Dear Family:
Well, no really big news this week. We went to the Mission Council meeting on Tuesday and had our Zone meeting on Friday, but although usually having lots of meetings like that cuts down a lot on the mission feild work, we worked super hard this week, so I kinda forgot we even had meetings. We´re still getting to know our new area, and this week we´ll be going out with lots of members so they can help us out a little bit. The thing with our area is that it´s made up of lots of neighborhoods that are far away from one another. So it takes a little more planning than normal with all the buses we have to take and such. This week we didn´t get off the bus when we should have and had to wait till the bus turned around and headed back. We made it at last, just a little late. Like an hour. It was kind of funny.
As for the Freyre family, we met with them this week, and found out that they still don´t have a real testimony of the basics. Prayer, The Book of Mormon, church attendance, those things. They weren´t able to come to church yesterday either. So we´re starting back at the beginning with them, and we´ll have to change their baptism date for sometime in October, we´re hoping. We know the desire is there, because they took the step to get married. Now we just have to work with that desire until it can grow into a firm testimony that can last, well, the eternity. So we´re still excited, we´ll just be doing a little backtracking is all.
Last week we found a new family too, Maria and Jorge and their three daughters, and we´re super excited about them. We shared the Gracias a Que El Vive video with them, and set up a date to come do service. There´s a ton of Walnut orchards in Tupungato, and lots of people find work cracking and separating walnuts. You ask for a provider to send you bags of walnuts, then you crack and separate them, and the provider comes and picks them up and pays you. It´s nice because you can do it in your own house and time, but it´s super time consuming, and doesn´t pay very well. A lot of people do it as a side job, in addition to whatever else they´re doing. Anyway, so they had to finish their load by friday, and were a little behind, so we came and helped them out for a few hours. While separating walnuts they were asking questions about the church, and we were able to talk a little bit about the plan of salvation with them. Yesterday we were able to have another lesson with Maria, and taught about Joseph Smith. It was a really good lesson, and we invited her to pray and ask if it was true. it was cute because at first she didn´t feel comfortable praying, and after explaining the steps of prayer and inviting her again, she finally said she would do it. Then she goes, "But what if he doesn´t answer?" It was really sweet, and I think it showed that she´ll pray with real intent.
And I guess the main thing I learned this week, from both families, is what a blessing it is that the gospel is so simple. A lot of times we get caught up in the extremities, or we complicate the doctrines and principles. But being able to teach people the simple truths of the gospel reminds me of my days in primary. I think my favorite testimonies to hear are those of the primary kids, becuase it´s so simple, and so pure. Jesus Christ lives. Joseph Smith was a prophet. The Book of Mormon is true. God loves us. He hears and answers our prayers.
I know this gospel is true, in it´s simple fulness. Let us learn, remember, and live the basic truths.
Hermana Cannon
