2015-08-10 Independencia

Hey Mom! 

Eating campanchanas with Elder R.

Wow that was long. It´s much easier to talk than to write I guess. My letters would probably be pages if I could do that. First of all, I want to apologize for that past letter because really it didn´t reflect the past week. I had a good past week, but while I was writing I was tired from a missionary activity that we did and Elder R only wrote two sentences to President in his weekly letter and so it kind of frustrated me.

But this week was super great! We had a lot of wonderful experiences and I´m having trouble writing them all!

First of all. In our first week here in Independencia we had found a mother and her two sons that were very interested. (unfortunately their father isn´t very interested, he doesn´t have a problem with any of it though, but we´ll keep trying) We had taught them a couple lessons with them, and when we invited them to church, O, the mother, said: "Oh we´re going on vacation!" Dang it...well there goes them. But that´s not true, because they returned, and we found them this saturday, and they were super excited to see us! They told us about their vacation, and how they had told their family members about us and all the things that they had learned. P, the youngest son, 12 years old, was very good at explaining all of it. The other son is named E, 13 years old. We talked to them about testimony and following the commandments and the happiness that comes from those things that day, and asked if they still were thinking about being baptized. They said that they were, and we put the goal for the 30th of August. That meant that they needed to come to church. But they came! and sister O entered and almost yelled "buenos dias!" hahahha they were super happy to be there, and the members that were there were happy to meet and greet them. The Relief society President sat with them and sang the hymns with them and explained about the services and all. It was dandy. I´m actually really excited to bring them to next sunday because There will be a stake conference, and the stake center is right by the temple, so we´ll be able to show them the temple.

This week we went to one of the more rich areas of our zone, where there aren´t any members. The night before we told Heavenly Father that we wanted to find some new people going there. That day we went, contacted for 2 hours, and left with nothing, we were heading back from that colony and I saw a man with his daughter on some swings, so I went to contact them. He told  us that we could visit him the next day. We had a lesson with him in the chapel and it was very full of the spirit. He expressed to us his feelings for his daughter and how he wanted the best for her. We told him that his HEavenly Father wants the best for him, and that he has a marvelous plan for him and his daughter. He also mentioned that he had been preparing to be baptized with the missionaries when he was young in San Nicolas, but his parents didn´t allow him. He wasn´t able to come to church this week, but he will be able to come all of the other weeks, so we will be able to work with him and it will be great. Maybe there´s a lesson there. Maybe there wasn´t anyone prepared in that one colony, but there was someone prepared, and God placed him there at that time so we could be guided to him.

I found a scripture very valuable in 3 Nephi 22:4 (Isaiah 54:4)

 " Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame ; for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more."

I guess no matter what we have done, the Lord can sanctify us through repentance, and we can leave our guilt and shame behind. I really like it for the reason that it says youth too, because I am one, and I guess everyone has done things in their youth that they aren´t proud of (like throwing their mom in the pool)

I have a couple things to ask you, for the next package you send I guess. I want to get Elder R an English hymn book, and an olive oil holder for christmas(he doesn´t have one) and I will need the 2016 Audobon calendar for the next year (It´s coming so fast!) I have more than 11 months here wow. Also, maybe some more shirts (mostly short sleeve) because they´re getting badly stained by the sweat/sun screen) So I might need some more, like 3 or 4. (One of the shirt´s sleeves lookes like it got dipped in mustard.)

Sorry mom that I haven´t been putting in everything in my journals, I´m trying to write what I can, There isn´t as much time I would like, but i´ll add that stuff in too. I still need to write you guys a nice handwritten letter.

But anyway, everything I going "super duper dad!" 

I love you mom,

Davis