Hey family!
What an awesome week it has been here. A crazy but spiritually
filled week. I had two inter changes this week. My first one was on
Wednesday, to a place called Monte Patria. It took a good 45 minute
bus ride through the mountains to get there. The ride reminded me of
driving through the mountains of Utah. Not to mention that there was
English music playing the whole time on the bus.... My companion for
the day was Elder Honor. He is from Paraguay and does not speak a lick
of English. But we were able to have normal conversations. Crazy, I
know! Monte Patria is a small town. The branch has twenty members in
it, verrrry small. At night, we visited a family of investigators.
Since it was Halloween, little niños dressed up as witches and ghosts
were crowding the streets. Actually it was nothing compared to the
United States, but it was still a surprise to me how many people
celebrated it. The family we were with did not celebrate it because
they believed that Halloween was of the devil... Everyone has there
beliefs. My face was a little sun burnt and the mom of the family
ragged on me for not wearing enough sunscreen. Reminded me of someone
:) They were a great family and I enjoyed getting to know them.
Every night in this town, birds sleep on the electricity lines. While
walking home, there were thousands above us all asleep. I was scared.
Walking under beds never ends well. But this night it did. The next
morning I wanted to scream at those birds. I never realized until
then how LOUD birds can be. Especially in the morning. At 5 A.M.
Right outside your window. But overall it was a great inter cambio.
On Friday, I had the second inter cambio of the week with Elder
Gasik. He is a legit skier from Utah and he looks like Job Bluth. At
the beginning of this change, I was nervous because it was in Limari,
where I live, therefore I was in charge of getting to places... Lets
just say we got lost a few times that day. BUT the night was AWESOME!
We had an appointment with La Familia Tello, who are a part member
familia. All 12 of them living in there small house are from Peru. I
love that family. They really helped me become adjusted here and they
are family to me now. Back to the story. We were planning on teaching
the first lesson, about the Restoration and all. We started the
lesson and the Spirit led us the rest of the time. It was amazing.
We totally went of course from the lesson, but it was what we needed
to do. We started by talking about how God is our Heavenly Father and
wants the best for us. Somehow this led to the Holy Ghost and the
example that Jesus Christ set for us. I have no idea how, other than
that it was all by the Spirit. We focused most of the lesson on 2
Nephi 31. (The appointment before, we had invited them to read 2 Nephi
Chapter 31 before we returned for the next appointment. ) They had all
read the chapter and really enjoyed it. I mean how could you not. A
chapter all about baptism and The Doctrine of Christ! One hermana
asked if she had the Holy Ghost and if her baptism was valid. This is
the question that all missionaries dread, but luckily we didnt have to
answer it. The member of the family straight up answered her and told
her the absolute truth. A look of concern came on her face and she
asked how she could get it. PERFECT QUESTION! We told her that
through baptism they could all receive this direction in their lives.
That they could all receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We told her
that this is the perfect way to follow Christ, to be baptized as He
was. Then we invited all 5 of them to be baptized. (Only 5 were there
that werent members. There were 2 that were inactive members and a
family of 3 who were members.) All 5 of them accepted the date of the
24th of this month! What an awesome experience. I was so excited
afterwards. Not because I had gotten 5 baptismal dates, but because
this family who I love committed to being baptized. To coming closer
to Christ. What a great work this is. This joy I felt is the reason
I am here. So that I can help others come unto Christ.
Last P Day I cut a pineapple into little pieces and made guacamole.
It was a really big accomplishment for me and I felt inclined to
share this. I was very proud of myself. And it tasted delicious.
This morning we played basketball at the church and I went all
Jimmer on them. It was great!
I pray for each of you every day!
Elder Weidman
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