Date
September 28, 2015
Area
Resistencia
Companion
Elder Karmanov
The Plan of Happiness
Hello Mom,
First of all, I just want to say how excited I am for General Conference! This week we are definitely going to be pretty busy inviting the whole world to come and listen to the prophet! I am also just really looking forward to hearing some answers to my own questions and learning about what the Lord wants us to. I know with all my heart that general conference is a very special and even sacred opportunity to receive that personal guidance and direction in our lives. I hope you are excited!!!!!
Okay, the highlight of the week. Ready? On Saturday we had a missionary activity in the church. It was a HUGE success. We had about 90 people there and everyone had a great time. The theme was the Plan of Salvation and we decided to teach everyone about our Heavenly Father's plan by basically acting it out and playing games to teach about each phase of the plan. We all started in the chapel where we talked about the premortal life, then we all passed through the veil (which was a white sheet), we gave everyone slightly damaged plastic gloves as imperfect mortal bodies, then we bobbed for apples and talked about the Fall, then played simon-says and talked about the importance of following the example of the Savior in our earth life, then we died and took their gloves away from everyone, then we moved to another room which was the spirit world, and then we went to final judgement, and then everyone was assigned to one of the three rooms which we had decorated as the 3 kingdoms of glory. It was an extremely fun and a pretty spiritual experience at the same time. Of course we had lots of food after. I made Hello Dollies again, and people went nuts over them! We were sooooo tired after but we were sooo happy at the same time because it was just a great success. There were members, less actives, investigators, and all of them had a really great time and they all left really happy. We were excited mostly because we are starting to get more help and support from the members! It's been a struggle to get them to participate in activities and stuff, but this activity was a huge step forward. (photos to come).
This week we have been teaching a lady name Maria R. She is such a sweet lady and she is super prepared. We found her last Saturday and we had taught her about the Plan of Salvation. She lost her husband about 10 years ago and her oldest son died at age 30 about 5 years ago. She told us that she hadn't been able to get over that loss and had broke down crying. She had told us that she wasn't sure if her son was okay or not. As we taught her about the plan, she began to calm down and at the end she asked us more about the spirit world. We explained that páradise is for those who were obedient and the prison is for those who weren't. We simply promised her that she can still do a "great work" for her son. On Tuesday we went back with Hna. Trinidad (a member). There couldn't have been a better person in Argentina to fellowship Maria. Both lost their husbands several years ago, both work in bakeries, both have kids, both are happy people, and they just hit it right off. We taught her about the Restoration and Maria cried as she talked about her son again and Hna Trinidad just held her hand tightly and looked her straight in the eyes and promised her that death is no the end. I was on the verge of tears the whole lesson. When we invited her to be baptized on the 24th of October she lit up and said, " yes! I think i will be ready by then!"
We have been teaching the Plan of Salvation a LOT lately, and we have been seeing the fruits! On Friday, we contacted a guy named Javier. As we talked to him at his fence he expressed his sincere concern about passing on from this life some day and leaving all alone...without any surety of what happens next. That really surprised us, that he would have such a sincere and deep concern. We asked him to let us in and share with him. He did. We used my little drawings to explain the plan to him. As we finished he sat back in his chair and breathed out. It was like a huge sigh of relief. We will be going back this week to teach him more.
I am so so so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful for the sure KNOWLEDGE, and not just hope, that I have of the possibility and reality of being able to live together with our loved ones. Life wouldn't and doesn't have purpose without this plan. I am grateful for the temple, where I have learned sooo much more about this plan. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon that teaches us the comforting and detailed doctrines of His plan. And above all, I am grateful for the Savior who made it all possible. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior AND Redeemer, and I know He lives.
Elder Christiansen