NOVEMBER 8TH

Good morning!!

Today we are in writing early so that we can have some time today to do something different. I think we are going to play soccer with some of the jovenes in the ward. Should be fun. This week was pretty busy... Saturday and Sunda we had killer days in the area. We had a very powerful lesson with Gilma, whose baptismal date is in December. She is weighed down by her past, and she really needed to hear about baptism and repentance. We taught and testified, and the Spirit was there so strong it was incredible. The difference in her was amazing, and we testified and promised her that she could feel the way she felt in that moment all of the time if she is baptized and receives the Holy Ghost. For once, I noticed how stong the Spanish language can be (usually I find myself complaining about its inability to express things that I want to express). But subjunctive was the winner in that lesson. There's just something powerful about saying "cuando usted reciba el Espiritu Santo..." instead of just "recibe". Dad can explain the difference there. Elder Soza and I left that lesson walking tall and feeling great. The week, however, was not so fruitful. We had a multizone meeting this week, which was great. But the preparation that we had to do for that meeting and the other multizone meetings that took place this week was extensive. Wednesday night we didn't even get home until 8:40ish, and it is not even changes week! But changes week is coming, so it looks like the next few weeks could be a little bit rough as well. Last night we met with Mauricio. We haven't taught the word of wisdom yet, but he told us that he fell again this week and drank again. It is sad how trapped he is by his addiction, and how much it robs him of his self worth. He still believes that God doesn't listen to him because he was cast out. That makes me want to hit whoever told him that. Well, I wouldn't hit them, but I would give them a nice little machete (of words of course, we use that word a lot here...it means to chew someone out) and let them know how the Lord feels when they exercise that kind of assumed authority over good people like Mauricio. We stayed and chatted with him after the lesson for 5 minutes or so before we left becuase it was raining so hard. Water was coming into his house like crazy, but he wanted us to stay until it passed. We told him we had to be home by 9, and we left. Umbrellas did not help us at all... In other news, this week we had Noche de Hogar (FHE) with our ward mission leader and his family, and it was humbling to see the conditions that they live in. It makes my heart hurt that people have to live like that. But it always amazes me how they are so happy. It just goes to show the happiness that living the gospel brings. I wish people would just accept it and be happy! But they have the power to make that choice, not me. I love you guys. I hope you are praying to have missionary opportunities and that you are praying for the missionaries there in our ward. I am going to work with them like crazy when I get back. At least until I have to go back to school. Have a great week, and I'll see you in two!

Elder Andreasen