Gah-lee! I can not even believe how fast time is going! The transfer ends next week and I've already been here in Odessa for about 4.5 months! Isn't that crazy?! I feel like I just got here...but I also feel like I've been here for forever. I'm excited for calls, but I hope I get to stay a little longer.
Last Monday we got a call from a random member, one who isn't less active, but also not active. We really haven't been working with the family much at all. He called us and said he had a referral for us! Yay! So that night we went and taught a family home evening. The investigators are way cool but there was a problem...they're English!! So we decided to do a handoff lesson (that's just like a mini exchange with whatever companionship we are handing them off to. That way both the investigators and the missionaries who are gonna teach can feel more comfortable). It was a REALLY neat thing because we handed them off to 1 East AKA: Tom. So I got to go and be companions with Tom for about an hour. It was a DREAM! How cool is it that I got to teach a lesson and just be a missionary with one of my best friends?! I am so lucky. The lesson went great and Tom and I work real good together. I hope we can do that again.
We usually have our correlation meeting every Wednesday night. Except that's a lie, I guess, because our Branch Mission Leader is the most unreliable person in the planet and cancels usually haha (see email subject). This week they had Branch Counsel instead of correlation. It was the first Branch Counsel they have had in 5 months....gotta love the Spanish Branch! The meeting was so funny. Everyone was just yelling over each other and making side comments and jokes. Our poor Branch President couldn't be there, so he was on speaker phone the whole time. I can imagine how hard it was to focus. We joked about how funny it would be if they made a movie called The Spanish Branch. It'd be kinda like The Singles Ward, but better. It would still be in English, since everyone speaks English, and would be about the Branch from the day in became a branch to when it becomes a functional branch or a ward haha. I would pay to watch it. After the meeting some members fed us Menudo again :( . I was able to eat the whole bowl this time and wasn't even sick the next day. Just call me Juan
Oh my, just sit and let me tell you about Cody's progress this week. We went over on Tuesday and taught about the Priesthood. Also present at that lesson was Yoselin (Cody's girlfriend) and her less active brother Jesus. Between the three of them there were some of the best/most thoughtful questions I have had in my whole mission. Yocelin wants to know more about the life of Christ, Cody wants to understand the Celestial Kingdom more, and Jesus is beginning to show interest in coming back to church. The spirit was real real strong the whole time. Right as we were about to finish things up Jesus asked me if I had ever read the book of Mormon and felt the spirit just like it promises. I bore him my testimony and then made them a promise. I assigned them to read Enos 1, to pray about it, and to think about it. I promised them that if they did that not only would they understand it, but they would feel the sprit stronger than they had ever felt it before. Then I went and made each of them specific promises according to their own needs. I felt so driven by the spirit, it was a dream. As soon as we left from that lesson, though, I got SO scared that what I promised wouldn't happen, weak faith, I guess. I prayed so hard for the next few days and even fasted that that miracle would happen in their lives.
On Sunday we had another lesson with Cody about faith. When we followed up with him on if he read Enos or not he told us he hadn't. I was real sad, but we still had a really good lesson. We ended up challenging him to be baptized this Saturday. He's been pretty scared to be baptized, so he still was unsure. So we told him to go home and pray about it and to read that chapter and let us know. Last night at like 10 we got a call from him. He told us that he read it and wasn't sure what happened. He said he felt so good that he was dizzy and felt happier than he had ever had been in his life. He asked us if that was the spirit. We told him to read a scripture from alma and for him to tell us what it was. He called back 10 min and told us he knew it was the spirit and that Saturday was the day for him. Man. How blessed am I? God made the promise I made come true for Cody. I can't wait to follow up with Yoselin and Jesus. I know that this is God's work and that I am nothing more than a tool in His hands, but how neat is it that I get to be that tool? I hope I can always be that.
I love you all a whole bunch! Have a god day and week.
Love,
Elder Caleb
Elder Caleb
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