Saturday, September 17, 2016

Week 52: Story of Ivis & Josue

Hello family!

This was a fun week, in Honduras they celebrated "Dia de niños" and it was so cute to see all the kids with their piñatas and candy in the streets! Not to mention some precious moments when little kids offer candy to US! So precious!

Today we found out that I am saying goodbye to Danli, Honduras, and I will be shipped back to Southern Honduras. To shut close this chapter of my mission I want to share with you guys the story of the greatest family investigating the church, named Ivis and Josue.

Story of Ivis and Josue

We were doing visits with the Relief Society President named Igdalina on a nice day in Danli, when all of a sudden we run into an old neighbor named Ivis. Igdalina offers a visit from the missionaries to Ivis, and with no problem she invites us over and we get to meet Josue, her humble-tattooed-athletic looking boyfriend and their three little girls. As we being to converse with them they tell us that what they want most right now in this time in their life is just more unity in their family. We begin to teach them more and more and invite them to church, and they didn´t seem too promising because they didn´t show up a couple weeks until Ivis showed up one Sunday, with just her and one of the baby girls. Excited to see them show some interest, we begin to teach with them one of the most important commandments for having a united family, marriage. Josue was startled, but after getting their with Igdalina and sharing her story of how she and her husband got married before getting baptized as well... That Sunday they all showed up at church with their three daughters and the rest can be captured in a few marking moments...

The young women in the ward happen to need a basketball coach for a tournament that they were starting up, and Josue offers to be their trainer, showing up every night in the church building to train...

They finally put a wedding date with the huge help of another young couple that shared some of the same marriage stresses that they had...

Josue goes to church by himself when Ivis woke up too late to go to church and begins to commit himself more to getting straight home after work on weekdays...

We teach the Word of Wisdom, and Ivis responds "I heard you guys don´t drink coffee so I already stopped two week ago." Josue smokes and struggles to put a goal to quit.

Josue tells us that at work a bunch of people criticize him for going to the Mormon church "where they praise Joseph Smith" and he defends the church.

Ivis´s Mom as well tells her she is going to the church of the devil, and knowing it is not true stays strong to what she has seen with her own eyes.

In a class in church Josue passes by the baptismal font and says to me "ahh one day.."

Josue and Ivis have a struggle committing to the commandment of Tithing, but by the end of the lesson Josue responds "I know I need more peace, and definitely more blessings. I will."...

Then we get through a rough week. My companion and I don´t find anyone, and we hadn´t seen very much progress. In that Sunday Josue bore his testimony, and said "I know that the missionaries were sent from God, and I used to go out drinking and now I don´t have the desire anymore, I know this church is true and I´m so happy for the change I am seeing in my life"....

Later the storm hit, and when Josue´s brother´s house fell apart, he brought him to church and got to share with his family about the gospel.

Then, Josue starts getting nervous about baptism, we share how the blessings of repentance, and encounter that his Mom too wants to be baptized but doesn´t feel ready. Josue, himself, testifies to his mom how no one has to be perfect to be baptized...

Ivis becomes impatient because Josue hasn´t improved his smoking habits, we set some new goals...

SO MANY ISSUES with the papers to get married, not to mention the fundraisers and food sales that we did...

Until finally this week we see that Josue has now improved from smoking a pack a week to one cigarrete every other day, and their papers to be married will be turned in within these two weeks.

Their progress continues and the miracles keep coming... I am so crushed that I won´t be there to see their wedding day or baptism but I am so grateful for having been played a part in their efforts to unite their family for eternities.

Many photos to come next week!!

I love you all!

Hermana Bernal

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