Monday, November 24, 2014

5 Baptisms Planned!


Don`t stress too much about Book of Mormon 2 stickers. I have all of the scriptures references, just not the stickers. I am okay. Don`t spend a lot on a whole set for nothing. I am going to hang onto the other that is a duplicate because it has the scriptures listed, but the wrong stickers. Don`t stress over everything and packages are surely costing a lot. Don`t stress a ton about sending a lot of them or for every little occasion. Thanks for all that you do.


I don`t know if I will have changes in a week, but it is possible. I am doing really well. I am having a really hard time when we go to teach English Classes here, because I am forgetting so much.... I can`t talk easily in English. It is so rough. I am used to talking in Spanish to the point that I can`t speak English well. I can think English when I want to, but I usually am thinking and doing everything in Spanish. I hope that you are doing well and I am doing really well. We haven`t had any baptisms in the past 5 weeks, but we have 5 planned for this next Sunday. I am really excited and we are working really hard with all of them to have them get baptized and have great experiences. There are a lot of people that we are teaching but we are working to help more people be ready for baptism. We have a lot of people that are progressing just at different rates and will be ready to be baptized in a little more time. I am really excited! There are so many blessings.


Today I had choir practices in Maipù. You`re probably confused about choir. Remember how you found the Christmas Choir from last year? Well I am in the choir for this year. My companion is as well and we have fixed a lot of our problems, but there are a few little ones. We both enjoy singing so that has helped get rid of a lot of stress. I am really excited and happy with everything. Enjoy everything and I am doing my best and time passes quickly and everything. I can`t believe that I am nearing 6 months. Time will pass really quickly and I am really enjoying serving but I get bored at times. 


If you want you could save all the money that you would use to send things to me and start stockpiling things for Christmas or other things like that for when I get back? I`m really doing just fine. Things are great and everything! I know that when I get back there will be a few things that I will want to buy and have fun doing. Also don`t forget about Newmont, to reapply before I come back from my mission. Have a reminder or something. I don`t want to lose that opportunity. I am really happy with everything and things really aren`t that hard right now. I am happy with everything. Enjoy your snow while I have summer. Thanks for everything. I will be back on a little later. We are on really early today and will be back later today to write more. Thanks for all that you do!


I was disappointed not to get any photos or the video this week.  Can you please try to get something to us this week?  Did you send the SD card yet?


No, I haven`t. I don`t think that I am going to send it. Also the password to the Wi-Fi at the church wasn`t the normal church password, so I couldn`t send anything, because I don`t have the password. Sorry, I know that I promised, but I honestly couldn`t send anything. I am doing my best..... I might be able to get it sent today during internet time. I will be back on later, but I don`t know for sure.


I looked into Dropbox and I can`t upload from these computers. Some computers can read my camera, but there are others that say that they need to format the card and they can`t format anything. These computers are newer and can`t read my camera. I don`t know... I have given up a lot on being able to send photos, because I am on a really good computer in Maipù today..... I don`t know.... I have done what I can.... There is only so much that I can do and I am having a really hard time with technology not doing what I want it to do lately. Thanks for everything and I will be on a little bit later to reply to everything but I still have to do my Family Search time. Thanks and talk to you later.


The computers all want to format my card. I don`t know and the password is not Pioneer47 it isn`t LDS Wi-Fi or however it was. It says Rama Lo Espejo or Branch Lo Espejo. I will try with my external drive, but I don`t know for certain. I am doing what I can. I didn`t send the card, because I kept forgetting to send it and I kept trying to use it to upload to Dropbox, but haven`t had good luck with it.


The baptismal dates are Francisco and Alfonso the kids of Elizabeth and Victor. They can`t get married yet, because they live in a camp, really poor and honestly horrible. You would be grossed out. They are amazing and we are doing a lot to serve them and all that we can. We are working to baptize the kids, because Elizabeth loves the church and wants to be baptized, but cannot right now. We have talked to her about March getting married and baptized and how we won`t be here and it will be other missionaries. And how she will need to continue going to church and being the strong one to help her kids stay strong. The kids really like the church, too. They don`t understand everything, but we are working really hard with them.


