March 28, 2011

Good mOOOOOOOOrning famila mia!

Well first off, thanks for all the birthday shout outs that i received

from everyone! I had one of the best birthdays ever, seriously!

Well first things first... Elder Campos will be going home to Bolivia on

Wednesday... I'm going to miss him a ton! He really is the best Elder

ever. My new companions name is elder Jimenez. He's from Nicaragua! He's

nicaraguense! He's only got 10 months in the mission but he's awesome.

We are gonna work hard together!

So the night of my b-day Lourdes, our first convert here in Villa threw

me a way sweet family home evening. They bought me a monster cake!

They put my face in the cake! I don't have pics on my camera but I'll

have them send them to you. I had frosting so far up my nose that I

think it entered my brain... It was a good cake though. We went and

taught a lesson to Jose Maria and his family. Then when we got home

the family that we live with bought me another cake. I ate lots of

cake.

Jose Maria's family bought me a cake on Wednesday.. I ate a lot of cake

and there is more in the fridge. I didn't want to tell anyone that it

was my b-day but Elder Campos spilled the beans. Peruvian love hurts...

your stomach! They show their love by filling your already full

stomach again! I love them so much! They are the best!

So we had a lesson with a family that is way cool! Juan Carlos and his

wife Ursula. Ursula was pregnant... I say was because we went to the

appointment and they told us that they had left and the doctors

were telling her that she needed to have a C-section. So we haven't

been able to talk to them for a few days. We are hoping and praying

that everything goes well for them.

On Tuesday night my companion was here with another elder. I was doing

a visit in another area. They went to a family that we had contacted

and ended up teaching 12 new investigators! Awesome! Pray for us

family, we don't have anyone with a baptism date in April. We have

conference this week and then the next week we have the national

elections in Peru. One of the laws is that you can't gather in

groups of people on those days so... no church. It's going to be hard

for our investigators to progress this month. But we are gonna make

it! We finished the month of March with 33 baptisms and confirmations.

That's much much better than what we have had in the past!

Well family I love you tons and tons! I hope that everything is going

excellent there at home! Be careful and stay strong!

Love elder B

Hey mom I think that you could renew my drivers license now. I think
that it's going to expire this month!

March 21, 2011

Hey family!

We had a pretty good week this week! Up until right now we have had 19

baptizms in the zone! We have 15 more for the 26th we could finish the

month with 34 baptizms! It will be such a huge miracle! Please pray

for the people in the zone, the mission and the world. It's not an easy

thing to be baptized. I have been reflecting a little bit about all of

this. For someone to be baptized they have to usually change many, many

aspects of their lives. It's not an easy thing to do. I'm so proud of

them when they make the choice to leave "babylon" behind and go

forward with faith in Christ, knowing that He will help them with

everything. I find myself awe-inspired at their faith.

This week is the last week that my companion has in the mission. We

are working really hard right now. We have had kinda a rough time

because lots of our investigators have kinda fallen off the edge. Some

have lost their interest or just aren't willing to do what they need

to. BUT! We have found some awesome families! Yesterday I had a

powerful experience. We walked passed a house after our dinner

appointment and through the window I saw a family sitting and talking

together. I'm not sure what it was that I felt, but I needed to talk to

them. I'm sorry to say that I was slow in my response to the prompting. We

walked by the house and got to the corner. We waited for about thirty

seconds for a moto to pick us up. Standing there I felt like someone

had punched me in the gut. I told Elder Campos "tenemos que ir por

allí" "we have to go over there". He followed me back to the house. I

knocked on the door and a woman that to me didn't look super happy came

to the window. We said that we were missionaries and we had a pleasant

conversation with her for a minute or two, then her brother came to

the door as well. We talked to them and her brother shared a lot of

problems that he is going through. He is separated from his wife and

now his son lives with her really far away. He only gets to see him on

Sundays when he takes him to an evangelical church. They were really

nice to us and eager to hear what we have to say. I'm glad that I

listened to the spirit and knocked on that door.

Thanks everyone for your B-day emails! Thanks to Hermano Pollary for

the letters from the youth. The one that told me Zach spilled my

hospital story was pretty funny. I was laughing pretty good. Thanks

for all your support and prayers! I hope that you are all doing

excellent.

Love elder B

Mom,

Still didn't get my package but it should be coming soon. I did get

some jerky from grandma dot though. The best! Tell B happy Bday from
me! Love you tons mom!

March 14, 2011

¡Familia!

I had such a wonderful week! Here in Villa el Salvador we had 9

baptizms in the whole zone! It was a really good week! My companion

and I had two. Claudia and Jose Maria. It was such a great baptizmal

service! Probably one of the best that I have ever had. It was so

reverent and peaceful and it went off without a hitch. Jose Maria is

an awesome kid. He's going to early morning seminary and is actually

the class president haha. Pretty awesome. Claudia is doing really

well. Her mom is getting active in the church again.

About Mala! Awesome! My best friend in the mission is in Mala right

now, Elder Brinton. He told me that Arevalo's daughter and husband were

going to get married and baptized but he didn't tell me when! That's so

cool! I'm so happy for them! I actually taught that couple a couple of

times when I was there. I think that it was Elder Ponciano and I.

Arevalo is so strong and he is sharing the gospel with his whole

family. The only bummer is that I'm not going to be able to make it for

their sealing. They are going to get sealed after I come home...

bummer. But they are going to do it and I'm thrilled for them!

