We have also been teaching Antonio, and he is progressing very well. We taught him the word of wisdom this week in a bar just after he had been drinking some coffee. We were a little nervous about it, but he didn't seem to have any problem with it. He told us that he would quit drinking coffee. He came to church yesterday, and informed us that he is doing very well with that commandment, and it made me really happy to hear that. He is scheduled to be baptized this Saturday at 7:00! Keep him in your prayers! Specifically that we will be able to visit with him as much as possible, because his work schedule is really crazy.
A couple of really funny experiences yesterday, the first of which will probably surprise you. We had a lesson with a catholic priest from California. His name was father Juan. He asked to meet us in the chapel of the hospital, which is a little weird, but we went anyways. When we got there there was another priest just leaving. He told father Juan to convert us in a joking way. It was more a conversation of our faiths than a lesson, but I think it went well. I got very lost in the conversation several times even though we were speaking English. He was taking very simple doctrines, like that we are all children of God, and making them super complex. Super confusing, but despite our conflicting views on such things as the Godhead, he was very intrigued by us, and invited us to return whenever we could. He was very nice and very friendly, and it was nice to teach an American for a change.
Later that day, we were stopped on the street outside a bar by two women asking about our missionary badges. We explained that we are missionaries for the Mormon church. That may have been a little mistake... We soon learned that the one was atheist, and the other agnostic. While we were talking a little about religion, one of their friends came out of the bar, joined in, and told us he was Jewish. He was soon followed by another atheist, a catholic, a Jehovah's Witness, and another agnostic. The Jew started a conversation about what each religion had done for the world, claiming the parting of the Red Sea for the Jewish. As always, the perfect idea didn't come to me until it was about 2 hours too late, but that would have been a great opportunity to say "our religion has this, The Book of Mormon." BOOM! Would have been perfect, but instead we just shared something about families, which may have been our second mistake... We were then accused of the typical polygamy issue, which we then had to explain that we don't believe in that. This little religious kumbaya is one experience I don't think I will easily forget. They were all very nice and funny people, and I hope we were able to at least plant a little seed in them. Maybe next time they see missionaries, they will be more inclined to listen to them.
Love you so much, and have a great week!!
Later that day, we were stopped on the street outside a bar by two women asking about our missionary badges. We explained that we are missionaries for the Mormon church. That may have been a little mistake... We soon learned that the one was atheist, and the other agnostic. While we were talking a little about religion, one of their friends came out of the bar, joined in, and told us he was Jewish. He was soon followed by another atheist, a catholic, a Jehovah's Witness, and another agnostic. The Jew started a conversation about what each religion had done for the world, claiming the parting of the Red Sea for the Jewish. As always, the perfect idea didn't come to me until it was about 2 hours too late, but that would have been a great opportunity to say "our religion has this, The Book of Mormon." BOOM! Would have been perfect, but instead we just shared something about families, which may have been our second mistake... We were then accused of the typical polygamy issue, which we then had to explain that we don't believe in that. This little religious kumbaya is one experience I don't think I will easily forget. They were all very nice and funny people, and I hope we were able to at least plant a little seed in them. Maybe next time they see missionaries, they will be more inclined to listen to them.
Love you so much, and have a great week!!
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