We have Patrick and Ashlee. Both are guys and they are our Haitians that can be baptized. All 5 have the attendances to be baptized. We are passing by to help them and teach more of the family. We were able to get a lot of stuff in French and they came to our English classes this last Saturday. It was awesome teaching and learning Creole and French from them and teaching. They are really great and really strong. We are doing all to make sure that they are ready.  We also have Isabel who is the mom of Ivan, who is a recent convert that we are verifying that she has stopped smoking and is ready.


We are going to visit them a lot this week and plan the baptismal interviews and do all we can to have them. We are planning a huge baptismal service in our branch planned for 7 baptisms, 2 from the other Elders. We are really close and we can do baptisms any day of the week. We like to do them Saturdays, but if they attend, they do the baptisms after the reunion (meetings) and the following week give them the Holy Ghost, but sometimes we do Saturday baptisms and Sunday Confirmations. This just worked out to be a Sunday. 


President Barreiros baptized all of the missionaries at the temple and the Elders that were waiting to be baptized did the confirmations. It was really awesome. I got baptized for them all, but not confirmed for all, for a few yes. They were doing their best to get them all through and it was a really awesome experience. I got to be a witness and confirm various times. It was really awesome. I really enjoyed it and the temple with recent converts is the next Saturday. We are going to verify with all of them who can go and make sure that they have names and everything. Otherwise, we are going to reschedule, but our goal is to strengthen their faith and help them be more active. They are a little lazy at times, but we are doing our best to strengthen their testimonies and help retain them active. 


I have been messaging two missionaries who will arrive in your mission in January.  Marcel Max is from Brazil.  He speaks Portuguese and English. He is really a cool kid.  I have enjoyed our conversations.  He wants you to be his trainer.  He has been reading your blog.  He went to the temple for his endowments on your birthday.  The other guy is Cole Mason.  He is from North Ogden.  He is friends with Logan Parkin.  I started emailing his mom and then I sent him a message on Facebook.  Cole will go to the Chile CCM.  I am still not sure where Marcel will go.


That`s really cool that they are coming to my mission and it will be in my 5th or 6th change depending on when they are in the CCM. If it is my 5th change it will be right when Elder Chuquel told me that I need to train. I honestly have no clue what will happen and I have learned that if it is the Lord`s will, it will happen. I am enjoying serving and looking for opportunities to serve. I don`t want to be selfish or anything but I really want to use my white tie. It is a little flashy and honestly one of my favorites and I would like to be able to use it more often.


Things are coming along slowly and as the people follow through with their commitments. There are a lot more people and as they progress I will let you know. I may change sectors so I am going to focus on the ones that can be baptized soon and if I stay I will let you know about the others that I am working with. I feel like I will stay, but the Lord knows a whole lot better than I do. Thanks for everything!


I will do what I can. We have been having a little bit of difficulties with success in the work, because the majority of the members aren`t doing much to help us have success in the work. They aren`t working well.... We have activities and other things, like this last Saturday to show the organizations of the Church to people who don`t know the church and we only had 4 people show up that were new..... And 3 of them were brought by one person..... There is a lot of difficulties with this and we are working as hard as we can. There are a few people who work really well, but overall the branch doesn`t help much. We are trying and doing our best to keep people coming, activate less actives and in-actives, keep the new converts coming and helping them establish their testimonies, but we can`t do everything.... We only had 48 people this week and we can think of so many people that just didn`t come.... I don`t know what I can do in some cases, because they are just being lazy or something. But I am doing my best to strengthen them and looking for the best way to have success and be patient with everything knowing that I can`t make it go faster. Love you!


