Preach My Gospel

This past week we had two investigators come to church. It’s funny how many we people commit to come to church (even on Saturday night), and they say yes, and then they don’t come :(

There are some great people here in our ward, great families. I love the ward members and our area. There were A LOT of inactives and less active people who came to church today. People that haven’t been for 5 years, and they’re starting to come and they keep coming. It’s good. We have 6 new ward missionaries, and we’re going to start doing visits with them, having our meetings every week, and talking and using Preach My Gospel. I’m excited.

Investigators

"The visits with Eduardo and Regina have been going good, they say they want to put a date to get married in November, and then a date to get baptized. He is 36 an she is 31, and they have a 7 year old child.

We are also teaching Rubén and Gladys, a couple who are progressing, and also planning to get married.

Baptisms planned for this Saturday are, Layla (10 years)and her cousin Milagros, who lives with Layla's family, and Evelyn (16 years). Layla and Milagros were supposed to have been baptized last Saturday, but we decided we needed to teach and prepare them more, so they are set for this Saturday, with Evelyn.

The members in our area are great, and they help us out a lot. We attend the Independencia Ward, and it starts at 10am on Sunday mornings, with Sacrament meeting first."

Mistake? No possible way........

The best family of my mission as far as wanting to progress, and having the most challenges to do so, are Eduardo and Regina, with their son.

It was a "mistake" how we found them, but I know for a fact it was the hand of the Lord guiding us to them. We met a less active member in the street, got her address, and the next day we went looking for her. Well we mixed up the street name and got to the right number, but wrong street, and Eduardo answered. We talked a bit, and he says, ”You’re the Mormons right?” He says, “I have always been curious what you guys believe in, and I want to know more”.

We invited him to an activity the next day, and sure enough, the next day the whole family went to the church for the activity, and turns out they know a lot of the members, so it was great. They then invited us back to their house the next day, and we taught them about the restoration and they loved it. Monday we had a family night with them and wow, it’s just amazing. They read ALL the pamphlets we gave to them, The Book of Mormon, and everything. Eduardo wants to learn about the life of Joseph Smith and just everything. They are really smart. They just need to get married and they want to, but it’s kinda tough to get married down here in Peru. It costs a lot and they have to do a lot of paperwork, but they will get married. They haven’t come out and said it, but they were asking about baptism the other day, and man… It’s amazing how chosen they are.

I love it. I hope and pray all goes through well with them.

We need to find more families to teach! We are on the lookout everyday. I love working. I can’t wait everyday, to get out and work. I love it. I love teaching. I love this work.

Planned Baptisms

I absolutely love my area. We’re doing good. This week of changes will be a little tough, because we won’t get out much to visit our investigators.

We have 5 baptismal dates set for the 18th of October, for Daniel, Milagros Quispe, Milagros V., Manuel, and Layla. They are all young, 12, 14, 15, 19, and 10. They all have been assisting church or seminary for a long time. They are all doing really well.

Milagros V. (15) is changing and grasping this gospel and it’s beautiful and amazing what the gospel can do. She needs this. I’m happy for her and I’m thankful for her.

Milagros Q. (14) has been assisting seminary for 2 years and church for a year, but her parents won’t let her get baptized. We need to talk to her parents to find out the details, but she wants to. She is shy and timid, but a good young girl.

We’re teaching Manuel (19) and his mom now, and it’s amazing how willing she is to change, even though she says she won’t be baptized yet. She is fulfilling all of the commitments we have given her. It will be good for Manuel also.

Vision and Possibilities

Sunday, we had three investigators at church. It was good. Bryan, Evelin and Regina came to church. It was a great meeting with testimonies, because our stake is doing the fast the next week after conference so ya.. my fast was good. After, we had a good lunch with the Ubyllus Family. They are a great and humble family, mom and dad and two daughters.

As of today, we have 4 baptism dates set for the 18th of October, and man, the vision and possibilities are great. This area was just waiting for two good elders to come in and just tear it apart. We have found 3 families to work with, and a ton of young people. It’s the best. I’m really excited. Tomorrow we have planned a family night with one of our investigator families.

A Better Week

This week wasn’t any better in success or numbers.. but overall it was better. We had better lessons, we sang and prayed in every lesson, and let's just say I'm a singing man now. I never thought I would like to sing, but it's ok, haha.

