I Will Go and Do : Week 63: Surprise, Surprise!!

This week Elder Harris and I are finishing up our first transfer together. We have seen so many miracles in the short 6 weeks we have served together. We got some pretty shocking news that yet again I am being transferred! Ha ha, nobody saw this one coming. . . I will be heading to Bridgeport, Connecticut to be the Zone Leader of the New Haven Zone. My new companion, Elder Sprehn and I will be "shotgunning" the area before he ends his mission at the end of this transfer. Shotgunning means that we won't know any of the investigators, any of the members, or really anything about the area at all! I'm pretty sad to be leaving such a great companion, but my new area has tons of work and my new companion is a great missionary. I guess President needs me there . . .or he just likes to move me around! ;)

This week was a fantastic one! We had a zone conference and a Mission Leadership Conference. We were also able to see great things happen in the work here. I am very grateful to have made an impact on some lives here. Most of our investigators are doing very well. At the beginning of the week, we had zero investigators with baptismal dates and by the end of the week we had 3. Including our investigator, Djmailla, who is just the best. She is such a bright and happy person even though she faces so much adversity and trials. Her date is September 30, which she is very excited about. The other two investigators we were able to set dates with are Nancy and Narralie, a mom and daughter who we have been working with for a couple of weeks. Their baptismal date is October 14th.

This week we were able to witness a very cool miracle while finding more investigators. We found this large government housing area with loads of people around. Elder Harris and I knocked on a door and a 30 year old man named Nate answered the door. We told him our purpose as missionaries and asked him if he would like to hear our message. He agreed to listen and we sat down on the steps to his door. As we were talking to him, he told us about how he used to be heavily involved in the gang life. He said that he was even shot, he them pulled up his shirt and showed us the scars on his stomach from the bullet hole. He said that when he was shot he had to be revived 3 times and that even though he was about to die, he felt peace. He knew that this peace was coming from God and that He was with him. He survived the experience and gave up the gang life and soon became homeless. He told us that even though he experienced many trials he never doubted that God was there. After a powerful Restoration message, we invited him to pray and ask if our message was true. He was very hesitant to pray, though he agreed and began to offer a very sincere prayer. Throughout the prayer, he paused many times. After closing, he jumped up and his whole character had changed. He then said, "Are ya'll magicians, how did you make me feel like that?" He then told us that he felt very calm and peaceful while praying and that it was the same feelings he had when he was shot! He said he hadn't ever felt those same feelings since. He knew it was from God and knew that what we had to share was special. Elder Harris and I left that experience so excited and amazed at the miracle from God we had just witnessed.

Last night, we were able to have a great experience. We are teaching a man named Carlos. It has been very hard to meet with him and his understanding isn't the best. We were planning on no longer teaching him. As we were talking to him a week ago, telling him that we would no longer be able to come by, we both felt prompted that it wasn't right. We decided to continue to try and teach him. Last night we stopped by and began talking to him. He lit up when he saw us and told us that very morning he woke up and desperately felt like he needed to be closer to God. He said that he was even in tears. He thought about how we made his home feel when we came by and desired to have that feeling all the time. In his broken English, he told us, "You two are different . . .I can see it . . . It's like you're holy, like you're angels . . . seriously" It was such an eye opening experience to realize that we truly are representatives of Jesus Christ.

I have absolutely loved serving here in Springfield, MA. The Ludlow ward has been by far one of my favorite wards and I am very grateful for the experiences I have had here. This upcoming week is going to bring a lot of change which I am excited to face. I am anxious to see why the Lord needs me in Connecticut. I know that this Gopsel is true and that because of Jesus Christ we can really change our lives. I love you all!!

Love,
Elder Gutierrez