The SPIRIT always testifies

Hey family!

Well, it's been a crazy week like always! A lot of stuff has happened. Let's start with baptisms.

So, Edith and Jean Franco will be baptized this Friday. Because we are up here in Barranca, and we are so far from the city, the person who does baptismal interviews wasn't able to make it for this weekend. So THIS Friday they will be baptized! :)

Gloria...ASUMachhu. She is the FUNNIEST little girl on the planet. And so adorable. She was so excited to be baptized this Saturday. Everything was ready and set, we were just waiting for Saturday. Well, when we get there Saturday, her Dad was there. He said to us ¨I changed my mind. I don't want my daughter to be baptized and I am not going to allow it.¨ He and his wife had just gotten into a huge fight. He is not a member of the church and he refuses to listen to the missionaries. Gloria's mom is a fighter. She is a faithful member of the church and she is just such a strong woman with lots of problems in her life. Well, we told them that Gloria couldn't get baptized without her Dad's permission. But...we weren't just going to give up, so we stood there and talked with her dad as he angrily cleaned his lawn chairs. It was a very strange conversation. He ended up talking about science and how science and God can't exist together and science has proven that God doesn't exist. I told him that I was studying to be a doctor and he laughed at me and said that he was talking about MEDICINE, not miracle curing people. I was like uhhhh no, I'm studying to be a surgeon. I bore my testimony of God to him and we tried our best but he was just so bitter. It was awful. Well, it turns out Gloria and her mom snuck out of the house to go her baptism and they showed up to get baptized. It was awful because we had to tell her she literally couldn't get baptized. We didn't want to separate their family. So now we are going to go and teach her father with a LOT of power and authority and get that baptismal permission!! And while we do it, we are going to baptize him as well :) We will fight hard for Gloria!

Gloria made us balloon necklaces :)

So, bad news. Remember that bug bite that swelled up huge a few weeks ago that I had an allergic reaction to? Yeah, well guess what was happening to me as we were standing outside teaching Glorias dad?? These SAME bugs were attacking me!! I now have 63 huge red, infected bites on my legs and my legs are completely swollen! It is the worst. I have spent the past 48 hours scratching my legs!!! We went and bought a bunch of pills and creams and I have a treatment that I am doing but it's the worst!!! So I guess that was my bienvenida to Barranca :)

We had a really great experience this week that I would like to share :) In our carpeta de area(binder that was passed to us), there is a family of 4 with parents casados(who are married) and they have come to church before. But, there was not an address or telephone number and NO ONE in the ward remembers them! So Hermana Leyva and I have been praying a lot to be able to find them somehow. We didn't know how we were going to do it, but we had faith that we could find them. Well, one day we were walking with a member and we passed a house and she said, ¨I remember Hermana Munoz coming to this house to teach once. Lets go knock¨. So we went and knocked and it was them!! We were able to find this family!! It is a mom, dad, and two girls 14 and 11. So we are SO excited to start teaching them and invite them to be baptized again. Before, they had accepted a baptismal date but were not baptized. So we are going to teach and baptize this family of four. Heavenly Father is listening to our prayers here in Limoncillo!! I have felt the guide of the Spirit so strong here. I know there are a lot of families here that Heavenly Father needs us to find and we will keep looking and praying for them!!

Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I know it, because I have seen it a bunch in my mission! Sometimes he answers them after a while, sometimes immediately, sometimes we are happy with the answer and sometimes not. But He will ALWAYS answer our prayers. I have had a bunch of experiences with investigators where they have doubts about Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon and we just kneel down...right then and there...and ask God. And it works EVERY time. They always receive an answer. The Spirit always testifies. Every time. It is such a testimony builder to me. Yesterday I had the chance to teach the Gospel Principles class (Limoncillo is a branch so the missionaries basically do everything. Church attendance is about 80 people). I taught about the Holy Ghost and as I taught I just felt so grateful for the influence of the Spirit in my life. It has helped me make important decisions, and I have my testimony of this gospel thanks to the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost and prayer. We can feel so close to our Father in Heaven through prayer. 

I love you all! Have a great week!!
Hermana Agle

ahhh...the beach!

My District at Christo Redentor