Owl City!

After a laid-back P-day [on Monday], we visited some investigators in the evening.  We contacted Fatima last week and she introduced us to her aunt Corina and her grandma Sofia.  All three of them have become interested in our message and are very kind.  And Alejandro is still considering his baptismal date.

On Tuesday we had our first district meeting with the Elders and it went well.  Then we spent the afternoon contacting and searching for new investigators (we ended up finding three!)  I actually really like teaching the first lesson to new investigators.

This is my "really tired" face after climbing up a gigantic hill to visit one of our investigators

On Wednesday morning we went looking for a new investigator named Eloisa, who, when we found her, kindly invited us into her house.  Turns out, her granddaughter, who is about 50 years old, listened to missionaries about 25 years ago!  When we started presenting the Book of Mormon, she excitedly exclaimed, "I remember that book!  I read it before I had children, but I can only remember the name Joseph Smith."  They both listened attentively and were really receptive.  It's amazing how the Lord prepares each of us to accept the gospel at exactly the right time.  Then we visited Antonio, who keeps asking us about his baptism and started reading the Book of Mormon from the very beginning.  And, in the evening a less active member and his "girlfriend" (the've been living together for 10 months now and we've been teaching her the gospel) fed us dinner.  Oh, and they (David and Sonya) have 2 pet owls!! Apparently, it is illegal to have owls as pets, but they hide them in a cage behind their house to scare away the rats.

Thursday, we walked all over!  After teaching a recent convert named Bryan, we taught Hermana Rivera, who is a less active member.  Hermana Rivera used to be super involved in the Church and was always the first person to arrive at the Sacrament Meeting.  But when her husband became really sick, she stopped going to church and reading the scriptures.  It made me see that even the strongest members can become inactive when they stop doing the little things (prayer, scripture study, church attendance, etc.)

Friday was an excellent day.  In the morning before lunch, we visited Eriberto and Antonio.  Then we went looking for a family we had contacted earlier in the week.  The Sanchez family warmly welcomed us in, and to our surprise, in their living room, an owl was quietly perched on a tree stump!  Hermana Cuque thought it was stuffed, but then it moved and made a clicking sound.  It was so cool, because Luis (the dad) works at the zoo in the Encantada Park and has the hobby of training wild birds.  Before the owl, he was training a falcon and a messenger pigeon.  We taught the Sanchez family the first lesson and found out that they are from the DF (districto federal) and listened to the missionaries there!  After a great lesson, Luis asked us if we wanted to hold the owl - named Morico - with the special leather glove he has!!  So, of course we excitedly let Morico perch on our arms and snap some pictures  :)  His eyes were huge and yellow and he was kinda heavy!  haha

Here I am with the owl!!!

Then in the evening Cruz Torres fed us a "second lunch" and we taught him the entire Plan of Salvation.  He was so interested and wrote down the new words he learned (Premortal life, The Fall, Atonement, Spirit World, Celestial, Terrestial, Telestial, etc.)  and their meanings / scriptural reference in a notebook.  It is so fun to teach an investigator who truly appreciates and pays attention to the lesson.

Saturday was a pretty easygoing day.  We were looking for less-active members and found the sister of a less active, who had moved away several years ago.  She was really nice and we taught her and her husband.

Sunday was a really hot day, and not a cloud in the sky.  I am starting to miss beach days and swimming in a cool pool!  Alejandro and Antonio came to church and the classes were great.  Afterwards, we ate with the Enriquez family in the church (since they actually live in Morelos and didn't want to make us go all the way over there and then travel back for our appointments).  We ate pozole (a chicken soup with corn and vegetables.)

Then Marlen made visits with us in the evening.  We met a man who has dedicated years to building a house that depicts a timeline of earth since the creation of Adam and Eve.  It was really interesting 'cause the walls were covered with paintings and 3-D clay scenes from the Bible.

All in all, I had another excellent week and I hope everyone else did as well.  I love you and pray for you all each day! 

Till next week.
~Hermana Eliason