Monday, September 17, 2012

17 September 2012 Final Missionary Letter




Dear Family,

I just realized that this is my last letter.. That's interesting... Unfortunately I just spent about 30 minutes emailing the mission presidente and looking at key indicatores and all sorts of things that aren't so important or urgent (Elder Jones groups all the things he does on two axis: Urgentness and Importantness. It's helpful.. I think we never get to the things that are not urgent or important, but I suppose that's the point).

So well, I feel like this letter should be the BEST...

Soo.. first off, we had the baptism of three of our beloved sisters. Paola RaĆ” was Friday, and it was a very, very well done service with lots of help. Turned out great. She was really, really well prepared. In the pictures, the better picture comes with the back of the head of Aldo Lopez. So I'm thinking that's a photoshop job since the first doesn't have everyone in it. She was so so happy to be baptized.

We also had the opportunity to have the baptismal service of Ysabel y Alessandra Ramos Saturday!!! It was great! They were also so delighted. Alessandra said Sunday that she had felt as if she had been a feather after her baptism. The ward always shows up in force to help us out. It's quite an amazing thing to see how much the ward is helping us. The bishop also is just a rock of a man. In a great way. He reminded me of Dad when he told of a problem he had with his work. He switched banks [jobs] to be able to give more time to his family and the church, but turned out that it didn't work out and he had less. So he was about to quit, and the Lord gave him a blessing to be able to have the time he wanted for his work in the home and the church. The other saints seem to be so excited. It's just a great ward to be in. I think a lot has to do with attitude of the observer too, but the attitude makes differences in everything.

Saturday we also were called to go to the Hospital to give a blessing to the mother of a ward member. She told us after the blessing that she is going to be baptized Monday. We've got to call her to see how her operation went. I think her appendix burst. She has 83 years.

Really Elder Jones and I are just so happy. Missionary work is the best. I'm excited to get into family search and family search indexing. I made some goals for that last Monday for my first month back and also for a bunch of other subjects. Yesterday, we had 42 people in the new members class! Converts, less actives being activated, and members acompaƱando sus amigos [members coming with their friends]! This week we have quite a few people who could be baptized. One that is more sure than my own attendance in the sacrament meeting next week. The ward is also going to have the baptism of a child of 8 years who went up to the Executive Secretary and said: "Hey, I'm eight. I want to get baptized." Haha.

I'm writing all the people I've been able to see baptized, a couple have moved and I'm a little worried about losing contact when I leave! I'm gunna call them the first possible.

All the members keep asking me how much time I have left...It doesn't feel like the full time mission is close to ending. The whole ward are our friends.

Well.... finishing up. I love missionary work. I love the time that He has given me to work here in Peru to learn how to work for the rest of my life. I'm so grateful for all the wonderful experiences that I've been able to have in all 110 weeks of the mission the Lord has given me (were they 110?) and more than anything, my heart is consumed of thankfulness for the gift to the atonement which makes it possible that when I repent, my soul may be comforted and forgiven. God is my Father, Christ is my Lord, The Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God and This is His church, and Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet of God today. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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