There was this guy in our teaching pool (the only person, actually) when we got here named Ricardo. We read through his teaching record and saw that he has made almost no progress since he started being taught, so we asked the ward about him and decided we would probably drop him after we taught one chaotic and seemingly pointless lesson. He started being taught in January, has been invited three times to be baptized, and has said no every single time. He is living with his girlfriend, who just so happens to be a member of the ward. She is active, aside from the fact that she isn't obeying certain commandments.. ANYWAY. When we taught him a second time, we realized that he had soooo many unanswered questions and that he had not been taught according to his needs by previous missionaries. The most pressing questions he had were about the temple, considering his girlfriend, Shirley, wants to be sealed in the temple. He wants to marry Shirley, she wants a temple marriage, and alllll of his questions about the temple have been ignored in order to teach the lessons in the order they're supposed to be taught. BUT THAT ISN'T HOW MISSIONARY WORK WORKS, Y'ALL. One of the most important things that I have learned on my mission is that if you want to teach a person the gospel, you have to meet their needs first. Whether those needs be mental, emotional, doctrinal, or temporal, YOU HAVE TO MEET THEIR NEEDS IF YOU WANT THEM TO LISTEN!! So we made the decision to teach Ricardo all about the temple and to decide after if we should continue teaching him. During our lesson, he listened intently, had questions, and we were able to resolve some concerns that he had. According to his teaching record, lessons with him are usually hectic and unorganized with little to no progress following them. BUT THIS LESSON WAS SO GOOD! It was quite the opposite! We decided to continue teaching him, and had another lesson with him this week. Sister O. and I planned to teach him the Plan of Salvation, putting an emphasis on the blessings that come from following God's plan. Our investigators are all like little kids.. they need incentive if they're going to act. That'e what promising blessings does for them. It gives them something to work toward. The lesson that we had with Ricardo was probablyyyyy the best, most powerful and Spirit-filled lesson that I have taught on my whole mission. The promise that the Lord will fill our mouths is real and it was fulfilled on Friday night. He is a stubborn old man, but I'm a stubborn little girl and with the help of the Spirit we put Ricardo on date to be baptized on the 20th of this month!!! Once the Spirit touched his heart and his needs were met, he understood and could not deny the confirmation that he needed to be baptized. We taught him about the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity, which he has no problem with. He doesn't struggle with anything in the Word of Wisdom and was already planning on asking the Bishop to marry he and Shirley. THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN LAKEWOOD, MY FRIENDS. THINGS ARE HAPPENING.
With that being said, keep Ricardo in your prayers!! He needs all of the help he can to resist the temptations of the adversary. Anyway, I love you people a lot! I am loving my mission and everyone that is a part of it. Keep on keepin' on and be happy!!
Love,
Sister Harshaw
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