We're for sure seeing the hand of Satan in the work. With all the effort of getting a Stake here in Tarapoto, Satan is for sure working hard. But I was thinking, "Does God let Satan work on us??" Good question, huh? We are for sure being tested.. us… the members… the leaders… the investigators, everyone. In all sorts of ways.

We have people that we are teaching, but nobody is progressing. We didn’t have anyone of our investigators attend the church.. we don't have any baptisms coming up, and it’s a tough time right now, but it will get better. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. Thanks for your words of encouragement. I need all I can get right now. Dad, Thanks for your advice. It's always the best. You’re the hardest worker I know, and I will work like that in my mission.

One thing that is going better is our companionship. It's going good now. We aren't butting heads anymore, we're actual friends. It's going better. We're not being prideful anymore.

I love you all. Take care…

Español/spanish:
Una semana mejor

Esta semana no fue tan buena en éxito o números… pero a pesar de todo fue buena. Tuvimos mejores lecciones, cantamos y oramos en cada lección y digamos que estoy cantando ahora, nunca pensé que me gustaría cantar, pero está bien jajaja.
Estamos seguros que Satanás está metiendo su mano en esta obra. Con todo el esfuerzo de ser una Estaca acá en Tarapoto. Satanás de seguro está trabajando muchísimo. Pero me puse a pensar, ¿Dios deja a Satanás obrar en nosotros? Buena pregunta ¿no? Estamos de seguro siendo probados, nosotros, los miembros, los líderes, los investigadores y cada uno de nosotros, de cualquier tipo y maneras.
Tenemos personas a las cuales estamos enseñando, pero nadie está progresando. No tuvimos a ninguno de nuestros investigadores en la capilla, no tenemos ningún bautismo que esté cerca, y es un tiempo duro ahora, pero mejorará. Gracias por todas sus oraciones y pensamientos, gracias por tus palabras de aliento, necesito todo lo que pueda conseguir ahora. Papá, gracias por tus consejos, son siempre los mejores, eres el más trabajador y lo sé, y trabajaré así en mi misión.
Una cosa que está yendo mejor es nuestro compañerismo. Está todo bien ahora. No estamos teniendo problemas de ningún tipo. Somos amigos ahora. Está bien, ya no estamos molestándonos.
Amo todo y cuídense mucho.

Português/Portuguese
Uma semana melhor
Esta semana não foi tão boa em êxito ou números...pero a pesar de todo foi boa. Tivemos melhores lições, cantamos e oramos em cada lição e digamos que estou cantando agora, nunca pensei que eu gostaria cantar, pero está bem jajaja.
Estamos seguros que Satanás está metendo sua mão nesta obra. Com todo o esforço de ser uma Estaca cá em Tarapoto. Satanás de seguro está trabalhando muito. Pero estava pensando, Deus deixa que Satanás obre em nós? Boa pergunta verdade? Estamos de seguro sendo provados, nós, os membros, os líderes, os investigadores e cada um de nós, de qualquer tipo e maneiras.
Temos pessoas às quais estamos ensinando, pero ninguém está progredindo. Não tivemos a nenhum de nossos investigadores na capela, não temos nenhum batismo que está cerca, e é um tempo muito difícil agora, mas melhorará. Graças por todas suas orações e pensamentos, graças por suas palavras de fôlego, preciso tudo o que possa conseguir agora. Papai, graças por seus conselhos, são sempre os melhores, você é o mais trabalhador e eu o sei, trabalharei como você em minha missão.
Uma coisa que está melhorando é nosso companheirismo. Está tudo bem agora. Não estamos tendo problemas de nenhum tipo. Somos amigos agora. Está bem, já não estamos incomodando-nos.
Amo tudo e se cuidam muito.

What happened last Tuesday

Tuesday, we were down to our last 30 minutes of the night, and we were contacting people in the streets. We started talking to this one guy, and at first he wasn’t very interested, then we explained where our church was, and he was like, "Oh wow, that church? - the one that’s all nice and wow!" "I have always wondered" and (he) just was in awe. We explained that the most amazing part was what took place on Sundays inside, haha.. He then wanted to present (introduce) us to his dad. We were running out of time (because it was late), but I'm so glad we decided to go. We met his dad.. his brother and his wife and all his family. It was great. We have these two families that we're teaching now, and it's great. I love it.

Investigators

We have a lot of new people that we're teaching, but not a lot of them are progressing. We may have to drop them and find more, that's one of the challenges in our area this week. It's an everyday battle. Probably 90 percent of Tarapoto isn’t married, and it's so tough, but we're going. We're working on it, and it will get better.