Transferred to Diriomo

     This week i had transfers. i am still in the same Zone but i moved to a different area called Diriomo. My companion is Elder Hernandez, from Guatemala. Hes a good missionary who spent a lot of his mission as Zone Leader but now he is just District leader here. This week was a little bit crazy with having transfers and all but we did see miracles this week at church. The past few weeks the missionaries here havent been able to complete the norm of having 6 investigators at the church. only 4 or 5. but for some reason we saw 6 come this week and we didnt even have the half of our investigators come to the church this week. my companion was very surprised. another miracle was that a couple of young women who did not want to go to church the past few weeks came this week. i think part of it was that the night before we visited them and decided to talk about the importance of the Sabbath Day. as we talked about the importance, the young women started to understand why it was necessary to go to chuch every sunday and partake of the sacrament.
     I know that if we really help the people we are teaching or the people who are investigating the church understand the importance of the sabbath day and its observance, you will see miracles happen with the people who are trying to find the truth and you are trying to bring to church. I pray for all of you. that through your obedience the Lord will continually bless you.

Seven Times Seventy

    I hope everyone had a good week! This week i just want to share an experience and the lesson that i learned or that can be learned from this experience. As we were working hard this last sunday morning to bring our investigators to the church, we went to look for one of our most positive investigators, as we arrived to his house, he was sitting out front waiting for us (as he thought we only came to share a message) as we sat down and talked with him, he told us that he couldnt make it to church because he was going to leave soon. but in the same moment he started talking about one of his problems that he was going through. turns out he was really angry at someone for what they did to him and because of this he felt he needed more time and that he couldnt come to church with us. As my companion began to explain that going to church was the best thing to do, i felt the strong impression to talk about forgiveness with him. As i talked with him about forgiveness, and shared Matthew 18, where the Lord teaches that we must forgive "even seven times seventy". As we talked, he began to share more about his situation and his resentment and growing hatred toward this person who had cheated him.
      As i talked with him i felt the impression to take him to the church and offer a prayer. when we arrived at the church and offered the prayer, we saw that his whole demeanor had changed, his heart had softened and his faith and trust in the Lord had been strengthened. I know now that through his faith and his willingness to forgive himself and the other person, his testimony and love for the Lord Jesus Christ grew. There are two lessons we can learn from this esperience, first, is the miracle of forgiveness. As we root out the spirit of contention from our breasts we can feel the peace and tranquility that comes with allowing the Holy Ghost to dwell and become part of our hearts. I can testify of the wonder of forgiveness and that through finding forgiveness we can also find peace and love. When we have peace and love in our hearts the Lord can guide us through our difficulties and challenges.
       Lesson two, that only in the Lords house can we find a safe refuge from the distractions, temptations, and evil spirits of Satan and the World. As human beings, we are subject to and prey to the whims of the world, we are spiritually sick. when we become sick physically, where do we go? to the hospital! As well, our spiritual selves need the nourishment, care, and medicine, that we can only find inside the Lords house. Always obey the sabbath, for this day was made for us. As the scripture says "the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath." I hope and pray that you will always have the desire to change and become better and more perfected in Christ. I hope that my messages strengthen and uplift your spirits and testimonies. As a servant of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I testify His power and divinity. In His name, Amen. Have a great week!

The Bigger Picture

     I hope that everyone had a wonderful week! This week was a little crazy but i got through it alright. As we go through our lives we find ourselves in many different types of situations. always we are thinking that maybe if my situation changes then things will be better and i wont have any more problems. but once things change we just find that the problems have changed also. The lord always has admonished us to have patience and longsuffering.
     But how can we have such patience and how can patience in trial help us to grow? I seem to remember a certain story in which there was an old farmer who had a tree growing in the front of his house. this tree was a good tree with bright green leaves, strong roots and beautiful branches. but one day the old farmer decided to cut some branches off the tree, leaving the tree almost bare. well the tree didnt like that so much and complained that the old farmer had destroyed his beautiful branches and perfectly formed limbs. but as time passed the little tree saw that because the old farmer and his wisdom had cut him down, that he now had the opportunity to grow even bigger, with even stronger branches and firmer roots.
     Many times i think, "why am I here?what is my purpose? why have i been so reduced? why am i suffering so much?" But, i know that the Lord in all his wisdom and mercy has prepared a plan for me personally and through my faithfulness, my patience, and my long suffering, the lord will bless me with the path i need to walk to reach my potential, both as a missionary and as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Trust in the Lord and His Wisdom, for our thoughts are not His thoughts. I pray for you all each and every day. In all your sufferings and in all your trials, Have faith, and dont give up!
Have a great week!
Amor,
Elder Alejandro Lim
PS - Elder Lim said that he is starting to sounds like the Nicaraguans when he speaks. Aj always love to imitate people, he can pretty much speak like the people from India too.

