September 30,2013

Sept 30,2013

Wow where to begin. My email was short last week and there have been so many changes and I’m not sure where to begin!

First off I’m in my new favorite area! haha It is a little like Enoch but Enoch 2 hours from anything. We can walk from one end of the pueblo to the other in about 30 min. to kinda give you an idea. I’m in a branch of about 20 active members and 70 more less active so there is plenty of work to be done! My comp is awesome too. He has 23 months in the mission so this is his last change and I’m trying to absorb all the information I can from him before he leaves! He also loves to prank and joke around and so do I so there is hardly ever a dull moment here in Tanquian! 

 We’ve got several promising investigators but our focus right now is the members. The branch is getting better every week but we have only had missionaries here for 4 months and before  that the church was really struggling. But we have a great branch president who has the ganas (the will) to work so everything is going well! 

 I’m also super stoked for conference. I’ve always had somewhat a desire to learn from the prophets but this year is different. I really understand how tan impotante it is to have conference. Saturday I’ll be watching it in a cyber (a little store where you rent computers to use by the hour) and Sunday we rented a bus to take the two hour trip with the branch to go to valles to watch the Sunday sessions. So I encourage you all to really put emphasis on conference this year! Because that’s what  I’m gonna do! 

 Lastly I want to put some emphasis on the small things. More importantly scripture study and prayer. Here there are a lot of less active members and for a good part of them I can tell you exactly why. Their testimonies were not strengthened daily.... something we cannot go without! Faith and testimonies are things that can diminish with time so we must constantly be trying the crecer these things so they don’t diminish. 

 One thing we have been teaching the families here is to study as a family (because we have a few families that the parents can’t read or write and their kids can). There are few things in this world more powerful than studying and praying as a family. Now I hope my family back home is still doing this because I testify almost daily of my strong family and how we are strong because of our almost daily scripture study as a family. And with that I encourage you all to read today if you have not and continue to read personally and with you family on a daily basis that we might all become strong and become one in the Lord. Because if we are not one we are not his..... so let’s become unified and have a growing knowledge of the scriptures and the lords teaching for us! 

 Love you all and chat with ya next week!

(oh p.s. sorry forgot the camera today so no pictures)