That picture with the Bushmans makes me incredibly happy, and that black hole image makes me giddy. Thank you very much for the letter!
A couple more funny things. One
day I saw a man sweeping a balcony that was tiny and quite high, and I
mentioned it to Elder Mazzeo, saying, "él estaba barriendo allí", but he
heard "pariendo", which has basically the same pronunciation but means
"birthing", not "sweeping". Isn't Spanish great? Also, Elder Mazzeo says
two phrases that are really funny, but are only funny in Spanish. The
first is, "No es lo mismo 'me baño en el río' que 'me río en el baño'",
which means, "'I bathe in the river' is not the same as 'I laugh in the
bath'". The second is, "No es lo mismo 'el Cura tiene SIDA' que 'SIDA
tiene cura'", which means, "'The priest has AIDS' is not the same as
'AIDS has a cure'". I think it's wonderful that puns can be so powerful
in Spanish. I love it.
Speaking of AIDS. We ran into two borrachos (drunkards) in the same morning (emphasis on the morning),
which was interesting. The first one chased after us after we ignored
him, running on his bare feet to put his long, unkempt, caveman hair
much closer than I wanted. He demanded of us why we wouldn't give him
the word of God when he asked for it (which he hadn't), but when we
offered him a pamphlet he refused and just awkwardly wandered away. The
second we encountered on the same walk, only a couple hundred meters
(those are kinda like yards, you gringos) further. He was seated on a
curb with a backpack, and was not noticably drunk from a distance, so we
heeded his summons only to hear his sop story about being kicked out of
his girlfriend's house and also having AIDS - that's where that comes
back in - for which he had a huge bag of medications. Basically, we just
left a pamphlet with him, read Alma 7:11-12 and testified of the power
of Christ to relieve his suffering, and left. Overall, that was just a
weird start to my day.
Oh, and Rosalie, when
Elder Mazzeo saw your picture and heard you're unmarried, he started
making plans. So you have another backup in case your rich Sheik falls
through. Just so you know.
The last experience I
want to mention this week is something that happened on Saturday that
was more wonderful than expected. There was a baptism of a young boy of
eight years from a less-active family, but for it to count toward the
mission in the numbers he would have to have been nine years old, so it
was a ward baptism. That's great and all, but investigators are more
exciting. But it became more interesting with the person who baptized
him: Brandon is a Priest, seventeen years old, who had not gone to
church for a full year. He was selected to perform the baptism by the
youth president of the ward, and it was approved by the Bishop, so thus
it was. He studied the words of the ordinance beforehand, and ended up
pulling it off flawlessly (despite never having done that before), which
I was very proud of, and he looked so happy to be there. And this is
where the miracle starts. Afterwards, Elder Mazzeo was talking with him
and said, "you know it's not a coincidence that you were chosen to
baptize him, right? You need to come back to church", etc., to which
Brandon actually replied, "yeah, I was just thinking about that." He
proceeded to say that because of that experience he now wants to serve a
mission and especially to go to church to prepare himself for that. My
mind is completely blown by that! Just a simple - and, frankly, weird -
choice of baptizer led to a huge change in the heart of the same, that
could eventually lead to many others joining the fold of the Good
Shepherd. That is a witness to me that God is really guiding this work,
because it is His truth in the Earth, and His true Church, established
again by His hand. Those white clothes Brandon used for the baptism were
actually mine, and that was their first use in a baptism; I cannot
imagine a better first use than that, because it could be that that one
even might lead to a cascade of goodness and of knowledge of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. That is so beautiful to me.
I also would like totalk a bit about that scripture I mentioned earlier, Alma 7:11-12. The text of it says the following:
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succorhis people according to their infirmities.
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succorhis people according to their infirmities.
So many people do not understand the sacrifice of
Christ as they should; many people think that He only overcame death
and sin, but that His sacrifice does not meet the ends of other forms of
suffering. But I am here to tell all who will listen that if that were
true, God would be a liar. Such a redeeming sacrifice as that cannot
ever be complete without also paying for every result of the fall of
Adam and Eve, which includes all things in which we sin, all things we
suffer resulting from sins of others, and all infirmity and weakness
(which are results of the Fall just as is death). All of those things
are the power of the devil, and if anyone ever says that Christ did not
overcome all sufferings of every form depreciates the power of God, and
literally turns Satan into the winner. Christ won the entire battle
Himself, and if any of Satan's effect is left free, unmet by God's
power, Satan wins, and literally everyone that has ever existed is lost
to perdition, cast out into the pit by eternal justice. Thus, God
becomes a liar, as He is not omnipotent as He said; and as He ceases to
be God, all of reality literally unravels, the materials of this
universe no longer knowing Whom to obey, and all spirits falling away
into a real limbo, which is an actual hell. Do you see why it was so
important that Christ pay for our pains, too? It seems such a small
thing to us, but it has eternal consequences that are more grand than we
can comprehend. I testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has no
bounds, and it covers every sin, death, pain, sickness, weakness, and
pain; if not... we would never have had a chance to return to Him in the
first place, and He would be made a liar anew. It is not so, and I know
that God lives, and that He is infinite in His power to spare us by way
of the power of His Son; the justice of God is so beautifully met and
matched by the power of grace, and I know it is boundless.
All
this has revolutionized my life. It makes me think of the song The
Reason, which says, "I found a reason for me to change who I used to be,
a reason to start over new; and the reason is You." I am so grateful
for the kindness God has shown me in giving me more understanding of His
Gospel, because there is nothing in this universe more important to me.
And if you know me and my adoration of the mysteries of Creation, you
know that that is the highest praise that I personally can give.
With eternal love and everlasting awe,
Your friend in Argentina,
Elder Hill
Fotos:
674: Mi mamá (no me pregunten, por favor)
673: "Vi una columna de luz..."
670: Mi gemelo
669: Elder Diaz
685: Una araña grande
701: Nosotros con Brandon y Santino (el niño que se bautizó)
760: Que dramático
733: Un fuego de gas cerca de nuestra pensión (como 4m x 4m x 8m)
691: Estoy borracho
698: Perrito con ojos interesantes y incomunes
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