a great week, my comp. and I are leading our zone of 10 areas and we are loving it. I mean the joy you get from being One unto Christ; when we get 13 member present lessons and over 20 new investigators in one week, we are for sure working for Christ. These are His people and I am all but a 19 year old serving for Him.

I mean that baptism was of course the highlight, and this last conference, I mean there is no better place to be on a mission than in a room with all english missionaries and knowing your investigators in the spanish room are hearing the same words we are. It was a powerful experience and boy oh boy was priesthood session unbelieveable. I mean Our prophet straight up said that to goof around and not get married is a waste of time. Richard G. Scott, I think is my biggest idol now. I mean losing a wife and a kid just would be the hardest thing and he stated that not once were there fights or bad evil words spoken to each other.

I know as a missionary I always have to give a commitment but for me this was a wake up call. I mean to love your wife and be equal with her may be tough but we should all strive to not love to make the choice but to love the choice you have made. That hit me hard and I am not even married but I took it as my investigators because there are some people we meet who have more problems than I can write on paper and the first thought is to give up. This leads me to my story of the week.
So to not give up is a big choice.

There is this one investigator named Pablo Martinez and he is not married to the wife, they have kids and he loves alcohol. He has been dropped by over 12 missionaries which is months of work but we decided to take a visit and he opened the door crying. He said, "I know the gospel is true and I know that you 2 came because I prayed to god for help". His wife left him and she took the kids. We were more than welcomed in, it felt like Dr. Phil, but we actually were receiving revelation from God not from all of our studying in schools. Anyway, we have been teaching him for 3 weeks and so far he has quit cigarrettes, beer and porn. Now he needs to repent for those sins but man to have the inspiraration and for me to see one suffering as bad as he was, I felt that love Christ has for his children. I mean I understood every word he was saying and pulled 4 scriptures out for him. He is truly an amazing man and from the first time we met him to now he has changed on a degree I can´t even fathom.

I can testify to everyone of you that if you ask God and if you have the faith that he can truly help you, then that help will come because not only does he love and look out for us, but he is standing next to us at all times.

I know that my spanish with Pablo was so improved because it wasn´t me that was inspiring Pablo, it was his faith and the spirit connecting what I said straight to the broken heart of Pablo. Now I know many people, including me, wait for a death or big impact but as shared in conference-the small gold flakes add up greater than any one nugget you may be trying to find.

I love you all so much and I know that you all have the exact same blessings that I am having within your grasp. Please love the Lord more than anything on this earth and I can promise you he will turn that love you have back on you in so many ways. Stay strong-you are all in my thoughts and prayers.
LOVE ALWAYS, ELDER DARBY