It's a Small World

We had a good week here in Sando (San Fernando). Our investigator is still doing well. We got to see her Sunday afternoon and she had a friend join in our lesson. She seemed to like what she heard, so we are going to try to teach her as well. That was a great blessing. 

There were a couple of cool things that happened this week. Sister and Elder Bird were here on Friday, and though I didn't get to see them, I talked to Sister Bird on the phone for a bit and got to catch up on whats happening in St. Vincent. They met our senior couple for lunch by the mission office and Sister Bird told Sister Bateman a crazy story to relay to me. It requires a bit of background information. So, when I went to the hospital in St. Vincent and was waiting so long for my IV to be hooked up, there was a man who was rushed through the ER with his arm dripping blood. They took him into a room for a long time, but since I was there waiting so long, we saw when he came out. Sister Small was with us, and she asked him what happened to his arm. He told her at he and another man were fighting over a women and it resulted in his arm being chopped up with the other guys cutlas (machete like knife they use for everything here).  So, flash forward to Sister Bird's part of the story, She went to church in the Kingstown Branch sometime after that incident, and saw a man and his family who she hadn't met before. In talking to them she found out that they had recently gotten baptized. Well, she noticed that his arm was bandaged or scared (I'm not sure which) and came to find out that it was that same guy! He won the girl he was fighting for, and they were married and then baptized! I don't know how much time elapsed between all these event, because I heard the story second hand, but it was really cool to hear! Small world, huh?

Anyway, another thing that showed us how small the world is was when we met a man who has been living in Florida for years with his family. He saw us on the street and knew immediately who we were because his family was all baptized in the States except for him. His youngest daughter went to BYU for a couple of years, and the missionaries come to his house all the time in the US. He said his wife goes out with the Sisters in his area to help them teach because she speaks spanish and english, so she helps them teach. It was really cool to talk to him and see what has held him back from joining his family in the church. I wish I could say that we were able to have a greater impact on him than we did, but he has his own views and isn't really ready to budge on them yet. He is a really nice guy. I feel sad for him that he is missing out on the blessings of this gospel, and especially sad for his family who are waiting anxiously for him to join them so that they can be sealed together in the Temple for all eternity. It reminded me of how important this work is and what is at stake if people choose to reject what we share. They may not see the importance, but we do, so we have to try to help them as best we can. 

I love you all
Sister Bratt