4 February 2014, East Brunswick

Ritzy East Brunswick

My area is rich and white. Of the 8 cities we cover, the only city that has a larger Hispanic population is called South River, which is where most of our work is done. All of the contacting, knocking, and teaching is done there, because it's filled with Mexicans from Oaxaca and Ecuadorians from Quito.

This past week was filled with more visits to the hospital to be with Hermana Rosero and her mother Carmen. We actually had a really good lesson on prayer with Hermana Rosero's daughter, Maria, who is 23 and applying to go to Rutger's University this fall. We stopped by the hospital and she was there working on applications. So we sat in with her and watched Carmen sleep, as we talked about school, life, future, etc. Eventually we brought in church and religion and testified of the Church, invited her to come and committed her to pray every night. It's so easy to discern whether people are actually invested in their belief in God or not and so it was incredible to see Maria change a little, just in that short discussion we had on prayer. ANNNND we followed up today and she happily said she's been praying every night. She'll be baptized in no time.

We had a great lesson on Wednesday night (after frantically making calls for an hour to find an hermano to come out with us because our original guy bailed on us) with Karla (from Puebla, Mexico - MY PEOPLE!), who is a recently returning less-active member. We also taught her friend, Brenda, the mother of the family that lives with Karla, and the lesson was filled with teaching and testifying about the gospel and the way it specifically blesses us. Karla supported our teaching with a testimony about the Plan of Salvation and how when God took her father from her, she had to remember who she loved more: her Heavenly Father or her earthly father? Brenda is now investigating and we are going to start teaching her husband and family as well.

ALSO, Jose Mercado drove down from Plainfield and took us out to Maria's Taqueria in Jamesburg. Spectacular Mexican food down there. I ordered carne enchilada with rice and beans and fresh lettuce and avocados, with a cold Cola on the side. It was so good to see Jose and he was better than when I saw him last. He said he goes to church 2-3 times every month (which is considered active) and he is working on receiving a calling right now. 

The gospel is real. It's not some made-up story, some fabricated idea of man. It's the way we get back to Heavenly Father and I know it's true.

EC

ps - I'll say it again : ALL MY FRIENDS ARE MISSIONARIES.