I met the Godoy family, when I was serving in the Godoy ward in the city of Rosario Argentina.  Carlos and his wife, Beatriz, were at a photo shop, with their two children, Carlos Jr. and Angelica, getting a family photo made when my companion and I walked into the store.  We commented on what a cute family they were, and we chit chatted for a minute, but we really didn’t talk about the gospel before they had to leave.

The next day, we were visiting a new member at his work and we just happened to run into Carlos Godoy again. This time we did talk to him about the gospel, and he seemed eager to learn more. We asked if we could come to his home to teach a discussion to his entire family, and we set the appointment for a few days later.

When we arrived at the Godoy’s home for the first discussion, we found their extremely modest home in pristine condition. We could tell they really made an effort to clean the place up in preparation for our visit. We sat down with the whole family around the table and talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon.  The Godoy’s were eager learners, and they seemed from the beginning to be a ‘golden’ family.

We scheduled the second discussion, and that lesson went very well. We invited them to be baptized, and they said they wanted to. Unfortunately, though, we found out that they were not legally married, which meant they couldn’t get baptized until that happened. Carlos and Beatriz had been together since high school, but due to the expense and other factors, they had never been legally married.  When 8-year-old Angelica heard that they couldn’t get baptized until her parent got married, she exclaimed, “Casense Ya!” (Get married already!).

So the Godoy’s immediately planned their wedding. They got married at city hall, and the mission president let my companion and I go, even though it was out of our area.  That night they had a big wedding reception, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t attend that party.  Then the following Sunday, July 13, 1997, the entire Godoy family got baptized. It was a wonderful occasion to see this beautiful family get baptized and start down the path to eternal life together.

Carlos, the father, was so happy to be baptized and have a new, clean start on life.  In his earlier years, Carlos drank and made other mistakes, but he has thoroughly repented and very happy with his life now.  Beatriz was so happy to see her entire family get baptized together; she loves her family a great deal. Beatriz did have some doubts about getting baptized because she talked to an inactive member who urged her not to get baptized. She expressed those doubts in her baptismal interview, so Elder Bray, who was conducting the interview, gave her a priesthood blessing of comfort. She felt the Spirit very strongly, and the Lord removed all her doubts, and gave her the courage to go forward and do the right thing of getting baptized. Little Carlos also said he got a little nervous prior to his baptism, but when he saw his dad and mom do it, he was very excited to get baptized himself. And as for little Angelica, what else can I say except she truly was a little angel.

Meeting and baptizing this family was another case of the Lord doing all the work and my companion and I being in the right place at the right time. We were so blessed to meet this family and see them become members of God’s kingdom on earth. And I can’t wait to see them again, whether it be in this life or the next.

I met German (pronounced Herman) Arrieta on one of my first days in the Godoy neighborhood of Rosario. The previous missionaries had found German and taught him and his wife, Sara, the first discussion.  Then I was transferred to the area and arrived prior to the second discussion.  When we went to German’s house and taught the second discussion, Sara asked lots of questions, and seemed genuinely interested throughout the discussion, while German remained quite and pensive.

At the conclusion of the second discussion, I decided to invite German and Sara to be baptized. Based on how they had reacted to the first two discussions, I thought for sure Sara would accept the invitation, while German, I assumed, would turn down the invitation to be baptized.  I was wrong on both counts.  When I invited them both to be baptized, German spoke right up and said he would like to be baptized.  Sara, however, was hesitant and said she would have to think about it longer.

Two weeks before German’s scheduled baptism, he lost his job.  I expected this to be a stumbling block to German’s progression toward baptism, but once again, German surprised me with his great faith.  He told me, with extreme confidence, that he would find another job and begin working by the day after his baptism.

We continued to teach German and Sara the discussions, but Sara continued to have her doubts about the restored gospel and about getting baptized.  In one of the final discussions, we taught German the principle of the fast: going without food and drink for 24 hours to strengthen us spiritually, and to receive special blessings from our Heavenly Father. It was about 9 o’clock at night when we taught the lesson, and German said he was going to start fasting at that very moment.  He invited us to come back for dinner the next night at 9pm to break the fast with him.

