Oct. 12, 2013 A Baptism!!!

This week we have a baptism! Gerson Laurente is going to be baptized in like 6 hours! Here´s the story.

Gerson, was walking in the street one night, just getting to his home when two gringos and a peruvian kids in white shirt and ties (que en el mundo?) stopped him and tried to get in his house and talk about God. (I have to acknowledge how odd it must seem for some people). Fast forward about two months and we finally find him but at a different house because he moved! Then we taught him, and he simply accepted everything. 

His biggest challenge, i think is just understanding the doctrine. But he knows enough to make the decision to get baptized and commit to come to church every Sunday. We are to be teaching him a lot, even after his baptism, because he is honestly a very humble person, very accepting, very simple. I´ll send the pictures next week! I am honestly so grateful, because being in the office, it has been a while since I have seen what it´s like to watch an investigator progress to his baptism. Pretty great feeling, de verdad.

Chase:
It´s an exiting time of your life to be thinking about which school to go to. Honestly i remeber being so exited about that. But yeah, I think i would have done better to go on a mission first, so please recognize how blessed you are to have that blessing. And don't worry that much about your ACT. I had friends who went to BYU with lower scores than yours.

Mom:
you asked what I have learned about being in the office. Many things. The secretaries before me, (and President himself) have mentioned that they didn`t know how much they had learned in the office, until they got back out into the field, and realized, wow i learned a ton in the office! So I expect it to be the same. BUT, I do know that this has been one big mental refinement and emotional test. I have had so much time to see how I react in stressful situations, and take control of situations, make decisions, try to organize missionaries and get them from place to place and things that I strongly believe will help me in my future career. It has been a wild ride. I have never been so emotionally, spiritually, and physically TIRED all. the. time. But it is worth it. (And i`m still here for another month or two.) (although we got Elder Amador as a new part of the companionship. He`s from Honduras, and already speaks excellent english, and he has a really bad knee, so president put him in the office. The idea is that Elder Dìaz will train him, and leave, and I will train that next transfer. I`m exited)

COOL STORY:
We taught a family last night. The mother, was baptized as a young teen in Iquitos (the jungle!). But she thinks she never got confirmed, so we might get to baptize her again. But we`re aprovechando (taking avantage of) the situation to try to get to her husband (he`s very catholic, which means, unreceptive to other religions that require commitment), so we`ll see if he`ll listen. But the cool thing is that her sister, is the member that gives the elders lunch and dinner every day, in a ward where there is stationed none other than Elder Brett Hasleton. Cool Story.

Love and peace and kindness to all. Have a great week. Lake Powell is beautiful. I love those pictures.