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Monday, June 11, 2012

New Area

Well its been amazing already here in San Luis! Its a new province and its way beautiful. Its really like a mini San Francisco its way cool. My companion Elder Sierra is one of my best friends and we get along so well. He is from Bogota, Columbia which is the capital. We live with an Elder named Elder Moon and then another Elder who is from China. He is convert from Buddeism. He ´s 23 years old and I respect him so much. He got baptized about 17 months ago and has such a strong testimony. He still cant speak Spanish too well but he tries so hard and studies like no other. He moved to Buenos Aires when he was 18 from China and met the missionaries through a friend when he was 21. He never practiced Spanish while he lived here so he never learned it before. There was no one in Argentina who could teach him the Gospel in Chinese so after a few months they were able to get someone who could translate. He said simply, I read and prayed to God and felt so strongly that is was true. He was baptized despite zero support from his family. His family later moved to South Africa. His family wan´nt happy with the decision he took to go on a mission either because he had to choose between paying to go live with his family in SOuth Africa or going on a mission and he choose to go on a mission. He is a man among men. He is an example to everyone and although he can´t speak very well his testimony is heard in the corridors of the heart. We have been a trio for the past two days and he gave a powerful testimony to a very inteligent person yesterday and left them shocked. This man was very intelligent and had studied a lot of stuff against the church on the internet without finding out the truth from the church. He began to say a million things against the Book of Mormon, which to me was pretty comical. After we had responded everything Elder Yao said, ´´I have a question for you, what do we eat in China?´´ The man then said well um rice and I heard that you eat dogs and cats. Elder Yao then went on to say, ´´Exactly, because 100 people out of 1,400,000,000 people have eaten dog or cat in China means that everyone eats dog and cat and thats nowhere near the truth. If you want to know what we eat in China ask me.´´ He then explained that it was the same with the Book of Mormon and that if you want to know it its true you have to read it and ask God. The man was left without words and even though it was broken spanish he understood perfectly what he said. Two scriptures came to my mind as he spoke , ´´ But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (1 Corinthians 1:27) and And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). He later bore his testimony to the truth of what he knows to be true. And so do I. I hope everyone has a great week!

1 comment:

  1. What an amazing story about the Elder from China, he is a brave man full of so much faith. Having lived in China, I can attest to the truthfulness of his dog and cat example. So funny but what a great and simple way to share an important principle. I love that story and I have a feeling the concept (or maybe even the exact story) will come in handy. It sounds like you are in a beautiful area, I hope you continue to savor each moment you have left on the Mission. You are incredible Elder Passantino, thank you for your inspiration and faithfulness. Love you!

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