Bertha was baptized!

I couldn't have asked for a better way to end this past week than to find out that Bertha Tijerina was baptized! I was so blessed to have the opportunity to work with her for the first three transfers of my mission. There was nothing happier than seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ change a life.

Learning that Bertha was baptized was just the cherry on top of a really stellar week! Lots of miracles, and lots of great things that happened. 

On Tuesday, we went to see one of our investigators, Elizabeth. Each time we go there, she tells us that she has been reading about Relief Society, or watching videos about our church on mormon.org. She even asked us why we have Moroni on our temples and we haven't even taught her about those yet! Even though she shows so much interest in our church, we haven't been able to get her to actually come! So that day, we decided to buy her a skirt because she had told us that she didn't want to come, because she didn't have one. Sunday came, and Elizabeth still didn't show up to church. That didn't discourage us though! 

Right after church we decided to drive to her house to invite her to a temple tour that the mission presidency is doing each Sunday throughout February. This gives nonmembers the opportunity to learn about what happens inside the temples and ask questions. When we got there, she was pretty hesitant, but she ended up coming with her son! 

She wasn't able to listen to a ton because her little boy was wild and only wanted to play in the fountains (darn rules that don't let us hold kids and help out haha). What she did hear though, she liked. Our mission president even talked one on one with her and addressed her concerns! It was a really cool experience and the spirit could be felt which is all that matters. 

Something else really cool that happened was with the Garcia family. They are a big family that live in a tiny trailer, but we only teach Marcos and Bryan. When we got to our appointment on Saturday night, Marcos told us that him and Bryan will be moving to Florida on Tuesday to work for two months. This means that I most likely won't be able to work with them again because there is a big chance that I will be transferred before then. Because of this, Marcos shared something that I never knew.

I met Marcos back in December. He had been taught by missionaries before, but they hadn't been able to get in with him so we decided to try again. We showed up at his house and he was outside with his friend, drunk. This was the first time that I had met him and he just kept apologizing to me and telling me that he knew what he was doing wasn't good. I told him he was fine and we talked for a bit! He told us to come back and so we left and have been visiting them ever since. That is our side of the story. 

After we left, Marcos felt REALLY bad. He had been having a hard time and so he decided to buy alcohol. He didn't know why, that isn't something he normally does. His friend left and he went into his room and began to pray. He told us that he knew that God had sent him angels to stop him from doing what he was doing and promised to never do it again and ever since that day, he hasn't.

What a cool thing it is to hear of little miracles that take place and we don't even know about them. Miracles are continuously happening out here. It has been such a sweet blessing to be around Marcos and Bryan. They are so special and I am so grateful for the time I have had with them.

I am so blessed to be here. I love these people with all of my heart! The church is true and I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve here! 

Love, 

Hermana Rupp 

Apparently this is how gangs mark their territory.