November 7, 2011

Dear Family,

Well this week, just like each and every week on the mission has been so great. Elder Bárcenas and I get along so well. I really like him a lot, he's really humble, happy and ready to work. It's really nice to be with a new missionary because they come onto the field with guns blazing ready to baptize the whole world, and that's exactly what we plan to do. :)

This week the best thing that happened was finding the Ramos family. Let me give you a little back story. President Northcutt used to have a required amount of street contacts and doors knocked per week. That went for a while, but for one reason or another he had the missionaries stop reporting the number of those that they did. As a result, all the missionaries completely stopped doing street contacts. A few months later, I got to Argentina. So basically, I went a good year and a half without ever doing more than a handful of street contacts because I didn't know it was something you were supposed to do. Then, President Levrino a few weeks ago challenged us to talk to everyone and promised us much more spiritual power as we "open[ed] [our] mouth[s]" (D&C 33:7-10) and shared with us a promise from Elder Ballard that if a missionary opened his mouth talking with everyone the Lord put in his pathway, he would have twice as many baptisms than if he had not. I took the challenge. It wasn't easy, nor still is, but miracles have followed as we have followed this promise from a man of God. (See 2 Kings 5:1-14.) The miracle that occurred this week was the Ramos family. Victoria Ramos was a street contact. We didn't think much of her, but one night after our plans had fallen through and we had a little time before we headed home, we dropped by her house.

They are from Bolivia and very humble. Two families live in the house: her family and the family of her brother-in-law. (Her husband and husband's brother are identical twins named Eduardo Carlos and Carlos Eduardo ... what a sense of humor that mother had. Haha!) Anyway, they are pretty much golden investigators. They have a 9-year old son who read the pamphlet we left with them and the chapter of the Book of Mormon and totally understood it all and had great questions. Carlos had read everything and even though we only left him 2 Nephi 31 to read, he read it and also started from the beginning of the Book of Mormon and read all of the introduction really thoroughly. They are probably the most sincere, humble seekers after truth that I have met in the mission. When Carlos gave the closing prayer in the last lesson he asked God forgiveness for having so many questions. What humility! They are great! I'll keep you posted on them. Pray for their progress.

On a side note, Ariel and Gisela are doing great! Ariel got the Aaronic Priesthood this week and they are so excited to be doing what God wants for them.

Anyway, that's been my miraculous week. I love you all so much! Miracles happen when we obey with exactness what the Lord asks of us.

The church is true!

-Elder Spencer