Los Minas 4 - "The Only Time I Was Truly Happy . . . "

Los Minas 4 - "The Only Time I Was Truly Happy . . . "

It's amazing how many curve-balls and changes 7 days in the Dominican Republic can bring.

This week was amazing. We had so many miracles as a companionship, mostly for Elder Reyes dedication to this work. The man is a missionary work machine! He's teaching me more than I think I'm teaching him. And it's a privilege to work along side him. 

 

We found a lot of people this week. We also unfortunately have had to stop visiting some others that we had found at the start because of lack of interest or not coming through with commitments. But we found an AWESOME family. Actually the owner of the gym where we've started to go, the best friend of a member named Willie. The family Montilla maybe wouldn't be the family a missionary would see and know from the start that they're ready to hear the Gospel. When we got the reference from Willie the first day at the gym, I was a bit surprised that Amauris, the dad, would be interested. You have to see him. He's absolutely giant, tons of tattoos and just looks kind of like a rough guy. Maybe in pictures he looks meek, but the guy is an animal. We give him a pamphlet and invited him to church and he and his whole family came on Sunday. He BORE HIS TESTIMONY the pulpit in church which was something we were not expecting at all and they're just a superstar family. They're really interested in the Gospel. We had a great lesson last night and we have a lot of hope for them.

Thanks to the Ward as well, we've also been finding a lot more people that are prepared. Working hard to reach the goal we have as a mission and help God with his work. It's been great and the work is without a doubt getting a bit easier every week. But come what comes, we're putting on those church shoes early every morning and hitting the streets 'til all day. It's a blessing every second you have as a missionary. Especially as you see your best friends coming to the end of the road and hear their testimonies and mission experience, it motivates you not to waste the time you have. I love being a missionary and I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the countless blessings He gives to me and to those we teach.

One of the coolest experiences of the week is a man we found named Rafael. Unfortunately, he lives in a different area and we won't be able to keep teaching him. But he has been a member of the church for about 26 years. All his brothers served missions. His whole family is active in the church and he has a STRONG testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. We found him on the streets, drunk and from what we saw a bit drugged up. We started talking and he told us of his love for the church and how blessed his life was when we was active. Fighting through the tears, he explained us what had happened and how the addiction to drugs slowly destroyed his life. How abandoned he felt and how insignificant his life was. We testified of the power of the Atonement and his potential as a child of God. How forgiving and loving of a Father we have and how everyone can repent. We invited him to church and gave him a pamphlet and he ended with one of the most powerful and sincere prayers I have ever heard. I left that street corner lesson humbled to say the least. But the most powerful part of it all, the part that hit me most was something he said. "I've tried everything the world has to offer. And the only time I was truly happy was when I was active in the true church of Christ." It makes me grateful for the influences I have in my life and the parents god gave me. We work hard everyday to be able to in the moments when we need to, reach the hearts of the Dominican people and invite them to have more happiness and true joy in their lives.

I hope you all have a great week. I love you all.

Elder Graff