Weekly Letter: April 5-11, 2011

para todos uds:

I wish I could give more news about this week than what I have. The truth is, we had a little bit of disappointment at the end of the week. However, that does not mean that we didn´t have our share of miracles this week. Actually we had one really big miracle on Thursday.

It had just begun to rain and we were closer to the church than our house, we decided to get under a roof because it was actually hailing pretty bad. When we had just opened the church, a couple asked if they could come in too. We told them that it was okay. They came in and explained the situation. The husband to-be got baptized 13 years ago, but about a month ago returned to church. His family and the family of his girlfriend were not too happy about that. Anyway, they came all the way from the State of Guerrero to Santiago Miltepec, Toluca, the state of Mexico, and just happened to find us at that moment that it was raining.

We began to teach his girlfriend in the church while we waited out the rain. She didn´t know anything about the church, but liked what we explained about Joseph Smith. We felt so good in that lesson that when we explained the Holy Ghost answers our prayers, I felt inspired to say "You´re already feeling it, aren´t you?" She nodded the affirmative with a broad smile on her face. We then made the arrangements so that they could stay the night in the Bishop´s house, because that was their first day in Toluca, and didn´t have a place to live here. Actually the families are so against them leaving home, and them marrying each other, that they took out all the money in their account.

However, they were able to find a house that only asked for rent 900 pesos a month with a really nice owner (that actually wants to listen to us too), and he was able to find a job the second day here in Toluca. Everything has lined up for them. We actually already explained the Law of Chastity with them, and they are already trying to get the papers they need to get married! Then on Friday, my companion went with Elder Hawker to see them (because I had to go to another area with Elder Hawker´s companion Elder Talamilla), and they had a great lesson. They taught the Plan of Salvation, and she said at the end that she liked it when we came, because she felt chills every time of us talked...but that she felt happier than she thought was possible. In that moment, my companion invited her to baptism, and she accepted, but we have to make the arrangements that they can get married in these next two weeks.

However, she and her boyfriend were not able to get to church this week, because she woke up early Sunday to get ready, when she suddenly felt really bad in the stomach. Here in Toluca we are really high in elevation, especially in comparison with Guerrero, and they live on a hill. She found out that she got sick because she wasn´t used to the elevation, and kept going the hill, and going down, and going up, and down again.

So that was why we felt a little bad on Sunday, because we had several people that told us that they were sure to be in church this week. One that is Amalia´s neighbor who actually was so sure he was going to go, that he told her that he would pass for her in his car(because they live pretty far away from the church). Then we had another family, we´ve been talking to the Dad, and I think he´s pretty golden, however, we found out late Saturday night that he had to work Sunday in the morning...so he didn´t go either. We had several people that we were pretty sure were going to go, but nobody came. However, we can´t be discouraged, I know that God is always in the details, and that there is a reason why they didn´t go yesterday.

Anyway, we really did have a great week, and we are feeling the prayers in the lives of our investigators and in our lives. Keep praying for us. We still have a lot of work to do!

Thanks for the support and prayers!

Cariños,

Elder Blackham