ANOTHER WEEK IN BELLONI...

Hola a todos...

Thanks for the great emails and letters.  I`m glad to hear about all the amazing miracles and blessings that you are all receiving in your lives.  I did get the last package that you sent and thanks for the photos and peanut butter!!  That is great to hear that story about the family that got baptized with the help of Dayton`s video.  I know that the Lord works miracles to bring his children unto him so that they can enjoy the blessings of the gospel and the first great step in that is baptism.  We are way excited for the baptism of Jaqueline Turco on the 20th of August.  She is really excited and we are now teaching her uncle who is interested but a little scared to commit himself to a baptismal date.  That`s also really great that Brad and Robert Graham went through the temple together last week.  I love the temple and am hoping that sometime before the end of my mission that I can go back through here in Uruguay.
   
Our zone is still struggling with baptisms but we have seen a little bit of progress.  We saw an amazing miracle this last week!!!  Elder Sasselli and I were doing contacts talking to the people and trying to find more people to teach and all of a sudden a dog runs up to us with a Book of Mormon in its mouth and drops it right in front of us and then runs off.  I picked up the book and we thought well what are we going to do with a dog-damaged copy of the Book of Mormon?  Then an inactive member came to mind that we hadn`t had time to go by when we told him earlier in the week.  His name is Gaston and he had fallen away from the church a while ago because he had fallen back into drugs.  He came out and told us that he had been praying that day that someone would pass by and invite him to church because he wanted to put his life back in line.  He had just recently separated himself from his wife and his 2 kids due to his drug problem and he had lost his Book of Mormon a while back.  I told him the story of how the dog had brought us the Book of Mormon just 15 minutes ago and he got really excited and was greatful that God had sent us to him in as an answer to his prayers and that God also brought him a Book of Mormon to help him put his life back in order.  The Lord works miracle in the lives of others in mysterious ways (sometimes through a couple of missionaries and a dog...).

We are going to have an activity here in Belloni (Bay-shony that`s the pronunciation) on Saturday and we are excited to see how the members react and if they bring any nonmember friends to the activity.  The mission as a whole is in the process of changing missionary work here in Uruguay... Elder Foster of the seventy challenged us to change missionary work from ¨members helping missionaries in missionary work¨ to ¨missionaries helping members in missionary work¨ . We are now trying to give the members the spotlight and opportunities to share the gospel so that missionary work becomes the missionary work of the ward and the missionaries... not just the work of the full-time missionaries and the members help out with lessons sometimes.  I`m really excited to see this change here in Belloni and in the whole mission and I know that we are going to see many miracles by making this important change here in the work. We are going to start seeing a lot more baptisms and a lot better retention.
   
I know that this is the work of the Lord. Jesus in the Savior of the world and He does Love us perfectly and fully. I am so grateful to be here now in Uruguay in His service 24/7 and I have seen the many changes in myself and in those who I have come to know here in the service of the Lord. The Book of Mormon in true and it testifies of Christ on every page. Joseph Smith was the prophet of the Restoration and today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is led by Jesus Christ himself and directed through His chosen prophet in these days, Thomas S. Monson. The Church is true and all can receive the fullness of it`s blessings and joy though obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel and by enduring to the end. I love the Lord and I know that He has called me to his service forever. After these two years, I will continue in the service of the Lord for all eternity! I love all and am so very grateful for your efforts to follow Christ and to help others come unto him. Until next week...

Love,
Elder Gardner