Hola mi familia!
How are you? Thanks for the emails Mom and Dad. Still, I don´t read this weeks until after I´m off the internet. So I try to respond to your questions the next week. I hope that works! AK, I got your first Dear Elder letter last week. Gracias!
First and foremost, Andrea and Andres were married on Tuesday, and Andrea was baptized on Friday. Yay!!! It was a small little wedding with them and their two kids, the six of us missionaries in the district, and a handful of ward members. It was great. Afterwards we went to the church and had cake that Andrea had made. Delicious! Have I talked about the cakes here? They don´t mess around! They´re always like 4 layers high and have frosting/cream of some type, or dulce de leche, inbetween every layer. Delicious!
Then Friday was the baptism! We had the option of Friday or Sunday afternoon after Stake Conference, and she chose Friday night. It was wonderful. The ward members are very supportive. Andres has the desire to be baptized ( in a river he says - like Jesus Christ was :D) but first he needs to go to church. That´s the first big step he needs to take. I´m so happy for Andrea, and I know she has made many sacrifices already.
I don´t think I have talked about Gabriela and Adrian. They are siblings, and they´re going to be baptized on Saturday! They have two sisters, Tatiana and Noelia, and they were going to be baptized, but have decided not to. They´re aunt and uncle are actually members of the Stake, and the uncle is the Patriarch. Anyway, Gabriela is 18 and Adrian is 11 and they´re doing great. They had their baptismal interviews yesterday and they should be good to go.
I´m amazed by Gabriela and Adrian. They are very prepared for the Gospel. They are very willing to comply with the teachings of the Gospel. I´m very excited for them both. They´re making a very important decision!
Their mom, Estela, is wonderful too. She often times sits in on the lessons while we are there, but she is not married to her ¨husband¨- the father of Adrian. I really think she believes everything that is taught, so hopefully she will soon realize how important it is for her to take the steps as well.
So it has still been really nice here. It´s technically still winter, but I´m convinced Spring is coming on, because I´ve had a taste of allergies! But no worries, you all sent me with good allergy medicine so I´m good to go. :o)
Some interesting things about life here... something that makes me giggle, is that it is very common for two people to ride a bike at a time. One person sits on the handlebars! It doesn´t look too uncomfortable because the handlebars are raised, but I´m still not sure how they do it. Maybe I´ll have the opportunity to try it out.
Also, alot of people drive ¨motos¨, or motorcycles. They can fit a good amount of people on these too. One day I saw a mom with one child in front of her, and two behind her on a little motorcycle. It makes me happy. :D
Before coming here I hadn´t really thought about how long my family has been members of the church - on both sides of the family.. I had, but hadn´t really thought about how blessed I am - how amazing that it is. People here have often asked me if I was born in the church, and they are surprised when I say that my parents were born in the church. It´s very amazing to think how blessed we are - to have been born in the faith of our fathers - with the knowledge of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The people here are pioneers. Many, if not all, of the members here in the ward are the first people in their families to join the church. What great faith. I admire them and their desire and determination to then raise their families in the Gospel.
The Bishop asked me a while ago just how close I live to church headquarters. When I told him, he couldn´t believe I didn´t go to President Hinckley´s funeral! I really have taken our opportunities for granted - General Conference - everything! It has been good to begin to recognize how blessed I really am.
Now for more answers... we come to a little internet/computer cafe that´s not too far from our apartment. 10-15 minutes walking I believe.
We don´t do a lot of door knocking/clapping ( :D ), but some. People walk a lot, to the stores etc., so a lot of our contacts take place in the streets or at times in the parks - which have swings and teeter totters :o). The people will generally listen to who we are, and a little bit about our message, but it´s a little tricky. A lot of the people just say that they´re always there, and that we can pass by anytime. Or, that they´re home in the late afternoon / evening. However, when we come back, we have a hard hard time finding the people.
It´s a little tricky, but I´m very grateful that we´re sister missionaries. A lot of the people we talk to are sisters, so we can teach them. I would imagine that it´s much harder for the Elders because they need a member to teach the sisters. It´s good though. The people that are prepared are going to find time to meet with us.
Stake conference yesterday. The visiting speakers were the Buenos Aires Temple President and his wife. They did very well.
Dad, about your stake conference talk - what a great topic! Through being a missionary, I have to an even greater appreciation for the family, and have realized more how important it is. I think that´s probably a natural consequence of missionary work.
However, as we have worked with families here as they share the Gospel with their friends, I have really seen how it strengthens the family. I think the kids recognize how important the Gospel is to their parents as they see them sharing the Gospel. They have the opportunity to hear each other´s testimonies. As we share the Gospel our testimonies are strengthened - what a great thing for the testimonies of a family to be strengthened together! I will continue to think about it and let you know if I think of anything else.
Dad, how was your talk to the youth?
Mom, I´m glad you´re feeling better. A 16 mile bike ride! Wow! I´m yet to go that far on a bike. :D And it sounds like the Twin Falls Temple Dedication was really good. President Monson is a great speaker.
And how is everyone else? I hope that you are all doing really well. I think of you ALL often. Your work,church, play... Nyah and Hallie. Aaron, how´s Tyler doing? I so hope that everything is great. I love you all so much and I´m pretty sure I have the best family in the whole world. Have a wonderful day, week, and I´ll write again next week! Love you all!
Con Mucho Amor,
Hermana Jana Pincock
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