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THIS WEEK WENT SO FAST HA :                                                          3 April 2003 

The investigators that we have are doing so well ... well, José not so much right now, but he´ll be alright in the future ha.

Franklin went to church and we got 3 more people to get to church, and it made me so so happy to know that our efforts are worth something ha .  Jordi is doing awesome but having a hard time with his Mom.  She doesn’t really like the Mormon Church and wants Jordi to only be catholic no matter the circumstances.  She told him that he couldn’t go to church on Sunday but he told us he is going to sneak out to go to general conference! haha, so pray for him.  

 THE GRANDKIDS LOOK SO CUTE!

CONGRATS DAVE AND BRIS !!!!!!!!!! Wow that’s so weird.  I have three nieces!.

Anyway mission experiences.  I had an exchange with an Elder serving in Mao, Elder Brummm.  When we got back from Mao to Navarrete we were sitting in the park and I got a call from a member from a different ward giving me a referral of two of his friends ( I love member referrals).  We were able to work them into our schedule that day, so we went over to their place to meet them and see if we could set an appointment o visit with them.  When we got to the house and as we knocked on the door, I got a really weird/heavy feeling.  We were invited in and I still had that feeling.  As we sat down, before we really said anything, he emphatically stated that he is an atheist............ I’M IN A COUNTRY WHERE EVERYONE BELIEVES IN CHRIST (or so I thought).  I didn’t really know where to start.  How do you start a discussion with someone when there is no common base.  I didn’t quite know what to do.  He had never prayed in his life, didn’t know who God was or is, had an idea but didn’t or hadn’t felt that he existed.  We were able to bare testimony of God and His Son Jesus Christ and a little of a Godhead lesson.  He started asking questions, a lot of questions.  I think he had kept these inside for a long time and wasn’t really so much an atheist but just didn’t know where to go to get and understanding, and finally found someone he could ask.  I found it so much easier to answer the questions because he was sincere in asking not trying to Bible bash to try to prove some point or the other, with me like the normal Dominican.  We felt the Spirit and let him know what he was feeling.  He thoughtfully accepted our answers -and we were able to answer almost every question he had.  I thought about inviting him to be baptized but that weird/heavy feeling came again.  So we didn’t.  I think that we put him on a good path for him to start his personal discovery of God and his relationship to Him, but the commitment is not what he needs right now.  When he knows who God is for himself (we’ll follow up with him and provide answers as he is ready) he needs to make steps on his own to “come unto Christ” -  we´ll get around to that when he’s ready (baptism, that is)! 

Semana Santa (Holy week) was crazy! On Friday (the day Christ died) no one left their house or played music like they normally do.  It was the most quiet day I remember since living here in the DR.  But on Sunday ( the day Christ was resurrected ) it was the exact opposite.  It was so hard to be a missionary and try and teach.  They had a huge party in the city park and EVERYONE went. They burned a life sized straw doll of Judas in effigy as a tradition because he  was a traitor to Christ and gave him up to the sadducees , pharoses and Romans for ten pieces of silver.  It was just a crazy day. I’m really glad that Mormon celebrations are a little more docile and calm.

 

My camera battery died so I cant send pics.... next week ! HAPPY CONFERENCE EVERYONE!  I hope ya learn a lot.  I plan to.  

TELL EVERYONE HI.  

LOVE !!!!!!!

ELDER MATT GRINER

misión santiago RD

2011-2013