October 13, 2014
Hola Familia Bartholomew (I was
told many times this week how BEAUTIFUL our last name is),
This week was full of examples of
changing from something GREAT - to something BETTER!!! (Even though the best decisions are hardly
ever the easiest.) I have some news that
will bring joy to your hearts…Joao (JO) was Baptized!!!!!!!! On Friday the 10th of Oct he became
an even BETTER son of God and example to his children. Joao was just glowing with the Spirit and with
happiness after he was baptized.
We were so blessed with the privilege
to witness the changes he made in his life to become a Better Husband, Better
Father, Better Friend, Better Doctor, and obtained a Better relationship with
our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He
came to church on Sunday just exhausted from a 24 hour shift at the hospital - with
his puffy, tired eyes, rockin’ his SCRUBS as he received the gift of the Holy
Ghost. Joao is the perfect example of
setting aside worldly pleasures and keeping his eyes single to the glory of God
– with his beautiful family.
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| Joao and family on his baptism day |
At Joao’s baptism service, I had
the opportunity to play the powerfully simple hymn, “Nearer my God to Thee” on the
violin. (I used the ward mission
leader’s wife’s violin which did not want to tune on the D & G string so we
took it up an octave. :)) The Spirit there
was undeniably strong. Sister Perez and
I were so humbled to be one of the missionaries (he had about 5 different sets)
that helped him become nearer to our Heavenly Father. The new found glow and smile on Joao’s face, and
that all new converts seem to have, will always help me fulfill one of my
favorite scriptures, “Rejoice Evermore!”
Now, before I tell you about the
rest of my rejoicing from this last week – I have to tell you a funny story
about Joao. Unfortunately there were
some occasions when we first began teaching Joao, where his face showed that he
was very familiar with the lessons we teach as missionaries. (As I told you before - many missionaries
have passed through his door.) Well his
unfocused/blanking out face – with his eyes SUPER BIG, es igualito de [is the same as] the character Sid from the
movie “Ice Age”, like igualito [the same]. And the best part is Joao knows it, and
quickly recites a quote from the movie and he even SOUNDS like Sid. Oh we had a good laugh.
Anywho – have I expressed how
much I LOVE the Jara Family?!? They
don’t even need to change something good to something better because they truly
are the BEST! HAHA But really, they are the greatest family
there is. Here is their story…..
Gregorio Jara is the father and
head of the household. His mother,
Adela, is a member of the church and has been praying for years that her son’s family
would allow missionaries to teach them or even just allow them to participate
in a Family Home Evening. Six months ago
the Jara family politely turned down the request from Adela and the missionaries
to teach them.
Then 5 months ago, Gregorio was
placed in jail. It’s a complicated
story, but basically, Gregorio and his family own and rent out a bunch of
houses. One home in particular was being
rented out to a man who was doing some very illegal things. When the government (police) came to arrest
this man, they couldn’t find him.
Because they couldn’t find the renter, they arrested the owner Papa
Gregorio instead.
One day as Gregorio was sitting
on the bottom bunk in his jail cell, hunched over eating a banana and a stale
piece of bread, he opened the Bible his mother had given to him and read one
particular verse over and over. Psalms
37:5 says, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring
it to pass.”
Having been humbled by his circumstances,
Gregorio began to put his trust in God and prayed for the day he would be
united with his family again. During the
time he was in jail, the family sold many of their worldly possessions in order
to have the money needed to speed up the process of finding the guilty man. Gregorio always expresses to us how grateful
he is that he did not lose his family while he was in jail – nor does he ever
want to lose them. As a result, he is
more than thrilled to now listen to our message and work towards having an eternal
family.
So we had another incredible Family
Home Evening with the Jara Family this last week. We discussed the true nature of God and
helped them understand the through making and keeping covenants with Him (like
we do at baptism), we can come to know our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus
Christ. To close our discussion, Esdrina
(Adela’s daughter/sister of Gregorio who is also listening to the lessons)
prayed with all her heart to Heavenly Father that she could come to know the truthfulness
of our message. She begged Him to help
their family progress and come to know that this was the true church.
The Spirit there was SO
strong!!!! After the prayer was over, it
was so powerful to open my eyes and see the tears in her eyes and in the eyes
of every member of the family. No one
wanted to break the silence in the room.
Sadly, they had a family emergency on Sunday so they couldn’t attend
church – but we are so excited for their baptism which is scheduled for
November 1st.
We are also continuing to teach
many other “Mormones Secos”. Hopefully
we can teach them with power and the Spirit, and they can become “Mormones
Mojados” or Wet Mormons. In other words,
baptized members of our church!
Funny story of this week:
So have you seen the speed limit signs on the side of the road that are hooked
up to a radar and will flash how fast you are going?! Well my companion decided to run as fast as
she could so she could see how fast she is!!! Hahaha – yeah that’s my
companion. As Sister missionaries the worst thing ever is when your
backpack or bag makes your skirt hike up....in her case the back of her skirt
was slowly going higher and higher. Good
thing we have white shorts on underneath ;) Plus, no one was around so it was
just a funny moment we shared between the two of us! HAHA love my comp!
Con Mucho Amor,
Hermana Bartholomew
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| Celebrating 1 Year Mark for Hermana Yurt |
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