Like a Fire is Burning

Sziasztok!

This week was.. interesting, at the least. Last Monday, we visited András and Zsuzsi, two really sweet, really interesting old people. They let us in while tracting and fed us some delicious cherry dessert that apparently didn't require cooking. My companion wasn't super into it, but I though it was delicious and helped myself to about 3 bowls. Afterward he told me that there were worms crawling around in those cherries. Luckily the Lord watches out for His missionaries and I haven't noticed any ill effects from eating a colony of worms.

We also visited Hoffmann Margit, the woman with all the cats! She was REALLY excited for all the missionaries to come over. At first, she turned on all her Christmas decorations and lights (pretty much the only lights in the room) and started blasting German Christmas music and then started to tell us her really sad life story. She lived in Germany for a while when her husband died very young and she really hasn't ever recovered. We were able to share some scriptures with her, and she started to perk up. Then she changed the music to some really funky German Christmas music, and then started pulling out all of these animal masks and clown wigs that we all put on. It was kind of a surreal moment. At the end of the night we left with bags upon bags of gifts, the contents of which are pictured below.

When we were walking home from church yesterday, we ran into this man who was very sad. He had met with the missionaries before, and was pretty familiar with the Book of Mormon. He was a bit drunk, but we had a really good conversation with him. He was just crying and crying, and when we gave him a card with our phone number, he looked at the picture of Jesus on the card and just cried and cried and gave us a lot of hugs. It was really sad, but we were really glad to be there for him.

We also went to give a priesthood blessing to one of the Sister's investigators who is going to be baptized in March. When we first entered his apartment, there was nothing extraordinary about the Spirit there. Then he started to read out of the Book of Mormon, the last half of Helaman 5, and the Spirit started to fill the room. After we gave him a blessing (he has been a bit sick), the room was ablaze with the Spirit. He kept asking, "what is this feeling?" We we able to explain to him the wonderful gift of the Spirit and how he can have it with him at all times and at all places when he is baptized.

I felt the same feeling earlier in the week when I read outloud the following verses in 2 Nephi 26:23-28:

For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness. He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation. Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price. Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance. Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.

I am so grateful for the Spirit and His powerful testimony that we are all truly children of our loving Heavenly Father, and that redemption can come through His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ!

Martin Elder