the joy of clapping

In Argentina, it is the custom to clap at the gate, rather than knock on the door of a home. Last month when we were having record heat, our missionaries carried on with their clapping activities. Some of them found an opportunity in the heat to ask for a drink of water, and this was how two missionaries met the Lopez family. En Argentina ellos tienen la costumbre de aplaudir en la calle en vez de tocar la puerta. El me pasado cuando tuvimos un montón de calor, nuestros misioneros continuaron aplaudiendo en las calles. Algunos de ellos encontraron una oportunidad para pedir agua. De esta manera dos misioneros encontraron a la familia Lopez.
 

The Lopez’s invited them in for a drink and ended up talking about the gospel. They agreed to come and visit the church that Sunday. They kept on coming and began studying, and now 6 weeks later, they are being baptized. La familia Lopez les invito a su casa para tomar agua y después ellos hablaron acerca del evangelio. Ellos se comprometieron a venir a la iglesia aquel domingo. Ellos continuaron viniendo y empezaron a estudiar. Ahora, después de 6 semanas ellos se bautizaron.
Only the youngest, angel-faced,  Morena has to wait three more years until she is old enough to be baptized. Solamente la menor, con la cara de ángel, Morena, necesita esperar tres anos mas. Entonces, ella va a tener la edad para bautisarse.

However, she was just as excited as if she was taking that important step with the rest of her family.  She loved her front-and-center seat to watch the ordinance. Afterwards, they shared their goal to go to the Temple together as a family next year. Sin embargo, ella estaba my animada, por como ellos iban a dar este pasa. A ella le gusto su silla en el medio de la primera fila para mirar las ordenanzas de su familia. Después ellos compartieron sus metas de ir al Templo juntos el próximo ano.

Maximo’s story is completely different. His family was good friends with a Mormon family for many years. He was actually in love with their daughter, who, of course, was not thinking of him in any special way at all. Nevertheless, through the years they stayed friends. About 5 years ago, Maximo’s father learned about the gospel, but was not able to join the church. Because Maximo is blind, and at his request, the missionaries brought him the Book of Mormon on CDs. However, at that time he didn’t feel that he was willing to change his lifestyle. Meanwhile, the love of his life had forgotten all about him, and she, herself, was not keeping the commandments, nor living the lifestyle of her religion. El cuento de Maximo es muy diferente. Su familia tuvo buenos amigos en una familia de Mormones hace muchos anos. En realidad el amo a la niña. Ella por supuesto, nunca pensó acerca de el de esta manera. Sin embargo, durante muchos anos ellos fueron buenos amigos. Hace 5 anos mas o menos, el padre de Maximo estudio el evangelio, pero el no pudo ser bautizado. Porque Maximo es ciego les pidió a los misioneros un Libro de Mormon por CD. Sin embargo en aquel tiempo, el no sintió querer cambiar el estilo de su vida. Durante este tiempo, el amor de su vida lo olvido y ella no estuvo guardando los mandamientos de Dios, ni estuvo viviendo la vida al estilo de su religión tampoco.
A few weeks ago, Maximo ran into the Mormon missionaries. The relationship in which he had been spurned, began anew, with drastically different results. As Maximo studied the gospel, he taught his girlfriend the things he was learning. All the truths that she had once cherished became precious to her, more precious than ever. They both had personal spiritual experiences. Now they share the joy of the gospel and the knowledge of God in their relationship. She wept with joy, sharing their goals to be married shortly and to go to the Temple together next year. Hace pocas semanas Maximo encontró a los misioneros Mormones otra vez. Y su relación de antes empezó otra vez per de una manera muy diferente.
Mientras Maximo estaba estudiando, el enseño su novia la cosas que el fue aprendiendo. Todas las cosas que ella aprendió antes fueron preciosas para ella, mucho mas preciosas que antes. Ellos tuvieron experiencias espirituales personales,. Ahora, ellos pueden compartir el gozo del evangelio y sus conocimientos de Dios en sus relaciones. Ella lloro con gozo compartiendo sus metas de casarse pronto e ir al Templo juntos el ano que viene.

In the meantime, all of them will be attending Sunday School class in a room specifically set aside for new converts as they continue to learn and grow in the gospel. (Presidente and I had never seen a designated room like this one before.)Ahora todos de ellos van a asistir a las escuela dominical en un aula especifico para nuevos conversos mientras ellos continúan aprendiendo y creciendo en el evangelio. (El Presidente y yo no habíamos visto un cuarto especifico para nuevos conversos antes.)

Behind every baptism, is a beautiful story of faith and hope and love. We are so blessed to have many stories among our missionaries. I wish I could share them all. Atrás de cada bautismo hay un cuento buenísimo de la fe y la esperanza y el amor. Estamos bendecidos de tener muchos cuentos entre nuestros misioneros. Espero poder compartir todos ellos.