We found a family named the Castros (sorry I can't think how to say

that correctly) They are awesome! We contacted a guy that was sitting

under a tree one day and we went to his house to teach them. They are

awesome. We had a second lesson planned but because of a zone

conference that they made go later than expected we had to cancel. But

after our lesson he went and talked to his neighbor who's a member and told

her he wanted an appointment with us. It's awesome when an investigator

comes to look for you instead of us having to look for him. It shows

their desire. His family is the best, AND THEY´RE MARRIED!! whooo!

everytime that we go he brings his wife and 9 year old son down to

listen to us. They have tons of desires.

I have a stronger testimony of the restoration. Every time that we

teach it something interrupts us. Literally it's almost 100% sure that

something is going to interrupt the first vision. Even in our zone

conference while we were practicing, some guy passed by with a mega

phone buying scrap metal. Something like that always happens. I know

its true because satan doesn't want anyone to hear it.

Well family I love you all! Thanks for your prayers. I'm trying my best!
Love Elder B

March 7, 2011

Hey fam!

Wow the weeks just fly by. I really do feel like all I do is write to

you haha. We are having a lot of success here in the area. This

last week we had a council meeting with Presidente Manning and all the

other zone leaders in the mission. Those are always really fun

meetings. We talk about all sorts of stuff thats very important for

the mission. We got there at 8 and left at about 4 or 5 in the

afternoon. It's a long time but they fed us pizza haha!! It was the

last time that my companion will be in one of these meetings. He is

going home in three weeks. He's the best ever, really. I'm not sure that

you could find a better missionary anywhere. It has been a real

blessing to be his companion.

This week was a bummer on the baptism side. Hermanito Braulio didn't

make it. He still has a lot of doubt about very key things in the

church and about some of the commandments. So just keep him in your

prayers and some time in the future he should make it.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE! We have two baptisms this week! Jose Maria and

Claudia. They are both young kids but they are really excited to get

baptized. Jose maria has had a really big change of heart. He´s

fourteen and if you think its hard to be fourteen in the states its

nothing compared to here. When we were teaching his Aunt silvia (our

last baptizm) he interrupted and didn't listen, in reality he was

annoying. But one day before we got there to teach Silvia about a week

before her baptism, he told us that he wanted to get baptized. He was

talking to his grandma and I don't know what she told him but he has

changed a ton! Since that day he is always there and gives us his full

undivided attention. He is going to early morning seminary everyday at

6 in the morning. He is a very different kid. Claudia's mom is a less

active member that has been stuggling. We live with her aunt and

uncle and they help her a lot.

We have a marriage that we are trying to

get to happen for the 26th of this month. We are trying to do an

activity with the relief society to help raise money for them. I have

learned something, it's better and means more to them when they pay for

it. And the members get to help and they make more friends and

everything works out better. The lord is blessing us with tons of

success in the zone and in our area. We had a companionship in our

zone with 21 lessons to an investigator with a member present. And

they still had a bunch of other lessons too!

Whoa! another cousin to get to know! That's like eight new cousins I

need to get to know when I get home! I'm the luckiest kid ever!

Congrats Lindsay and Austin! And C2 haha. Mom your K2 and He is C2

cool! Sorry that fruity and Grandma are sick! That's not allowed and

you need to get better! I hope everything goes well. I'm stoked about

all the missionary stuff that's happening back home! All the people

that are leaving and deciding to serve the Lord! The best decision

that you will ever make.

Thanks for everything fam! Good luck with your talks! Some of my

favorite scriptures about prayer are Alma 37:37 and 3 Nephi 18

Love you fam!

February 28, 2011

Wow family!

Sounds like great things are happening back home! A baptism of

a family in the ward! Awesome! My companion and I had a really good

week! We are working hard with several people and they are all

excited. We have people that are looking for new jobs to be able to go

to church, people that really don't have any support from their family,

others that need to get married, others that are here illegally and

need to do a whole bunch of paperwork to be able to be legal before

they can be baptized. My point is, that the gospel compels people to do

lots of hard things to get baptized. They really change their lives to

be able to live according to the gospel of the lord. This week we have

a brother named Braulio who is getting baptized on Saturday. He needs

help! Please pray for him to make it. All he has to do is decide and he

will get baptized.

I cant believe that Nat is heading to the MTC today! (Natalee actually left last week!)
Awesome! And Ben jammin! Awesome! It's the best decision that you will ever make!

Sounds like you have some awesome missionaries in the ward! Preach my

Gospel teaches us to commit people to baptize not any later than the

second lesson. It's cool! It's the best feeling in the world to find

someone that accepts the gospel so fast and then strives to live it.

Its a wonderful feeling!

So this week we were teaching a 14 year old kid named Jose Maria. I

think I told you about him last week. He has a date for the 12th of

March. Well, we went to go teach him on Friday night and his mom was

there too! His grandma is a recent convert and also his Aunt Silvia.
We taught his mom and she was all excited and everything

too. She said that she had decided to join a church and was looking

for one, and what a coincidence! We came and taught her that very day!

We taught her the restoration and invited her to be baptized, she

accepted! The lord works in mysterious ways. One thing that I do not

believe in is coincidences. God makes the smallest things happen so

that someone can come in contact with the gospel.

Whoa! Sarah is going to get baptized the day B comes home!!!!!! I'm not

sure that I can think of a better homecoming! That's an awesome story!

I'll be praying for her! So she has been listening to the missionaries

and stuff while B has been gone. That's awesome!

Oh and tell Josue! (joshie) Good luck for me! and good luck to Lindsey

and Austin!

Elder B
I love you a ton fam!