Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Santa is a Polynesian


The last 3 months I feel like there is an experience I have with the Polynesian cultures around every corner. I mean my companion is from Tahiti. The ward mission leader in the Morgan Hill Ward, Brother Almodova is from Hawaii, My first Zone Leader was from New Zealand. They are just everywhere! I haven't really taken the time to explain who the character Brother Almodova is yet and would like to take the time to do so now. So as I said Brother Almodova is a Hawaiian. He is the most missionary minded member the church as EVER seen I can assure you. He works as the head of security at a high end casino a few miles from my area and he is just not afraid to do anything. At the casino he will hear someone spread a rumor about Mormons and will walk over and just correct them right there on the spot, answer all their questions and make sure they understand the correct idea of what the church really is. It is awesome. Everytime we eat at their house we also get extremely authentic Hawaiian food like "Laulau" which is pork cooked in taro and tea leaf. They keep thinking I won't like what they make but I always end up loving it. Bro. Almodova also has a real thing with me where every time we leave his house he will just laugh at me when I say by parting goodbye and kick me out his door. We still can't figure out why he does this. He's just a character. 

Well we had a very interesting and exciting week again. Just so much is happening now and things are really looking up. Tell Beau that his fasting worked cause we are surely finding people to teach! Do you remember the story of the man who was having a seizure and we helped out his wife and in result were an answer to a sincere prayer in a time of need? Well we got the family to begin the lessons with us on Wednesday! They have in the past pushed against the church every time the church pushed in the slightest that they should investigate and because of that miracle we have gained a relationship with the family and we will be teaching the wife and the 3 kids all the discussions. They've been trying to come to church but the devil is just working on them so hard. They end up all getting the flu one week or pink eye the other. This Sunday they all showed up and they looked so good and so happy and Elder T and I couldn't be happier. While I was blessing the sacrament however we noticed that there was something happening with the family as the prayer was half-way through. The husband had another seizure in church. We got a paramedic out of the congregation to check his breathing and all half-way through the sacrament and someone to watch their kids and we had them of course go home. We hope they will not become frustrated and they will continue to try. We surely won't give up on them.
 

We picked up another investigator this week. It is the daughter of  a less active who unexpectedly appeared in church a few weeks ago. We went over and she has a lot of doctrinal concerns and just feels so overwhelmed by what she doesn't know that she doesn't come to church. Well we are now working with her to reactivate her and teaching her 10 year old daughter in hopes of having her baptized in the coming months.
 


Well I would love to say much more but I have run out of time. You all have a very Merry Christmas and be filled with loving kindness to all around you.
 

--Elder Gemperline

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