Sept 12, 2012

Well hello again! It just feels like yesterday was Pday, but guess a week has gone by.  Wow how fast was that, well for me at least.  This week in Ferrol has been good, hard... super hard, but the outcome has been great.  Like I have been saying for the past little bit, we contact a lot.  Not just on certain days, but everyday.  When we get a little bit of free time, we contact, knock doors, talk to everyone we see, just trying to be a missionary.  Well, as I have said it has been hard,  I have been very sore in the mornings. The north is a little more hilly and steep.  The streets are so steep and seem like they just go on forever.  We walk everywhere.  We don´t have a bus or metro so it´s straight walking.  That´s always fun.  But it´s been good.  I get up in the morning rolling on my knees and just praying that my body can get up with me.  hahaha  I´m fine, just really tired all the time.  Eight of sleep goes by fast, then you get up, then it seems like I lay right back down  to go to bed.

Well the Lord has definitely been with us, a lot.  He has put many people in our paths and in our church, wait what, in the church. Oh did I just hear a miracle? haha Well, that has been the best thing that has happened.  Mandy told me that since we are new we will see many miracles.  Well this is one of them.  On Sunday we get to church, greet everyone and sit down.  I saw some new faces in the middle of the chapel, so I sit with them and talk just a bit before the meeting.  I thought they were just passing through and were just attending our church.  Well after the meeting I talk with them some more.  The father Roy said that they are less active members and that he and his wife, Flo, haven´t gone to church since they were in Peru.  He said it had been a good 7 years.  They have a daughter.  She looked older, but come to find out she is only 12 and is not a member.  Say what! Can I get a Amen! AMEN!  We just talked with them on Monday, and the daughter told us that she wanted to be baptized, and the father and mother want to be sealed in the Temple.  They said they just wanted to come back.  They live very far from the church a good 30min walk and they said that they just passed by it walking and they just felt they should go in.... During the lesson I was just speechless.  I couldn´t talk.  We were in awe that the Lord has put this wonderful family in our way.  

We have been working a ton and have been doing a lot of contacting.  The President is impressed that we are bringing many less actives to church.(He didn´t believe that this would work)  One of them, Yolanda, (she´s from Brazil and has a pretty sweet accent) got up and she bore the most amazing testimony of how she is coming back, quiting smoking and wants to get married with her boyfriend.  That´s a miracle.  It just has been great here.  It´s super hard, don´t think that it isn't. I go to bed and I wake up and I haven´t even moved.  Usually I roll around, but nope, I am dead.  

For the past few weeks, my back has been killing me.  Elder G´s back has been hurting him too.  We called up President's wife and she said to put some hot pads, take some advil and all that stuff.  Well, we have been working out and doing crunches, working on our backs to strech them out.  But I´m sorry, it´s not helping.  So we shall see here soon.  But going on, I have just been a tired and sore all the time, just really hurting, so I do the thing I know how to do.. pray..  That´s all I can do, some scriptures came to mind and also during our lessons,  Alma 31:31 and Nephi 7:17.  I´ll let you read those but a quick sum up is that they both prayed for strength to get through the tough times.  That´s what I got out of it.  So that´s what I´ve been doing.  It´s been hard, but the Lord is right with me and Elder  G.  We have felt him very strong for the past couple weeks, guiding us to where to go.  We might contact for hours and find just that one person.  He knows his fold, his sheep and he is guiding us to them.  It´s hard to do it, but it´s so worth it.  I have told him many times a night, Padre, dame fuerzas.  Just like Nephi said.  

This has been a learning experience.  I'm learning things that I couldn´t learn at college or anywhere, just here.  The Lord needs me here, and I am ready to serve him.  He has given me a lot of strength, a lot of it to get through this past week.  I love you all, I am doing great, don´t you worry about me, I am fine. I´m on His errand and he has been showing me the way.  I love you, I hope the best for you, and I am lighting up this place.  Love you!!!!!!

Con Amor,

Elder Alex Lobo