Week #103

Hola Familia!

 Today will probably be the last letter that I write home because next week is transfer week and interviews with President. I don't have a lot to say to everyone today, which kind of goes along with what I'm going to talk about. After almost two years of living, breathing, teaching, and learning the gospel, I realize just how blessed I am to have been called a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My life will never be the same, and I don't want it to be. I'm different, I'm a changed man, I actually feel like I understand the gospel now (even though I have a long way to go). The gospel is such a deep concept. There is so much to learn and so much to study and so much to apply. I have learned deep doctrine of the plan of salvation and I understand a whole lot more of what the Atonement means to me. I know a lot more about the depth of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But when all is said and done, I realize just how simple the gospel is. The Lord has blessed me with the ability to teach it simpler and clearer. The more the Spirit teaches me of the deep mysteries of the Kingdom of God, the easier it becomes to teach those mysteries to someone that doesn't even know that God exists. Teaching and testifying in a simplified version gives us power. I've seen it again and again with President Cifuentes. He teaches with simplicity and the Spirit moves us.

So I guess to finish my last and short letter home, I want to bear my simple testimony: I know that we have a Heavenly Father that loves us and so He sent His Son to show us the way back home. He blessed us with a Church so that we can become worthy to enter His presence again. I know that Joseph Smith restored His Church to the earth through angels. We hold the Book of Mormon today as proof of this restoration. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and it testifies of our Redeemer Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our Savior and He died for us so that we can live with Him and our Father again. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you and I'm excited to see you all again!

 Love, Elder Bosco II

Week 102

Hola Familia!

{Wesley is talking about a video that a member sent to us on Facebook of the truck stuck in mud...}

I´m laughing pretty hard right now because you already know about the truck getting stuck just a few days after it happened. It´s incredible how social networking works. I´m not sure what you saw from the video, but I´ll have to tell you about the story. We got permission to go visit Alexis and Belen in General Cerri and teach them a lesson. I don´t know if you remember them, but I was teaching them with Elder Dement about 4 months ago. And just so you know, Cerri is one of the muddiest places on this earth. I remember serving there and literally not being able to see my shoes at night because they were COVERED with mud (okay maybe not that bad, but you get the point). We got to there house (which is in a muddy area) and Elder Paleka wanted to back into the house. He was backing in and the back wheel slipped into a little ditch full of mud. We tried to rock it back and forth to get it out, but the back wheel ended up getting even more stuck. There was no way to get out. Luckily, Alexis loves cars and is very handy when it comes to mechanical things. We were able to tow the big truck out with a little beat up car. While the little car was towing it out, we were behind it pushing and the car sprayed us with mud. My pants got pretty muddy haha. The reason you have the video is because Sis. Sabatini (Alexis´ mom who is a member) saw us and took a video of it. It was pretty funny.

We went in there home full of mud and we were able to teach Alexis and Belen. They ended up getting married but they haven´t gotten baptized yet. They go to church every once in awhile and they were in a stall with their progression. I taught them of the blessings of being obedient and how it will bless their family forever. I remember having the feeling to tell them how much I loved them. I will never forget the tears I saw in their eyes when I said those words. I truly did mean it- man do I love them. As a missionary, the Lord truly blesses us with the ability to love and to have true charity. I felt it for them very strongly. I told them that I hoped to hear some good news from them some day. News that they had been baptized together and made it to the temple together. When I was leaving, Alexis hugged me and told me that I would be hearing good news from them. Just that morning they were talking about the importance of the gospel in their lives and the life of Tiziano (their 3 year old boy). It was an incredible night for me and I was so grateful that the Lord had given me the opportunity to meet and teach them. The Lord has blessed me again and again here on the mission and I´m forever grateful for that.

Thanks for all the love and support! I love you all!

Love, Elder Bosco II

Elder Caparroz leaving for home. He´s from Brazil! What a great missionary!