Boliviarimela

Dear family,

 

That´s some great news that Ryan´s going to Lima norte. I proselyted there one day during the MTC. Let´s just say that it´s not the richest part of the city and he might be robbed a few times. But there are some great people there. One of my companions was from there, Elder Injante. He goes home next May so he might see ryan. Also some of the elders in my district in the MTC went there (Elder Sines, Sagoon, and Murkley). I´ll tell Ryan other stuff he needs to know in a different letter.

 

 So this week was pretty cool. We went to Cochabamba to the leadership counsel and Elder Cabrera, a seventy came and told us that the prophet himself sent him to our mission specifically. He said that we have to double our baptisms! The Lord has prepared for this mission to double. So that is what we´re all working on right now. We came back to our area Thursday because my companion had a cyst by his eye that he got operated on. So that only left a couple days to work. I know that the Lord has prepared people for us in this area and that the prophet´s promise to double the baptisms is real. We found a lady about 65 years old named Alicia that is prepared. Yesterday, we taught her about the restoration and the spirit was really strong in that lesson. Her questions followed what we were going to teach and her comments were definitely influenced by the spirit. She even made herself be committed to praying. She told us that she´s going to pray to see if it was true what we said and we hadn´t even asked her yet! Then, in her prayer, she said ``If it´s thy will that I should to church, I´ll go.´´ We hadn´t invited her yet either. The next visit, I wouldn´t be surprised if she asked us if she could get baptized!

 

We also had a marriage and 2 baptisms this saturday. The girl that got married was baptized right afterwards. Her name is Melony and he husband was already a member. They´re great people and really humble. They came from La Paz with nothing and are trying to start their life here in Sucre. She is expecting a baby in a couple months, so it was hard to baptize a pregnant women. I had to have someone else come in the water with me to make sure that everything was alright.

The other baptism was a guy about cameron´s age named Ismael. One day we were eating with a member for lunch and we asked her if there´s anyone she knows that we can teach. She called a couple of her nephews in that instant. We ate with them, drank mate, and then starting teaching them. Ismael starting coming to the church to play soccer (but dad doesn´t want me to tell any more soccer stories...). There, he made friends with the members and felt very welcome. He decided to get baptized. Now we´re just waiting for his cousin Roberto that also came to  eat with us that day. We taught them both together but only Ismael decided to get baptized.

Then, Sunday night, we got a call fom a missionary and we recieved a reference. The missionaries have already taught him all the lessons and had a baptism date for this Saturday. He´s coming to Sucre to study and still wants to get baptized this saturday. So I know this is a miracle and that God has already prepared the way for us to double the baptism.

 

Take care. Help out the missionaries.

 

-Elder Walker

 

Funny quote I heard while we were walking home yesterday. A girl said this to her boyfriend,

``Why are they walking so fast?´´

``Because they don´t smoke.´´

 

Maybe I´ve been in the mission too long, but it was funny to me in the moment...