Fishing Analogy

Buenos Dias,

Wow, that is a long drive, I am glad you guys got there ok! (his mom and younger siblings drove to Utah)

I don't know how, but Paraguay is now really really cold.  I think I just got used to it being extremely hot, and now that its a little cold I am dying. (it was in the 60's that day)  Thank you for the hat and gloves you guys sent, they are saving me. 

I started reading Jesus the Christ a week ago and I am about in the middle.  THAT BOOK HAS MELTED MY BRAIN!  I now am reminded of how very little my knowledge is of the Savior and the depth of his words and parables.  All of the sudden things are starting to deepen - the symbolism and references used in His gospel.  Right now I am studying the sermon on the mount.

We really weeded out the investigators who will be progressing and those who probably won't. 

A good teaching experience this week that we had was with a lady named Ghilda.  She was a reference from a contact and we learned that her husband had died about 3 months ago and that she had 6 young children.  So of course a light-bulb went off in my head, DING: we are going to teach the Plan of Salvation, because she is probably having a lot of questions right now about God, and death, and the life after this one, and why bad things happen, and where her husband was, and if she would ever see him again.  So we got in the house and she told us right off the bat, "you guys will not be able to convince me to change my religion, but we can talk anyway."  And so we jumped into the Plan of Salvation and how God has made this wonderful plan so that we can live with our loved ones forever and have eternal happiness.  We asked her questions and she answered that she didn't have any doubts she would see her husband again, and that she knew where he was, and had no question that she would see him again.  And that was when we found out: She doesn't need Lesson 2, she needs something else.  It was already too late to try and teach the restoration or anything else, so we bore our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and Christ's love for us and left her with pamphlets and a commitment to read and pray about it.  Obviously the lesson was more complicated, but there was just something weird about walking out. 

That lesson helped us realize that unless we teach according to her needs or the spirit, nothing happens like it should.  The lesson gets taught, but the relevance isn't there for the person.  There are not desires to ask questions or keep commitments.   And all of the sudden we are preaching to a statue.  I like to think of it as if I am fishing.  Some times the fish like worms, and other times they like crickets, or power-bait.  It just depends on the desires of the fish.  Of course all of the bait would fill the fishes stomach, but he or she is looking for something specific.  God is the master fisherman and He knows just what type of bait is needed for each fish. That is why it is so important to be in tune with the spirit, because he will tell you what to teach and what questions to ask so that the investigator will be hooked on the feelings of love, peace, and happiness that Christ offers. 

We will try again this Tuesday and we hope to get another shot at finding her needs.

Also the dang shower exploded while I was using it.  It has been a very cold couple of days. hahaha. 

I hope everyone is doing good!


Love,

Elder Neifert