Elder Tengberg: BAUTISMO!!!!!- Email 10/8/12 & Pictures!

Ahhh family! I am going to type as fast as i can, because i have so much to say and just not enough time. We have seriously seen so many miracles this week. i am seriously amazed every single day at the hand of the lord in this work. There are insane difficulties, and problems all the time, but i know this is his work and i know he uses us the way he needs us.

First, conference was great! One of the pictures i sent is from the saturday session of conference in the morning. Our goal was to get more members to conference on saturday....2 showed up.

The other is the baptism we had sunday! Story later.

Haha so first thing first....only andrew and mary will appreciate this, but the other day i was singing and elder ramirez asked me what song i was singing, and i thought for a second...then realized it was the NBA JAM THEME SONG!! hahaha i was singing the THEME SONG to a freaking Wii game. I started laughing so hard. Andrew, i miss you man! Hopefully you read these. If not, you smell and i hate you.

P day was awesome last week, i got to go to the beach. We played frisbee and layed down, and it was so sick. I got a little bit trunky because i all of the sudden had this crazy desire for a board and brew sandwich, but it was so great. How many missionaries get to lay on a sunny beach on p-day?! granted, i was in jeans and a t shirt, but HEY its the fact that i was there that counts. So that was great.

Okay so we have 2 more baptismal dates for this month, Johan for the 14th and his brother Cristian for the 21st. The story behind them is REALLY cool, and has strengthened my faith so much. So...it starts about 4 weeks ago, when i first got here. We got a call from someone in the branch that said that a less-active was in the hospital and wanted a blessing. besides being scared out of my MIND giving a blessing in spanish, all i had to do was the anointing part. Even that was so funny in my mind though. People here have crazy long names (like Jose Antonio Vega Uribe Torres-Barrueto), so it felt like i was reading off the roster for the CHilean soccer team as i tried to start the blessing. really hard. but anyway, elder ramirez gave the blessing part and he said some interesting stuff. like why she had this trial, and that it would be the way that her family would come to the gospel. Turns out, as we visited her a couple of days later, she hasnt been to church in 20 some years and none of her sons are baptized. the kids are CRAZY smart though. As we have been teaching her, i have been so touched to see the lords hand in their lives. So many times we get angry with Heavenly Father for our trials, but fail to recognize that there is such a bigger purpose at hand than just giving us difficult things. Now, two of her three sons are being baptized, she has been coming to church, and she has been fully healed. The gospel is true!

WE HAD A BAPTISM YESTERDAY!!!! woooo!! In the picture, the little girl is Reinata. The mom is Karina, the one i wrote about i think. Karina is going to wait a little bit longer so she can be a little bit more prepared, but this week we saw a miracle here too. We were kind of feeling down when karina told us that she wasnt ready yet, and my faith had kind of just been sullen. But sunday morning, i listened to monson´s priesthood talk again (in english so i could understand) and i was just on spiritual cloud9. I was SO happy. Then we get a call from Karina that reinata is throwing up and cant get baptized. So we just say "we`re on our way" and head over. The poor girl is like WHITE, and is just laying in bed so sad. We testified of the power of blessings, the power of faith, and that this is the WHOLE reason this restoration happened - to restore the authority of God to baptize, to give blessings, and to do the lord´s work on earth again. Thats what the WHOLE purpose was! She said she had faith that it would work, so we gave her a blessing, and afterward, she had color in her face, sat up, and told us she was going to go to her baptism. WOOOO!!!! Haha we were so stoked. It was just such a testimony to me of faith. When we put our will in the will of the lord, he shows us miracles. Sometimes, we just dont trust ourselves enough to put it there.

Thats all i really have time for, but other miracles happened too. Another family, a lady Paolina, said when we came to her house that her husband and her had some really hard times, and she was about ready to give up. She said she had heard before that god answers prayers and sends angels, but never thought it would hapen to her. but then she said that she KNEW, with tears in her eyes, that we were sent to her to help her. We havent gotten a chance to talk to her again, but i just feel so honored to see that the lord works miracles, but that he allows me to witness it all. Not for a second do i think its myself. I feel so unworthy all the time to see the changes that he makes! Its so incredible. I love this work so much and am so excited to keep working harder and harder, helping more and more. Once i can speak the language...i know my ability to understand and love people will just be so much better. Cant wait for that. But for now, i just bear my testimony and try my hardest to show my love through my actions. Its a good thing it doesnt matter what i say or do, because God has it ALL under control and just works the miracles himself!!

Love you all. Thanks for your emails.

Until next week! Ciao!

Elder Tengberg