Dallin's Mission Possible: Adventures in La Punta

Monday, March 9, 2015

Adventures in La Punta

Good morning,

Another week has passed by and another email proceeds forth to the ends of the earth from the rented cyber desk of Dallin Backstrom.

This week I did a companion exchange with La Punta, and went there to work with Elder Nelson. His companion came to the city and stayed there with El. Enriquez. La Punta is a small suburban development about 7 kilometers north of the city. the density is very low and so there is consequently a large amount of walking involved to get between the places where people actually live. We worked all afternoon in a small corner of the area. We had the opportunity to meet several people, one of whom was a trucker named William (in Spanish Guillermo) who was in town and outside washing his car. We talked to him and apparently he had spoken to missionaries before but they had only come by one time, so we were able to employ the principle "teach while you find" and explain a lot of things to him, as well as give him a Book of Mormon, which he said he was really interested in reading to be able to know what significance it had to his life- all while he washed his 80' BMW.

I also found several books from the series of manuals Teachings of the Presidents of the Church in my pension, and started to read by topic on Sunday (while my companion was in bed with a headache)

from the Joseph Smith tome. I was impressed by the relevance of the discourses and the frank, logical power by which they where delivered. I was reminded of the important, divine commission of Joseph Smith as the first Prophet of God in this dispensation and the fidelity with which he carried out his mission to not only restore but to preach and teach the correct principles of the restored Gospel. I read a chapter about peacemaking that reminded me that at times we teach far more powerfully with our actions than with our words.

Pictures attached, Have a good week,

Elder Backstrom