German’s fast was a success, and his break the fast dinner was delicious. German had many tests prior to his baptism: the loss of his job, and his daughter became sick (we gave her a priesthood blessing and she immediately began to get better).  Throughout it all, German showed that he was a man of great faith. He came to the required two Sundays of church meetings, and was baptized on May 18, 1997.  His wife, Sara, and their two daughters, attended the baptism, but only German was baptized.  The baptism was a great event for all who attended, and true to his word, and as a demonstration of his faith in the Lord, German got a job the Monday after his baptism.

A few months later I got word that I was going to be transferred from the Godoy ward. German, and many other ward members, several of whom I baptized, arranged a surprise going away party for me.  The first and only such event in my mission.  I sure made me feel good that the people in this area loved me and would miss me when I was gone. You’ll notice German in the picture, he’s in blue on the far right. He has a gloomy look on his face because, though he was a big, tough guy, he was sad to see me go.  I, of course, was saddened too, and will always have fond memories and remember German and his great faith in Christ and His restored gospel.

The conversion story of Aldo is perhaps the easiest conversion process and baptism of my whole mission. It was September 1996, and I met Aldo at Church my first Sunday serving in the city of Fray Luis Beltran, a little town north of Rosario. We were in Sunday School and there was a young man who was answering all the questions from the teacher. I leaned over and asked my companion, Elder Gertge, who this person was who was so engaged in the lesson. Elder Gertge told me his name was Aldo and he was not a member of the Church. Aldo lived in the city of Rosario, but his girl friend lived with her family in Beltran. I asked Elder Gertge if he and his previous companion had been teaching Aldo the discussions, and he said no.

After Church I went up to Aldo and introduced myself and asked him if he wanted to hear the missionary discussions. Without hesitation, Aldo agreed to hearing the discussions and we began teaching him that week at his girl friend’s home. Gabriela had told Aldo she would not marry outside the temple of the Lord, and therefore Aldo had been attending Church for the three months before I met him. I don’t know why the previous missionaries never pursued teaching Aldo the discussions, but I was very happy to do it. It is always a great joy to teach someone who is hungry to learn and take the next step in his eternal progression by getting baptized.

Aldo cruised through the six discussions and got baptized within a couple of weeks of our first meeting. While Elder Gertge and I taught Aldo and guided him into the waters of baptism, we really did very little other than being in the right place at the right time. It was his girl friend Gabriela, her family, the ward members in Beltran, and the Lord who prepared Aldo to become a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ. We missionaries just opened our mouths and invited him to come unto Christ.

About a year after Aldo’s baptism, I was serving in the city of the Rosario. My companion and I were doing some street contacting along a major avenue, when a car pulled up beside us and Aldo jumped out. Aldo gave me a big hug and told me how he and Gabriela would soon be married in the Buenos Aires temple. I was so very happy to know that Aldo had stayed true to his testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that he and Gabriela were going to be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. And I was thankful that I had had a small part in the conversion story of Aldo.

The following video is more lengthy than most of the ones I produce, but I think it’s inspiring and I hope you will spend the time to watch it or read the story below of the conversion of Juan Carlos Lopez.

Juan Carlos Lopez was a man my companion, Elder Wasden, and I met in the city of Rosario in late December of 1996.  We met Juan Carlos on my first day serving in the city, and actually, it was probably within an hour of me arriving in the city.  I had been serving in a city to the north of Rosario when I got the transfer call.  When I arrived in Rosario it was mid-morning and without even unpacking my suitcases, my new companion and I headed out to do missionary work.

Heeding the Spirit to Open Our Mouths

Within a few minutes of leaving our apartment, Elder Wasden saw Juan Carlos on the other side of the street, he insisted that we cross immediately and go talk to him.  It was a busy street and we were not at a cross walk, but knowing the charge to open your mouth at all times, we went and spoke to him. 

Little did we know at the time, but that same morning Juan Carlos Lopez had been talking with his mother about the Mormon Church.  When we missionaries saw him in the street and stopped him to tell him about our message, he sincerely wanted to learn about the Church.  I’ll always be grateful to Elder Wasden for hearing and obeying the prompting he got from the Spirit to go talk to Juan Carlos. 

