The weeks are starting to go by faster, even though it still feels like I'm gonna be here forever! haha September 22nd will be three months, so I guess the time is moving, rather slowly at times it seems though.
This week was actually really cool. We tried to work hard, getting a lot of contacts while also working to teach a lot of lessons and put some baptismal dates. Oh, I said fechas in the title, and fecha just means date. So when I say we put a fecha, it means a baptismal date! This week flew by, and we actually put two fechas! One with Zoe, who is a 9 year old girl whose mother is a member of the church. Her date is for the 24th of September, and we are trying to teach her all the lessons by that time! She came to church with her mother and four other sisters yesterday! She's so sweet! I'll send a picture of her eventually!
The other fecha was Sebastian. We were kind of having doubts about him, but when we met with him on Friday, he expressed his desire to be baptized! We set his date for the 17th of September, and we are meeting with him each week as much as possible to teach him. He is living with his "girlfriend" of 8 years, and we are trying to get them married so he can be baptized. Also, he has a bit of a problem with drinking, but he has a desire to quit, and of course we are here to help him always. He attended church yesterday!
As far as the progression of other investigators, we have Luiz, who is 16 I think, and we are planning on setting a fecha with him this week. He seems promising. Damian is progressing well, but he couldn't attend church yesterday because he was in El Chalten this weekend where he works. He really wants to change, and we can help him do that through the blessing of the Atonement of Jesus Christ! Eduardo is someone who has already came to church three times, and he even bore his testimony yesterday! It was so powerful, and we are going to teach him tonight and put a fecha with him! David and Carla are a couple, and they have been taught by the missionaries for about 3-4 years. She got a little frustrated by the missionaries at one point because they kept hounding her for a fecha! But last time, we were just going to chill and talk and befriend them, which we have done a couple times, and she started asking about prophets of the bible. We transitioned from that to Joseph Smith, and the living prophets and apostles in our day. Out of nowhere, they pulled out their Books of Mormon and were saying how they had been reading a bit and stuff! We took that golden opportunity to invite them to continue to read (we assigned them Mosiah 3) and pray! They seemed interested!! Leonardo is still progressing a bit, but he seems to just enjoy our presence and talking with us. We invited him and his wife to be baptized last time, but they said they don't know. We are now trying to help them read the Book of Mormon and pray, and help them see the blessings of the gospel for their family! But yeah! We are actually faring relatively well, and we still have some others that we are teaching!
Sorry for that massive paragraph, but it's so fun to see their progress!! I can tell that they feel something when we meet and speak with them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that our message can help all persons, and how grateful am I to be one of the many missionaries of the Lord, proclaiming his truth to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people!
I witnessed my first baptism here on Wednesday. It was an old woman that the other Elders taught. Her husband was a member, and she decided to get baptized. I could see the joy on her face as she rose out of the water! I am excited for the day I get the chance to perform that sacred ordinance with someone who has chosen to be born again through Christ!!
We contacted in centro (downtown) this week with a sign we made about the restoration. That was pretty fun to do! It's helping me be less shy! Haha, let me tell you...you don't know what awkward is until you stop someone on the sidewalk and begin talking to them about the gospel in a language that you can't speak. Let's just say...I'm going to perfect the art of being awkward while I'm here!! hahaha
Me and my companion, Elder Araujo:
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