The First Sacrament Meeting of Taulabé
We had sacrament meeting in our little house with 21 people for the very first time here in the aldea of Taulabé. The missionaries have been wanting to be here for a few years but have never had the chance. The missionaries have come and visited it every once in awhile. Taulabé is about 30 minutes north of Siguatepeque (where the church has one ward and a branch). There is a solid 15 members here that have been traveling to Siguatepeque for 16 years to partake of the sacrament. A few months back Elder Johnson and Elder De la Rosa started coming to Taulabé once a week to see if it would be possible to start the Church here. Then Elder Small (who came to Honduras with me) starting coming with Elder De la Rosa and asking Pres. Ferman if we could give Taulabé a chance. They got the go and found a house to live in and got the back up of the branch Presidente, Pres. Zuniga, to help with the work. When I got to changes on Monday they announced that I would be training. I wasn't surprised, I had a feeling that I would be training for a few week. But when Pres told me that I would be starting a branch in an area that has never had missionaries, I felt this overwhelming excitement to share the Gospel. I received Elder Co.
Elder Co has a long and amazing story of how he got into the mission but I will keep it short. Born and raised in Guatemala in a familia Catholic. He went to the states for work in Texas and was enjoying it much. A friend gave him a number of a lady that lived in Utah that could give him a job. We traveled to SLC and slept in the apartment of a bunch of return missionaries that served in spanish speaking missions. They talked about the church and he accepted the invitation to attend that Sunday. Had a lot of questions his first Sunday but felt the need to keep learning. He met with the missionaries that week and they told him to offer a sincere prayer asking if he needed to be baptized. He told them he had never said a sincere prayer to ask God something before and wasn't sure that it would work. It did. He prayed and asked our Heavenly Father about his baptism after 6 months and felt the need to follow the Savior's example and be baptized for emersion by someone who holds the priesthood authority. Three weeks later he was baptized and had read the Book of Mormon. Since then he hasn't missed a Sunday and has helped his mom and sister who live in Guatemala get baptized.
In the Four days we have had here in Tualabé we have found and taught 40 people. Broke the record for new people in a week in just four days. People were inviting us into their house without us even saying a word. People called us after handing our a little cards on the bus, saying that they wanted us to pass by to teach them more about the Book of Mormon and Jesus in the Americas. It has been a Week of miracles. I have felt that the Savior is at our side. I have felt stronger than I have ever felt in my life that the Savior lives. This is HIS church. The same person that was born 2000 years ago in Belen of Mary, the same person that pled with the Father in the garden of Gethsemane, that was crucified on the cross, the same person that took his life again the third day, that same person appeared to Joseph Smith. I know it. I feel it in the deepest part of my being and the joy that it brings me to share it with the families here in Taulabé for the first time is an opportunity that I will not pass up.
ELDER THORN
 |
| Elder Co in SLC |
No comments:
Post a Comment