Sweet Melancholy

I'm exhausted this week which is weird because I think I slept more this week than any other week in the mission. 

To hit you with a quick recap: Spent Tuesday and Wednesday locked in the house due to doctor's orders because we are sick, my companion has fully recovered - I am left with a cough in the night but other than that all good. 

Tuesday and Wednesday we sent a lot of messages and called a bunch of people and managed to find 6 people interested in hearing the gospel, and one of them wants to be baptized!! He said he has a really strong testimony of Joseph Smith and he loves the Book of Mormon. He really wants to be baptized, the problem... 

He lives in a little town about an hour and a half away from Tres Arroyos 😭 So the difficulty is finding a way for him to come to church but we'll see what we can do! 

On Thursday we traveled because on Friday we had our Zone Conference in Mar Del Plata! It was great, I received a lot of revelation and got to see a lot of old friends! Also had a lot of missionaries asking what we do in Tres Arroyos to have so much success, but I don't know what to tell them because I don't even feel that successful 😭

Speaking of not feeling successful it was a hard Sunday at church as many members traveled to Necochea for the District conference and every other member decided to watch the zoom link at home and the only people at church were the 6 missionaries, an inactive member who the other missionaries invited, our recent convert Eduardo, our friend Natalia, and our mission leader in the Branch. A very large 10 people listening to a zoom that was very difficult to understand 😭 but it's all good because Natalia told us she wants to get baptized and go to the temple with her family, and she's so ready to get married to get baptized! 

This week was a very stressful one to be honest, with being stuck in the house while being sick, and also because we couldn't get in contact with our friend Leandro whose supposed to get baptized next week. He didn't come to church after 5 Sundays coming so when I read these verses in Alma 13 I was really feeling them, 

"27 And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance; 

28 But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; 

29 Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest."

When Alma says that he has anxiety unto pain, I really feel it. In the mission I want so badly to help people come unto Christ that it really hurts when they don't. I want so badly for them to have these promises, to be able to rest and feel the love of God, but so many people reject us or choose another path.

But the cool thing is that this promise extends to us too. So even though I may feel anxious and stressed, the Lord can give me his rest and help me feel his love and sooth the pains of my soul. 

Anyways sorry for the melancholy week, it was a great week in truth, just a stressful one!