Yesterday

(This is a post from Doug's Mission President's Wife. You can read her blog at 

                        http://terryandjanetturk.blogspot.com)

This is Segundo and his family.

He is the security guard at the Institute downtown.

His wife has been a less active member for a long time.

He had been given many Book of Mormons by the institute students.

He had listened in on many of the classes.

But to no avail.

The Missionaries were passing by his house one day

and his wife was outside and asked if they had any pamphlets for 

Segundo to read

while he was in the hospital recovering from surgery.

They of course had several, they gave her and they were on their way.

They followed up with the family

and he had read the pamphlets and wanted to hear more.

Segundo knew that it was time to make a change in his life

and get his family on the right path together. He and his daughter were baptized yesterday by Elder Erikson and Elder Brian. 

The church is not an obligation

It is a path... to a glorious destination.

September 6th --Transferred to Trujillo

....We contacted this guy that worked in a tire shop and started teaching him and his niece. Anyway after like two lessons we we´re startng to read bits of the Book of Mormon together and he saw the picture of Joseph Smith in front and stopped the lesson and asked, "that's Joseph Smith right?" We were really surprised cause we had barely mentioned his name and didn't really expect him to know that.. We answered that it was, and then he started telling us about a dream he had that he'd forgotten about till just then where he was walking through a crowd and picked out the face of a man (guess who) as he walked toward him through all the people and they just locked eyes as he passed, so the man turned out to be Joseph Smith.


....and then me and Elder Erickson about passed out.

...When we call our district for their numbers every wednesday thursday and sunday, we added a new category that I'm gonna apply to you guys. We ask every companionship how many times they told their companion they loved them. Which is weird at first right? But expressing love to the Lord or other people is honestly one of the best ways to get the spirit. So do it if you want to be happier people. And if it feels weird or like too much work think about this quote from President Eyring "If you knew how hard we worked in the quorum to have the spirit, you would be embarassed with your own efforts." (I'm told it was said with all humility so don't take it wrong.)

Everybody pray for Trent. For some reason I've been super preoccupied with him lately.

That is all.

-Elder Brian

August 15th -- The Good Samaritan

Cool thing in the scriptures this week:  K, so I found a cool Plan of salvation reference that´s way too complicated to teach to investigators. So guess who has to listen to it. Yep--you guys. Ok so it begins "a certain man (Adam/all of us) went down from Jerusalem (heaven) to Jericho (earth). Along the way he fell among thieves (Satan and his angels) who left him naked and half dead (spiritually dead) and awaiting physical death. And then comes a priest (law given to prophets before Moses) who passed by and couldn´t/wouldn´t save him. Then came a Levite (law of Moses)...also couldn´t save him. Then came our boy, the Samaritan (had no comliness that when we looked upon him we should desire him. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him) and he bound up the wounds and poured in water and oil. Placed the man (Adam/us) on his own beast (his own merit and righteousness) and walked the path that we couldn´t. Then he comes to the inn, which is a place to take care of the man (us) and watch over his healing process, (inn=the church) and he gives to the owner of the inn two pence (two priesthoods) to care for the man until he comes again.

Bit of a stretch? Maybe, but there it is: plan of salvation in the New Testament.