The Divinity in Everyone

     I hope everyone had a great week! I had a pretty busy week working hard in the service of our Lord! This week as i was reading my emails, something that somebody wrote me got me to thinking. How can we empathize with people? Many times we walk down the street and think, "I wonder how their life is?" or "why do they act like that?" Before my mission, i thought and acted on my own, many times i took into account only my own feelings and my own sufferings. but when i came out into the mission i found that much of what i do here is putting myself into other peoples shoes, learning who they are, what they do, and why they act the way they do. I found that many times i didnt like a person simply because they did something that annoyed me or maybe it was just something i heard from another person that made me dislike them without knowing them.
     I found that when i thought like that that many times i felt hatred and spite for these people that i hardly knew. In the long run it made me very unhappy. But i was thinking this last week on this and why i didnt like these people. i found that many times my reasons were invalid and didnt make very much sense, so i decided to leave all those things behind and see them in a different light. As i changed my point of view and decided to love them and get to know them, my heart began to open up and i found that these people werent so bad, that, like me, they suffer and feel pain and worry, and guilt and despair.
     As we follow the example of our savior Jesus Christ and love everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done, we feel a greater capacity to love them and we feel happier. i know and testify of the principle of service. As we serve others we gain and feel the pure love of Christ. in this way we can feel just a small amount of the reason that Christ suffered and died for us and why God sent His Only Begotten Son to the Earth. I pray that as you learn to empathize with people and to love your neighbor, that you will feel the true happiness and joy that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I hope that everyone has a great week!
Love,
Elder Alejandro Lim

Fruits of the Labor

Querido Amigos,
     Hello my friends! I hope everyone had a great week this week! My week was pretty normal but i just wanted to share something really cool that i found out this week! This week one of my converts from my first area, Jacqueline Cruz, told me that this last week she went to the temple! She did baptisms for her ancestors and she says she felt so happy to be in the Lords house and to be able to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This last saturday her son of 9 years was baptized (The guy with the glasses in the photo isnt me).
     My heart is filled with gratitude to the Lord my God for his loving kindess toward me that i was able to be a part of this young families life and to be able to bring them the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a missionary, many times i have felt that my efforts are wasted or that nobody wants to listen to me. but i always remember that my efforts have eternal signficance. That even though my fruits seem small that sometimes they lead to greater outcomes. With Jacqueline, i feel the overwhelming love of my heavenly father and the knowledge that someday my efforts will be made manifest to me. already i see fruits greater than i could have ever imagined, that through me, i was able to bring the gospel to more than just one person, but generations of people.
     Always remember to share the gospel. open your mouth and be bold. you never know who will accept and you never know whos life will be changed because of you. I hold true and testify of the promise that our lord gives us in the doctrine and covenants that if we should bring save one soul unto him, how great shall be your joy in the kingdom of my father.
I hope everyone has a great and fruitful week!
Amor,
Elder Alejandro Lim

Note: We found out later that Jacqueline took out her endowment.

Magnify Your Calling

Querido Amigos,
Just a short spiritual message to share this week.
    As i was talking with my companion this week he mentioned something that i would like to share with you all. All of us as children of our Heavenly Father, have trust in Him. all of us trust that heavenly father will bless us when we do what is right and will help us when we are in need. but i have a different question for you, how much does Heavenly Father trust in you?
     As His children we all have a duty to Him. whether it be as a missionary, or as parents. we all have a calling on this earth that needs to be magnified. So what are we doing to have the trust of God? to say that God can trust me with anything and i will complete to the best of my ability the task which has been given me. As disciples of Jesus Christ, at some point in our lives we will have an opportunity to help save some alma, to strengthen and uplift, to guide and to love. These are times when the Lord has given us His trust, to carry out His will and administer to His children. let us not be lazy or mediocre in our duty to our Heavenly Father. For when we are in the service of our fellow beings we are in the service of God. And God trusts His servants who do His will with all diligence and all obedience. I pray that none of you will slacken your strength in your duties to God. I pray that you will always magnify the callings in which you have been entrusted. 

I love you all! Stay Safe!

Elder Alejandro Lim

Suffer the Children

Hola Amigos!
     Como estan todos? todo bien? haha this week was a pretty normal week. we had transfers but i didn't get transferred this time. This week i would like to talk a little bit to the adults.
     What kind of example do you set for your children? this week we talked to a woman who didn't want to let her child get baptized because he was too young and he would just eventually leave the church like his brother did. but i asked her, what are you doing to set an example for your children? of course she got offended and thought i was saying that she was a bad mother.

But what kind of example are you giving to your children? as children we learn everything from our parents. through them we learn everything about life and how to interact with the world. i talked also with a less active father who didn't want to go to church because he didn't feel worthy too or something like that, but i asked him what kind of example he was setting for his children. he responded that it was a pretty bad one. i remember through my entire childhood my parents always went to church, save for sickness and sometimes vacation we didn't go, but we always went no matter what. because my parents made church a priority in our family i have never felt the need or desire to leave the church. as mothers and father, the Lord has blessed you with a great responsibility of raising his sons and daughters. What are we doing to help the sons and daughters of our heavenly father return to our heavenly home and live with him? As parents it is essential that our children grow up with the light and the gospel in their lives.
     I bear testimony that when we put God in first place and everything else below that the Lord will bless you and your family. As you show your children the way through your example, you will be an instrument in the Lords hands in bringing to pass the salvation of many. I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!
Elder Alejandro Lim