Elder Richardson in Guatemala: February 2, 2015 email "Strength According To Our Faith"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIKAMO!!! Love you Zach, you are awesome!

Tortillas: 40

What an amazing week we have had! First, I must make a correction, her name is not Jury is it Ludy! That is what happens when you type fast. Ludy and her husband Eleo are all in and want to be baptised! They are an amazing young couple with an amazing desire to follow Jesus Christ! We are programing to have their baptism on the 21st of Februrary, Sams birthday! We also will have the baptism of Edilmar this saturday. This week we also went to Huehue to have interviews with President Smith. Each time I talk to him I learn so much! Sadly, Familia Castillo is not really progressing very well... Tino is having problems withe the Word of Wisdom, Alexander now has to work on Sundays so that he can go to school... We are continuing to work with them, but Satan is working hard so that they cannot find ture happiness. Other than that, Heavenly Father is blessing us every day with people that are prepared to hear the gospel. We are working hard, but it is difficult to get people to church!

Mejor Milagro:

After our day in Buxup, we were in Monajil wainting for a bus. A bolo (drunk) came up and started talking to him. We began to converse about why he was doing what he was doing, of course it was because he was sad. As we were talking, he started to open up another bottle of Machetero, the pure alchohol that is dirt cheap that all of the drunks drink, and we were trying to persuade him against doing it when a young girl walks past us and asks when we have our "Culto" (That is what the evangelics call their reunions). We tell her that that night we would be having one and invited her. To our suprise, she showed up! It turns out that she is friends with a young woman member and has had interest in the chruch. We are going to start teaching her together with her friend.

Testimony Time:

The title is from Alma 14:26, and the whole reference is, "O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverence." At this point in the Book of Mormon, we have two of the most amazing missionaries ever, Alma and Amulek, who are in jail receiving horrible treatment. When we read this verse, they are looking for diliverance, which eventually comes from the power of the Lord making all of the walls fall down, killing their enemies and releasing them from adversity! After reading this story, I began to ask myself, how can I have this much faith that I can make amazing miracles come to pass? I began to study, and I studies a lot in Ether 12, and have come up with a pretty good formlua to work miracles in our lives. 1. We need to be humble before God and realize he is all powerful. 2. We need to know his will and remember that miracles will come about with his will. 3. We need to pray to receive miracles 4. We need to wait and trust as the miracles come. This week I put thisformula to the test, and I saw so many miracles. The Lord wants to bless us. He wants for us to be happy and successful. I know that miracles happen, and as we trust in the Lord we can do anything. This formula is simple, and I know that as you try it you to can see miracles in your life. I will also continue to improve it, because this is just the begining. I am also grateful for personal revelation that we can receive from the scriptures, and as we look for the Lord he will show himself unto us and we will hear his voice! I know He lives and loves us! Have faith and anything can happen! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

This week we have pictures of the protest on the road to Huehue and me in typical clothing! She is from a place called Todos Santos and makes these beautiful tops for women and Jackets for men that are typical to Todos Santos. The Jacket I am wearing I bought from her for Q200, which is about 25 dollars. The collar is made of typical fabric, and just the collar took her 2 MONTHS to make. It is used, and that is why I got it for so cheap. Usually it is twice that much. Love you!