Hey All!

So, the week…It was rough. It just kind of seemed that all the investigators we had just hit a HUGE wall and slowed WAY down. Two investigators we were going to commit to baptism are now on the verge of being dropped. Another investigator with a baptismal date wants to move it back another 3 weeks. One investigator that we thought was REALLY ready didn’t come to church so now we have to move her date back. Our recent convert of a month is struggling with the “church is more important than work” thing (at least that is what it seems like)…So, it was a tough struggle. To add to the mix, my companion and I only had, like, 2 or so hours of tracting for the whole week last week (our goal was 10) so, yeah, pretty crazy. It’s interesting though because it really humbles you and makes you realize that there is more that you can be doing. Plus, it really makes you remember that this is Heavenly Father’s work and you simply have to follow the guidelines and schedule he has set for your investigators and for you. The important thing (and the hardest thing I fought this week) is to not get discouraged because that is exactly what Satan needs us to do before he can work is magic. My companion said something pretty profound on Sunday when we were trying to contact all of our investigators. He said, “Satan works EXTRA hard on Sundays to try and prevent our investigators from progressing. So, that just means that we need to work even harder.” It’s simple but, really means a lot when referring to missionary work. Satan knows that the message we have will bring massive amounts of blessings into the lives of those who accept it. He is going to do everything in his power to make sure that our investigators will never achieve them. All we can do is be strictly obedient, exercise our faith in Heavenly Father, and keep pressing forward (even when you feel like nothing is going right).

On a happier note however, it is possible to overcome Satan’s “darts”. I actually had the opportunity to witness that this past Saturday. I had my first baptism of the mission! It was a little girl named Jackie (she was about 9) and the service was something really special. Pretty much her WHOLE family was there, I was able to speak on the Holy Ghost, and Elder Bingham and I sang “Senor, Te Necesito” as a special musical number. One of the best parts of the whole thing was we had one of our investigators there at the baptism. He liked it a lot and I am pretty sure that he is pretty excited for his own on the 7th of next month. This was a huge milestone for us…especially in such a tough week.

In other news, we went on splits with our Zone Leaders yesterday, so that was pretty fun (and extremely tiring) and the weather is just fantastic. We hit about 90 degrees on average with a cool 75 or so in the mornings (which makes running really nice ). That and we have collected enough change off the sidewalk from tracting to go get a pair of socks from the dollar store (which are pretty nice if I do say so myself). So, there are some exciting things going down in South Phoenix!! But, I am out of time for this week. Remember that you all are always in my prayers and I hope that you enjoy the pictures!!


“The Shack”-Complete with scorpions, Black widows, and numerous “hormigas”, the shack is my home for this transfer (the place rocks)


“Weekly Planning”-After a hard days work…Weekly planning just ended in song lyrics.


“Sunsets and long walks on the…streets”-We were tracting a couple of days ago and this is what we saw. Pretty tight right?


“I will go the distance”-Last P-day, Elder Bingham and I went on a hike up South Mountain in South Phoenix. We stopped to get a couple of snapshots.


“Yum”- We were really busy one day but our dinner appointment decided to feed us anyway. It definitely beats cereal!


“Fruits of our Labors”-This is Jackie and some of her family. My companion performed the baptism and I spoke. This was a special day…People are ready so let’s go out and find them!