Hey Fam!
How is everyone? I'm doing well. The zone leader councils were today here in the offices, so we all got to eat pizza which was delicious. Work in the offices has been a little crazy. This weekend there are eleven missionaries going home, and thirteen arriving. The upside is that only one of the elders arriving is from out of the country, so that won't be that much visa work to do. On the 24 of October we'll be getting missionaries from El Salvador, Honduras, Argentina, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador. That'll be a busy day for me.
The work has been going well in the area. It's been interesting working with Elder Olson, because he has a working style that I've never really had any experience with before. It's a lot better than what I'm used to. We've been focusing on "Creating Chains," as President Jesperson says. Or in other words, helping families and friends link together through the gospel. Inviting anyone and everyone to every lesson, and turning the teachinig into more of a group effort to get everyone closer to Christ.
This week, Carlitos should be able to get permission from his mom for his baptism on Saturday, and either on Sunday or next week will be the baptisms of the step children of one of the sisters in the ward. Her husband isn't a member. He knows a ton about the gospel. He comes from a family that's made up of religious leaders in other Christian denominations. He grew up surrounded by teachings and doctrines of the bible. He can quote about any scripture. He doesn't, however, attend any church. The other night we were at their house teaching his kids, when he pulled me to the side and asked if a person can be baptized two times. I explained some things to him about Priesthood Authority, and how it is that if we aren't baptized by the proper authority, it really isn't a baptism. I talked about that example in Acts when Peter arrives with a group of people and asks if they'd been baptized or confirmed. They say that they were baptized by John's baptism, but not confirmed (or something along those lines). Peter then instructs them to be baptized again, and then confirmed. I've thought on various explanations as to why they were instructed to be baptized again, but the point was that it was done, and under the instruction of one of Christ's own apostles. He looked a little relieved as I explained the passage to him, and explained that he had been baptized a long time ago in a different church, but that due to recent mistakes that he had made, and also due to having completely separated himself from the other church, he felt a need to be baptized again. We'll see what happens with that. His kids are progressing really well. The oldest, Guillermo, is flying through the Book of Mormon. He reads a ton every day and remembers every detail. It's amazing the progress that a person makes when they simply take the time to read their scriptures. The investigators that don't read their Book of Mormon always show a huge lack of understanding and progress in the lessons. The Book of Mormon has some serious converting power. I love starting it over again. Every time I start to read the Book of Mormon it's like another great feast of spiritual truths. And every time we read the scriptures we can learn something different. Daily scripture study is really just priceless.
We're teaching a lady named Leonila and her four little daughters. She's about thirty five years old. They're a very humble family. Leonila works cleaning houses, and barely gets paid enough to keep her daughters fed. She went to church last Sunday, and didn't like it that much. She said she doesn't see any need for a church service to last so long. She also explained, however, that she does want to come closer to her Heavenly Father. She wants us to keep teaching her, but it might take a little while until we can convince her to go to church again. The last time we visited her, she gifted us each a tie. It was pretty neat, because she really doesn't have cash to throw around, but it was neat to see that she thought of us when she got the ties. I'll remember that family every time I wear it.
We had a lesson with Jorge Ocampo today. He learns things super fast. Today he was explaining to us the organization of prophets, apostles, and the seventies of the church. We talked with him about the Restoration, and explained how important it is for him to gain a testimony of his own that these things are true through prayer. He works in a restaurant on Sundays, but he's planning on quitting so that he can go to church. Yesterday he said "I work just to get extra cash, but if I went to church every Sunday instead, it would be a better investment, because the extra cash can run out, but the Lord would never leave me behind." I was pretty impressed by his faith.
Nay- So you're a full time college student now, all experienced and everything. Cool. haha. Make sure you eat well. It's easy to eat bad when you live on your own. It's way worth it to eat healthy though, makes a world of difference. haha. I was talking to my buddy Elder Peterson the other day on the phone and I mentioned to him that you started college already. He also goes to Utah State. He said for me that I had to tell you that you shouldn't kiss on the A, because it's not worth it... Haha. I don't really know what that means, but it sounds like good advice. Anyway, that's awesome that all those little problems worked out for you. Love ya! Have a great week!
Den- Sounds like the U game was a blast Denny o! Who was it against? Are the season ticket seats still in the same spot? Sounds like that Bratwurst was pretty good. There aren't any of those here, there's a lot of stuff called chorizo that's pretty similar. It's pretty good too. Love ya! Have a great week!
Dig- Sounds like that soccer tournament was sweet. What position are you playing? Sounds like the capture the flag activity was pretty sweet. You'll have to let me know how the dew tour went. Stay awesome Dig. Love ya! Have a great week!
Shash- Sounds like bowling was super fun. I love bowling even though I'm not very good. haha. I'm glad you had a great birthday week though. You'll have to tell me about the sewing projects you've got going on with your new machine. Love ya! Have a great week!
Mom- The letter I talked about in my last e mail was from the Hunter Stake Presidency. They send a short message with a talk every once in a while to all the missionaries I think. They're always pretty sweet talks. Sounds like that party at the Egans was a blast. How's Kathy doing with her health? Hopefully she's doing well. Part of my responsibility as the executive secretary is that I make the weekly newsletter for the mission. Elder Olson gave me the idea of sending it with my e mails, so that the fam can see the mission news. (It is all in spanish of course). Just thought I'd ask your opinion. Anyway, thanks for everything Mom. Love ya! Have a great week!
Dad- I haven't really heard anything about the hurricane. Was it a pretty serious deal? That's cool that Fui was able to be there helping those in need. It was interesting to read about your interview experience with that lady at cort. I'll be keeping that stuff in mind in my last months of serving the Lord. Love ya! Have a great week!
Bam- Thanks for your e mail Bam. That's kinda cool about your work friends thing. That's awesome that you're having such a huge impact on them. The weather down here is cooling down quite a bit. In the mornings and evenings now I almost need a jacket. In the day time the sun is still pretty strong though. It's sort of like fall time. Love ya! Have a great week!
Love you all!
Elder Aguilar
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