Monday, December 31, 2012

Great Week!

Hey guys, Well it's been another great week. Like I had said, we spent the whole week outside of the capital looking for ways to open new areas up and also doing some splits with missionaries. This last week was absolutely fantastic. I loved it. It was one of the best trips of my life. So our main purpose was to go to Chisec, Raxruha, Fray, and Playa Grande and look for members and boy did we find members. They seemed to be all over the place. It was really cool because we saw miracles the whole time we were there. We sat in the back of the pickup through all of these places so that everybody could see the gringo mormons were coming to town. We also went with a guy from Coban that had worked a lot in those areas as our guide and another man that is President Watts' second couselor, Presidente Ovalle. I think going with him was the best part because he was the same man to take the first missionaries up to the Polochic and Senahu and pretty much started the church in a large part of our mission. We were making history. One of the biggest miracles was that we went to Fray to talk to the mayor and see the possibilities of putting missionaries there, and as we were leaving the city, a man stopped us in the road. He had been following us for a while and when he got out of the car he said, " So you guys coming to put in a branch, or a whole stake all at once?" He then told us that he and his family are members but have lived there for 22 years and have never seen the church since. So he is a bit inactive but will really help get the church started there. We went to his house and got to know his family a little better. Turns out he is a returned missionary and an ex branch president from peten. He told us that he had been praying all year-long that in this next year, they would be able to get the church in Fray. He also said that his brother, who is a pastor, had a dream in which he dreamed that this guy would have his own flock and own congregation in the year to come. Well, I think that might have been revelation. We also got some other contacts of people there in Fray and it's looking really great. By the way, both Benjamin and his wife are judges and are a very strong family in the community. In Chisec, we went to eat in a restaurant and talked to the family that owned the place and they were super nice. We talked about the possibilities of putting missionaries there and the man said that he thought that would be great. He said that his Dad was a member of the church and that he remembered primary and the Elders. He said that as soon as the missionaries got to Chisec, they would be welcome in his house. They also told us that they would be looking for housing there in Chisec for the Elders. By the way, it just so happens that the wife of the man is the cousin of the wife of the ex branch president in Fray. I don't think that was a coincidence. We stayed the night in Chisec and got up early to go to Playa Grande, but a little discouraged because we still had not found any members there. So as we were leaving the city, on the corner of the last street of the entire city, dressed in a white shirt was a member from my last ward in Coban. He yelled out to us and we stopped and talked to him. Turns out he just started working in Chisec from Thursday to Saturday and would love to help us start the church there. He said he could stay Sundays for branch meetings if he needed to. He also just called us today and said he's going to put out fliers and even announcements on the radio looking for members there in that area. It's wonderful! So then we went to Playa Grande. There we found more than 7 members with all their families. That place is huge and it seems like all the members know each other. There is one family that we were able to visit that just moved there 3 months ago and are very active. He's the boss of the largest bank in the city and she is the boss of the "health center" in all of Playa Grande. They have 2 kids and have been in almost every calling on the ward and stake levels you could imagine. He just finished serving on the high council. They said that they will start looking for members and helping us out. We also met a member that had the names of 3 or 4 other families of members and said that he had houses that he can rent out to the missionaries. It was perfect. The great thing is that it is such a big place that one day there could be multiple stakes there. It was so exciting to get to know these people. Another thing that was cool was that the family of the bank and the health center went to church on Sunday in Coban. They are making the 3 hour trip a couple of times a month so they can attend with their family. So all in all, it was one of the coolest couple of days in my mission. I feel so blessed to be part of it. I feel like the Lord used the four of us as instruments in his hands in a very important time. Now all we have to wait for is the approval of the Area Presidency and we can go ahead and put missionaries in those areas. So we're excited. Other than that, things are good. I'm loving life. My companion is great and we've passed through a lot together. I know the church is true, after this week more than ever. The Lord is hurrying up his work. It's a huge blessing to see the gospel getting to the furthest ends of the earth. I'll let you know how it goes. Anyways, have a great week. Love, Elder Lloyd

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