Wonderful, Wonderful Mothers Day Call!

Saludos querido familia y amigos!

It was so awesome to be able to talk to you yesterday! It was such a blessing to be able to talk to you and get to hear how things are going there! It sounds like you are doing great. That is such a blessing from the Lord that we could talk on the phone!

Things here are good! Kartel and Kenya actually told us that they were going to get some money today! He said that he was going to borrow some from a friend, which makes me a little nervous, especially when the Church teaches us not to go into debt, but I think that everything will be alright. Also, Miguel and Brijida are selling a big speaker that they have (those are super popular here because they listen to their music waaaay too loud here) to get some money also, so we’re hoping that they’re going to use some of that at least to put toward their marriage! That would be a true miracle! That would mean, in a perfect world, that Miguel and Brijida and Kartel and Kenya would both get married this week and they could both get baptized before Elder Clase leaves! We’re going to see, but we’re hoping that at least Kartel and Kenya can get baptized and confirmed the last Sunday in Elder Clase’s mission! That would be sweet!

We set two more fechas this week! There is a 19 year old guy named Alex who is living with a member in our branch, and we set a fecha with him this week, and there is a part member family that has a 19 year old girl named Maris that now has a fecha. Alex is only like 9 days younger than me actually, his birthday is the 14th of July I think!

We are receiving so many blessings from the Lord! The members have been bringing friends to church, and that helps us find new people so much faster! It’s awesome how this branch works!

Elder Clase is getting really close to going home, but he’s doing good! He’s still working great, and he is finishing pretty strong! When he goes back home, I think that he’s going to go to school, but he doesn’t really know what he’s going to do work wise. He really wants to buy a house as soon as possible though, haha, he has told me that several times.

Thanks Mom, I’m really grateful to have come from a family and parents and friends who made me what I am. I truly came from the best place in the world. I have been blessed with countless blessings, and I wish I would take some more time to count them every day.

I love the words that I had the privilege of hearing one time from Jeffrey R. Holland. I once saw a clip from a powerful talk that he gave about trials. He told a story about how when he was a young father with a wife and a couple little kids, their little family had to move to the midwest or back east somewhere for a few years, so they loaded up the family and started out on their journey across America. I don’t think they got very far before their car broke down, and they were stranded in the middle of nowhere. So, Elder Holland got out of the car and started walking back towards the nearest town. He had to walk for a few miles before he ran into an old farmer or someone who had a car and could help him get his car back into town so that they could get it fixed. So, they got back to town and got the car fixed and headed out again. Then, Elder Holland said that when they got to the same part of the road where they had broken down before, again the car broke down! So, a worried young Elder Holland again left his worried wife and two little kids and started walking back down that same road until I believe he ran into the same man, who again then had to give him a ride back to help bring the car into town again to get it fixed. Elder Holland told the story of how recently he had passed by that very same spot on the road while driving with his wife, thirty years later. He said something to the effect of how for a moment on that road, he thought about that day in his life, that trial, that difficulty, and how discouraged he felt then, and for a moment, he saw himself as that young man, walking alone down the side of that road. And then he said something that affected me greatly. He said, Don’t you stop walking boy. There is happiness ahead of you and thirty years of it! He finally could see the other end of that trial. He finally could see the prize that had been awaiting that worried young father walking alone down that old highway. It struck me that we’re all like that. If we will just stick with it, then someday we will look back and see the reward that we received for pressing on. I testify that the day will come when we will rest from our trials, the prize will come, the happiness, the peace, whatever it may be that we’re waiting for, it will come. But when the trials come, we have to tell ourselves, don’t stop walking boy. Those years of happiness are awaiting all of us too, we just have to keep walking. Just like the running back that hits the pile, we have to keep moving our feet. I always have loved that quote of Elder Holland’s ever since I heard it and I pray that it can be a strength to us all as we go through our own trials.

I love you all so much, thank you so much for all that you do!

Love,
Elder DeSpain

P.S. I don’t know if I’ve sent these to you, but I attached a couple pics from when Junior and Juana got married. I got to be a witness and sign their papers! (Picture is on the blog!)