Week 14 (Lontué w/ Hmna. Rojas)

halo!

This week has been really good!  SUPER busy, I almost feel like we were running to and from appointments more often than walking.  This week in the consejo de lideres [leader's council] they changed the standards for edificadores de rama [branch builders] back to the normal mission standards, which means we spend less time working with menos activos [less active members] and conversos recientes [recent converts] and more time looking for nuevos investigadores [new investigators] and teaching them. I like it but at the same time I was a little sad because, although many of the menos activos [less active members] are SUPER duros y tienen orejas sordas [hard and have deaf ears], some of them are really awesome too, and for some reason I really enjoyed working with them.  But now we are still edificadores de rama [branch builders], it's just that we cut back time hunting down and teaching menos activos [less active members] and have to look more for new people, however we are also still supposed to hold 2 activities weekly (ie clase de ingles y noche de deportes [english classes and sports night] ) and monthly activities for the wards/branches. Also it's tough because we are only supposed to visit like 3 conversos [converts] and 3 menos activos [less active members] weekly so it feels like we are leaving a ton of them behind because we have to choose super carefully who we will visit, but we are working with our lider misional de rama [branch mission leader] and figuring out how we can best divide the work so that we don't leave a bunch of people behind. Sometimes it really feels like we don't have enough time in the day or in the week to visit all the people and do all the things we need to do, we just can't run fast enough sometimes! lol ...but honestly, I like it better busy than if it were slow, because I really feel like we get a lot more done and like I'm fulfilling my purpose as a missionary.  Also, our lider misional [branch mission leader] has continued to be a huge help!  Sometimes I honestly feel like we are more of a trio than just my companion and I!  It's awesome!  This week we have a super cool activity planned to encourage the branch and get them excited about sharing the gospel and what not.  Also we have a baptism planned this Thursday for an investigator named Shania. She is 13 and super awesome! She has attended church like 5 times now, her mom and grandparents are menos activos [less active] and we finally got her mom's permission on paper to baptize her.  She was the Elder's investigator before they left.

The work here in Lontué is actually pretty slow.  Aside from our baptism this week we don't really have anything solid.  We have just been searching and searching and searching for new investigators, and we have found a lot, the hard thing is that it seems like none of them ever progress, even the ones that seems SUPER ready and SUPER awesome. Something always happens (who knows what) and they end up losing animo [enthusiasm] and not keeping up with their commitments or not wanting us to come by so much, even though they like us a lot, they just don't want to hear the gospel or be pressured to do anything. Hmna. Rojas and I were talking to the Branch President about it.  The adversary has got a strong hold here in Lontué, and he is fighting extra hard right now to keep it.  We have a lot of opposition, but we don't let it get us down much because we know that the adversary wouldn't be fighting so hard right now if there weren't some SUPER awesome things and super awesome PEOPLE waiting to be found here in Lontué. I really feel like, although it may not look like much (and although every one says it's a really tough sector), and although we have more conversos recientes [recent converts] that are menos activos [less active] than we do conversos recientes activos [active converts], Lontué is a really special sector, and we can only begin to imagine it's potential.  I wouldn't be surprised in the least if I found out, 10-20 years from now, that there was a full sized stake here in Lontué.  We just have to keep on pushing on, little by little, day by day, and in the Lord's due time, we will see the fruits of what is being sown.  And we, as a companionship, WILL find those "escogidos" [chosen] FAMILIAS! who are ready and waiting to accept the gospel. 

OH! next P-day I think we are taking our zone activity to the... MOUNTAINS!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!  que frio! [how cold]  lol

FAMBAM Davis clan:

Mom: your emails are never boring and even the most mundane things aren't boring for me to hear, anything about home and what's going on in the lives of those I care about is interesting to me!  I love you to the moon and back a bajillion times a bajillion times a bajillion! you are so wonderful serving and helping Gabby so much!  you're charity is amazing!  Thank you for your example to me.  Good luck having the kids home for the first week of summer }:) have fun!!! 

Daddy!!!!!!!: HI! I LOVE YOU! You're my hero! de verdad [truly]! Are you so proud of me because I'm learning Spanish soooooooooooooo good?   I know, I bet you are just tickled pink!  I want to go mountain biking in 15 months... OK?   I thought about you a lot yesterday while we were at the Branch Presidents house.  In ways you two are "iguales" [equals].  Por eso [For that] , I love to be around him and his family, but at the same time it's bitter sweet.  While we were eating and talking, matters in the branch came up and he got the same EXACT look that you get when you start think about branch stuff (e.g.: zoning out into BP land) the same concern/worry, he even ran his hand through his hair without thinking and left it a little disheveled just like you do.  I love you so much daddy!  You really are my hero, I think you are so amazing and practically perfect in every way. You really serve the Lord with all your heart.  I was reading an address the other day about how we only benefit from our service and sacrifice to the Lord when we move from an attitude of grinning and bearing or biting the bullet and holding onto ourselves, into an attitude of complete submission to the Lord's will and giving our WHOLE hearts to the Lord.  I have so much desire to be able to do that as a missionary and I know that it only comes from seeing you and watching you in your great service and sacrifice to the Lord. You are a true and worthy EXAMPLE of a how a leader and Priesthood holder should be.  Honorable in every sense of the word.  What a privilege I have of calling you my daddy (same to you mommy)!  You and mom are the best parents and the best EXAMPLES I could EVER ask for. Thank you SO much! I love you!!!!!!