Rodents Running onto Tanner's Lap

So things are going well here in Diamante II. We had a really solid week in terms of teaching numbers. Our zone is the zone with the highest numbers in the mission. I am not sure if our district is the highest district, but we have to be close. We are making some real nice progress with Felipe. Felipe is 16 and is a reference from one of the Alvarez twins. He is very receptive and is ready to learn. His progress with the Book of Mormon is solid and he is completing his commitments. He said that he really feels different when praying about the Book of Mormon and asking the Lord for a remission of his sins. He is a really good investigator. The one problem that could be occurring is that his interest may be more in the Alvarez twin and less in the church. We will need to be careful to make sure that he is acting upon his own free will and testimony, and not on a gesture to impress this girl. No worries though. We will keep it covered. 

 The bishop asked us the visit every single recent convert over the last two years this week. We have 46 2 year old new converts, only of which maybe 15 are active. This is clearly a sign that the ward needs to do a better job, AND that missionaries are baptizing when people are just not prepared. That is something that I never want to do. The goal isn’t just the baptism, it is the lifelong conversion. We were not able to visit all of them because I had already jammed our planner full with lessons, but we did a good job.

Elder Correa is really good. I enjoy being around him. He likes to work, but at a slower pace. He is constantly complaining that we walk too fast and he sweats too much. He really is a great teacher though. He knows a good amount. We are really good together.

 This week we should have had over 6 investigators at Sacrament Meeting. Because it was lightly drizzling, we only had 2. Plus, a good amount of members didn’t come. I couldn’t just help but just shake my head.

I have learned that people here, or people in general, need what we have. They need it more than anything else. However, they just do not understand what we have, or their need for it. They are too caught up in the world to recognize the giant hole that they have in their lives. We are filling those holes with the only thing that could fill it.

 My feet are fine. The fungus is not going away. I am going to try some new strategies this week. I have literally tried everything. I have rubbed toothpaste, deodorant, cologne, Listerine, sunscreen, and a whole bunch of other things seeing if they work. Yeahhhh no. They do not work. No worries though. It isn’t slowing the work.

Good story that mom will love: We were teaching Carlos. Carlos lives in a pit that is very poor. We were sitting on his sofa, mid lesson, talking about 1 Nephi 9 when a mouse crawls over my shoulder and onto my lap. Carlos runs over, grabs the mouse off of my lap and throws it at the wall, killing it instantly. It was great. I was amazed that the thing stayed on my lap when Carlos ran over. Mom would have loved it.

I am so grateful for Christ. I know that he is my savior. I know that he laughs and cries. I know that Jehovah is the pre-mortal Christ. Without him, I wouldn’t and couldn’t be here. I cannot image living without the knowledge that he is with me where ever I go. There is nothing more important in our lives than Him and our families.