We had a nice little chat with Juan Carlos.  He gave us his address and invited us to come to his home the next morning to teach him the first discussion.

Planner Disaster

Missionary planners, at that time in the Rosario Mission, were simply a simple piece of blue card stock with a grid pattern for each day of the week and each hour of the day.  The back was blank and we usually used it for taking notes, like people’s names and addresses.  We would fold it up and keep it in our pockets.  When we met Juan Carlos that morning, I pulled out my planner, scheduled the appointment and wrote down his name and address.

When we got home for lunch that day, I realized I had still been using my planner from my old area.  So I threw out my old planner, and started a new one. It didn’t even occur to me that Juan Carlos’ information was on the old planner.

The next morning we went out street contacting but we entirely forgot about our appointment with Juan Carlos.  When we were sitting in the apartment a lunch, we got a call from the mission office.  Juan Carlos was very upset about us missing the appointment, so he had found the mission office number in the phone book and had called them and asked them to send us to his house.  We rushed straight over to his home (map to Juan Carlos’ home), apologized and made another appointment.  This time, we were extra careful to make it to the appointment. 

First Four Discussions

The first discussion went well, so we schedule a second discussion.  At the end of the second discussion, we asked Juan Carlos to to follow the example of the Savior and to be baptized.  He accepted the invitation whole heartedly, and we made plans for him to attend Church, which he did.  We scheduled the third discussion and left him a little pamphlet about the principles of the third discussion. 

All of our discussions with Juan Carlos took place around his dining room table shown in the picture to the right.  His mother, who you also see in the picture, listened to all the discussions but never wanted to be baptized.  I’m guessing we took this picture during the third or fourth discussion because the pamphlet for the fourth discussion, on the plan of salvation, is seen on the table.

Doubts Creep In Over Tithing

Prior to the fifth discussion, which talks about tithing, we left Juan Carlos the pamphlet as usual.  When we arrived at the appointment, I noticed there was a calculator on the table.  For the first time in all our meetings, Juan Carlos began to show doubts and concerns about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  He asked how many members there were in the world, and then began to make some calculations regarding average income and how much money the Church was bringing in through tithing.  He had a ton of questions about how tithing funds were spent, he stopped coming to Church, and we had to postpone his baptism. 

For the next couple of weeks, we visited Juan Carlos as much as possible, and each time we did, that calculator remained sitting there on his dining room table.  We brought members with us to these meetings, we testified, and we encouraged Juan Carlos to continue reading the Book of Mormon and praying about the truthfulness of the Church and our message.  Finally, we set one last appointment with Juan Carlos where we planned to tell him that we would be visiting him less often, but he was more than welcome to come to Church if he ever wanted to continue the lessons. 

Prayer and The Spirit Changed His Heart

When we arrived at Juan Carlos’s home and sat down for this good bye meeting, to our surprise and joy, there was no calculator on the table.  This calculator, which had been a symbol of a stumbling block stopping his progression in the gospel, was gone and I knew that Juan Carlos would begin progressing again.  Juan Carlos told us that he wanted to finish the rest of the discussions and get baptized as soon as possible.

I asked Juan Carlos what caused his change of heart, and he explained that the previous night he couldn’t sleep because of the hot, humid weather.  So he took his mattress up onto his roof, where it was cooler, and attempted to sleep there.  He said he was gazing at the stars and he felt like he should pray, so he knelt and prayed about life, about the restored gospel, and about the principle of tithing.  He said the Spirit of the Lord came upon him very strongly and gave him a slight rebuke and told him not to worry about the principle of tithing any longer.  The Spirit testified of the truthfulness of the gospel, and from that moment on, Juan Carlos knew he needed to be baptized. 

Juan Carlos got baptized just a couple of weeks later and it was a great event.  His conversion story is a testament to the importance of missionaries following the promptings of the Spirit to open their mouths and proclaim the gospel at all times, and a testament to the power of prayer and the Spirit of the Lord to penetrate hearts and convert people to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

The story of the first family that I taught and baptized in Argentina, the Almada family, is a great example of the power of prayer. 