I am trying and anytime that I use the thumb drive or camera with cables or anything it can`t read it on these computers. It is like they lack the ability to read the card. I think it is because my camera card is 64 GB. I don`t bring the terabyte drive with me each week because I don`t always take photos off. I have only found 1 cyber that can read my card and we aren`t at that cyber this week. I don`t know what to tell you to tell Brother Schneiter..... I am trying, but these computers can`t read my card. I have tried every method that I know of to connect them. Think of the computers that we used when it was 2000..... That is basically what I have to work with now..... Bricks...... A little slow and by a little really and hard to work with.... I can`t even enter the jump drive on these computers to look at my photos, because every time that I try it wants to reformat the drive and I say no, so I can`t do anything. I don`t know what to tell you..... I have tried, but I kept the card and didn`t send it, because I thought I could send it through Dropbox, but I wasn`t able to and then I also want to have both cards. I don`t know. Here they don`t sell 64 GB cards, only 16 is the largest that I have seen. Could it be something about the technology being too new for the computers to handle? There are some things like little DVD players that we have that can only read 8 GB or less drives or other things so I think it has to do with the computers not knowing how to read a 64 GB drive..... That`s all that I have.... I don`t know what to do about it, because I can`t do anything now.... The only thing that I can do is explain what I am doing and keep working hard. I will do my best, but I am going to ask our Branch President for the Wi-Fi code tomorrow or at the houses of some members that have Wi-Fi to send some photos. I will send several groups of photos and try to send new ones that you don`t have to give you photos or something because the video I can`t send.


I understand, but our attendance dropped from 74 to 48 it feels like about half was lost.... I don`t know what we aren`t doing. It was a week with less time available to work, because of reunions and temple and everything and we had more lessons than any other week. 29 lessons and we are doing so much to serve and help the people learn the way to have the blessings.


I tried sending things in Maipù with the same problem as here and I didn`t have the terabyte drive. I will look into it next week and I have Choir Practice Friday, but I don`t know the entire schedule. They only told us Friday for now, so I don`t know.... I will do my best to get what I can. Thanks for everything and I will see what I can do and I have tried every method that you have given me to send stuff. The computer that I have today is really slow so I might have to wait until next week to look at the photos on Dropbox. Thanks and I am doing what I can. I have been waiting for Family Search to load and this computer can only do so much at a time.... It is really slow. Next week I am going to use a different one because this one is awful.....


I forgot to talk about how I am doing. My allergies are acting up a little more than normal, but I am okay.  I have a little bit of a cold.... I am doing fine. I have been trying to use all of my medications, but I am not using them nearly as quickly as you are sending them. I will keep using what I have, but I will let you know when I am running low. I don`t need any more right now. I have plenty. I am not using them perfectly, but I am trying to remember every day, but I forget to use them. I am not perfect at remembering all of my medications, but I am taking my allergy and vitamin every day.


Thanks for all that you do. I love you and hope that you are doing well. You should tell me a little more about the other missionaries that you have found that are going to come. I will have plenty of opportunities to get to know them in the mission. Thanks for everything! I am still trying to look into Dropbox and I haven`t done any Family Search I can`t with this computer. The sites use too much and the computer is so slow this week. I will keep away from this one next week, if I am still here.


Ya, I know it has been annoying. We go to the church that is the center of our mission, the church in Esquina Blanca in Maipù. The office of our mission and everything is there. I could ask to send them, but it isn`t my Preparation Day. I really don`t want to be a bother to everyone. President isn’t always there and he is usually really busy. I will do what I can, but things are limited and I have been trying to do my best with the principle for our mission. When there are problems of any kind is You Fix It! We have a lot of little things that happen every day that we have to solve.


We were in a service project and all the hard work and diligence that you and Dad always taught me pay off, because I never get tired during services and am working the whole time and the other Elders don`t know how I can do that. They are a little bit pampered in some ways, but I am grateful that I know how to work hard, but because of that I lack patience when things don`t work out or go fast or there are problems. But I am learning a lot and doing my best to do better.


Thanks for everything that you do for me and I am still looking into Dropbox, but I will probably just have to look next week. I will let you know what happens with the changes. They call us the Saturday night of week 6, so this Saturday night we will know for Church on Sunday.  I will do what I can to remember everything and keep up with everything. If someone leaves, they always talk here in this branch, so we will see what happens. I am basically certain that either I or Elder Vasquez will go and for some reason I feel like he will go, but I don`t know for certain. Thanks and I will let you know how things go for next week. 


Thanks for everything and I will try to get you some of my best photos tomorrow. I am a little forgetful so there aren`t tons of photos, but I have more than 100 in my time.  I will do what I can to have good ones. I just get going and forget to take photos. Thanks for everything and for all that you do. Enjoy Thanksgiving and the time with Family. The time passes really quickly for me and will be gone before I know it. Thanks and I will talk to you next week! Love you! Bye!

 

 

 

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