The Miracle Zone :)

My Beloved Family,

I love you so much!! :)

This week has been a great week! I'm so grateful for the things that I'm learning from Heavenly Father. I know that Heavenly Father loves us, and that He wants for us to have real happiness.

The way to be happy is to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father is happiest being in existence, and when we have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we can feel of His happiness and love for us.

We have a friend here in Barcelona who I'll call Andrés. He's from here, and he's married to a member of our ward from Ecuador. Andrés has had negative experiences with religion in the past, and so had decided to "sympathize" with Buddhism. One of his sons is a zealous evangelical christian, and his other son is firmly agnostic. The home isn't very united in their ways of living, and it was unlikely for Andrés to accept our invitations to discover for himself if Jesus Christ's teachings and church really has been restored. It's been hard on us, to help him to recognize that he has been feeling the Holy Ghost, and then to have him reject time and again our invitations to study and pray to Heavenly Father to know for himself.

Last Sunday, he came to the church for the first time. During the week, we visited him, and he told us that he wants to be more united with his wife, and that he wants to be baptized!! Yesterday at church, he announced in every class that he was preparing himself to be baptized!!! He has real intent, and he has faith -- he wants to be baptized at the beginning of April, and we want to help him to truly be prepared for that day, and to make this decision out of faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

It's a miracle to me, that the heart of Andrés could be changed, and that he would decide on his own to begin to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father truly does work miracles.

We have some other friends that are trying to live the gospel as well, and we're making friends all the time who want to know more about the restored Gospel. It's such a blessing to be able to dedicate all day every day to help these people discover for themselves how to live the Gospel. As missionaries, we should live the gospel, too. Something that President and Sister Pace pointed out recently really rang true to me; that obedience motivated incorrectly isn't really living the Gospel. That's what "going through the motions" is. We need to be obedient because of our faith; diligent because we want to share love. 

As we live the gospel, we will have the Spirit with us, and we will be happy. :) Then it will be natural to invite others to begin to do the same.

This week, invite someone to listen to the missionaries. As you spiritually prepare yourself, and act in faith, Heavenly Father will bless you in your efforts to invite that someone you know.

Will you be seek out and take advantage of an opportunity to invite someone to listen to the missionaries this week?

I love you family!! I'm trying to work harder, rely more on the Spirit, and exercise more faith!!

Love,

Élder Zubeldia