Meeting the Almada Family

Within a week of my companion and I arriving in the city of Parana, Argentina, the Almada family moved into the home right behind our apartment.  With Fabian, the husband, Silvina, the wife, and their four kids living right behind us, our paths crossed often.  I can remember my companion, Elder Loesener, often kicking the soccer ball with their oldest son as we came and went from our apartment. 

Within a week or two of first meeting the Almada family, we got home one evening and were contemplating what to cook ourselves for dinner. Elder Loesener wanted to cook something that required sugar, but we didn’t have any.  He thought we should ask the Almada’s if we could borrow some sugar.  He also thought this was the perfect time to more formally meet the family and tell them about our message as missionaries for the Lord Jesus Christ.  We borrowed the sugar and ended up having a nice conversation with them, and they agreed to have us come back and teach the first discussion. 

Baptismal Commitment

The first discussion went very well and we scheduled the second discussion.  Fabian was very interested in our message, read The Book of Mormon and everything else we gave him to read.  He was eager to learn, asked many questions, and demonstrated great faith, dedication and determination to begin a new life with his family.  At the end of the second discussion, when my companion asked them if they would be baptized, both Fabian and Silvina said yes without hesitation. 

Bread and Pastries

Fabian worked at nights at a local panadería (bakery).  One morning, after we had begun teaching the family, we awoke to find a bag of warm bread and pastries by our front door.  It was so delicious, hot and fresh, we couldn’t help but gobble up all the pastries within the morning.  And the bread was great for sandwiches that afternoon and evening and even for French toast the following morning.  We began to find the bread and pastries on our door step several times a week, and we were very grateful to Fabian for thinking of us. 

Trial of Faith

The Almada’s were doing great. They were coming to church and progressing in the gospel.  They had been searching for the true gospel of Jesus Christ and recognized it when they found it. When we taught them the word of wisdom, Fabian had his son go to the kitchen, get all the wine, and dump it down the drain immediately.  They were every missionary’s dream of a golden family.

Then, about a week before their baptism, Fabian lost his job at the bakery.  The economic situation was tough in Argentina at that time. Many people were without work.  We knew this would be a great trial to the Almada’s growing faith in the gospel, and we were amazed at how they responded.  Silvina, the mom, told us that the morning after Fabian lost his job he knelt and prayed fervently for 30 minutes.  Afterwards he rose and headed out the door with a determination to find work to provide for his family.

Prayers Answered

Not only did Fabian offer a prayer, but his wife and children and us missionaries were all praying that he would find a job.  We thought it would take days or weeks for Fabian to find something, but the Lord answered our prayers very rapidly.  Fabian came home that very night with not just one job, but two jobs, which was a tremendous blessing.  He was going to be able to work more hours and get more pay than he had before.  It was a true miracle.

The Family is Baptized

On Thursday night, February 8, 1996, we held the baptismal service for the Almada family.  Our little branch didn’t have a real LDS chapel or a baptismal font, so we had to go to a different ward building in the city.  I baptized Fabian and their 10 year old son Cristian.  Elder Loesener baptized Silvina and Anai, their 8 year old daughter.  It was a wonderful experience for all. 

Following the baptisms, as traditional in LDS baptismal services, there were additional talks once the family had dried off and gotten dressed.  My companion was conducting and, to my surprise, he asked Fabian to come to the front and bare his testimony.  I thought it was a bold move, but Elder Loesener must have been prompted by the Spirit.  Fabian stood up without hesitation and bore a powerful testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Power of Prayer

The power of prayer is real.  As the Savior says in Matt 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”  And as James adds in James 1:6, “ask in faith, nothing wavering.” 

When Fabian lost his job, his convictions in his new found faith were not shaken.  He, along with his family and friends, prayed in faith and with great power the Lord answered and poured out blessings, both temporal and spiritual, upon the Almada family.  And so will God bless you, your family, the missionaries, and all who faithfully seek His help through the power of prayer.