News from Cuenca

12/02/13

Dear Family,
tell grandpa bye happy birthday this saturday!!!!

so remember how i told you about Mayra who was going to get baptized this week?  que bestia.  everything was perfect.  she had her interview, she tried on her clothes and everything was ready to go.  on friday night we had a lesson with her with a member and it went so well and she seemed super excited for her baptism the next day.  and then as we were leaving she gave me a letter, one for my companion, and one for both of us to read when we got to our house.  so on the way home in the taxi, i started reading the one to both of us.... me mato.  she said she couldnt be baptized because there had been so many fights and arguments in her family about it.  (she is 30 and lives with her mom and siblings who are super catolico and one is atheist)  so she has decided to wait until they accept her decision to be baptized.  she said that when she does finally get baptized it will be the happiest day of her life.  breaks my heart.  our zl called her that night and he said that she will probably never get baptized because she is too afraid of her mom.  so sad.  i love her so much and she is so incredible but she just cant overcome the obstacle of her family.  it makes me so sad how the gospel is supposed to bless families but sometimes they are the ones to get in the way of their family members accepting it.

So chauzers to Mayra.  But this week we should have a baptism of Juan Andres!  He is the cutest!  He is 40 and single and lives with his parents.  Pobrecito.  But is super smart and get this-- he had a fecha bautismal in 2001!!  He{s read the book of Mormon a bunch of times, always is on Family search and lds.org and knows a ton about the gospel.  Basically a member without being baptized.  So this saturday he is going to be baptized!  but he might have to leave to quito this week.  Please pray he doesnt have to leave!!  He is so ready!!!

We are also teaching this other single guy who is 75.... hahahahaha his name is carlos.  He has a fecha for the 14th.  He likes to argue things out whenever we teach him.  Like when we were teaching him la palabra de sabiduria he pulled out these newspaper articles that had studies that drinking cafe everyday is good foryou.  we were like, who are you goingto believe, God or these random scientists?  So we took away his jar of coffee.  Oh and then later that day my companion opened my backpack to get something and the lid fell off so coffee got aaaaaall over my scriptures and books and everything.  so i smell like sin.  it{s fine.

sorry to hear about your back mommy.  that sounds awful.  especially on the plane.  hahahaahhah i love what daddy said about the "quackopractor."  whatever works i guess?

it sounds like thanksgiving was suuuuuper yummy!!!!  i miss all that kind of food!!!!!!!!  send me leftovers??

i dont know why you keep talking about transfers.  no i did not get transferred.  we moved houses if that{s what you{re asking?  have i sent you pictures of the new house?  no but we{re still in Tarqui.  hermana alvarado y yo.

well keep me updated on everything!

things are going okay here!  we have struggled this past week finding new people who are really going to progress.  All of the other people are a lil bit quedados so we{re in desperate need of new investigators--the chosen ones!!  WE jsut need to ahve the faitth that we will be able to find them and then do everything we can to help them.

I am so grateful to be a missionary right now and for all that I am learning.  Thank you so so much for all of your love and support for me!!  I love you all!!!

Hermana Bytheway :)