Wow. Just wow. I have to brag about the only ward missionary in my ward. His name is Oscar Baez. He was baptized a year ago and is almost eighty years old. He has a thick Uruguayo accent and his eyebrows are like wings. I love him so much. He goes out with us frequently and is such a huge help. He also knows EVERYONE in San Carlos. He has lived here forever! San Carlos is a smallish town. But it's not your small-town everybody-knows-eachother kind of deal. Nobody knows anybody. Except Oscar Baez. Walking through San Carlos with him is like walking through Punxatawney with Phil Conners (like the groundhog Phil). This is no joke, but it makes me laugh because he just waves to everybody and talks to them for a sec, then relays a story to us about crazy things he did in the past with them. He is like the crazy uncle. We have taught people who were investigating the church, then at the end of the lesson, asked them if it would be okay if we brough a member the next time. Then we ask them if they know Oscar Baez. OH! Of course they do? Why did I even bother with the question?
I said that we dropped Honorio Soriano last week. This was because we would continually set up meetings with him and he would continually not be at home. We would set meetings hours beforehand and when we would show up to his house, he would be nowhere to be found. It happened several times. So we dropped him. But it was wisdom in the Lord that we would be walking on the road a block a way from his house one evening and he waved to us from across the street and asked if we had time to meet. Uh... yeah! So we met with him again and he seems to be progressing all of a sudden. Does he know Oscar Baez? Why do you even ask? What is the matter with you? Did you not hear me before? Everybody knows Oscar Baez! Honorio has known him for thirty-some years! They go way back! So Honorio, who is not married to the woman he lives with, and who also used to hate the idea of getting married (because he has been divorced twice) told us that he and his Señora Ana are planning to get married! You just got miracled. They are planning for July... which kind of made my heart sink... but we are going to try to help him understand the doctrine a little bit more so he feels more urgency to get baptized. But he has a testimony of the Book of Mormón!
Change the subject! We now bring ourselves to a lady named Crescencia. Over eighty years old, she was baptized decades ago, and for decades has barely come to church. A week ago, while walking on the road, was approached by four men and robbed, then beaten down to the ground. That is not my idea of a Saturday evening. Not even close. But it happened to her and for four days she began struggling with the idea that there was even a God. On Wednesday, she pled with the Lord for some sort of idea or sign that He was still there. She prayed for an angel to save her. Well who would show up other than OSCAR BAEZ! (If you were expecting missionaries, then you were wrong.)
Oscar was just sitting in his house (probably memorizing the most recent Census) and felt the need to get up and walk outside for no apparent reason. But hey, that's what he felt. He couldn't argue with it. He then felt the impression to go and visit a little old lady named Crescencia. She was sitting on the side of the road, crying her eyes out, giving one last plea to the Lord, asking for an angel, and the angel came in the form a ward missionary. Oscar took a little bit of time to console her and promised that he would come back with the missionaries. This was a day that we were meeting Honorio with Oscar. After our meeting with Honorio, Oscar didn't really tell us anything, he just sort of led us across town to Crescencia's house. What a miracle! Crescencia told us that there were two great miracles she had witnessed in her life: the first was that she had a son after the doctors told her that she couldn't have any more children. The second was that the missionaries were sitting in her living room, talking to her.
Why would I rather be anywere else than on my mission? It wouldn't make sense. I am so pumped. We had three investigators at church yesterday! THREE! That's three more than we have ever had! Aleluya! This week is going to be even more amazing. I can just feel it. If there is one thing I know, it is that obedience brings forth miracles. I must now go and serve the beloved children of God.
LOVE,
Elder Plautz
P.S. Remember, everyone! Email me at urumontemission@gmail.com! It's faster and cheaper than DearElder and regular mail!
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