Week 26

Okay so this is going to be me testing how much I can write and how quickly today. Wow wow wow, what a week of just absolute work. I mean honestly, its insane. I havent told you guys anything about anyone yet. So right now they closed one couple of missionaries, so now its just me and Elder quille (a poderso peruvian, who is like my best friend out here). We have been working like yuo would not believe, its insane. With that said, we had 2 baptisms this week. 1 was a 9 year old girl whos older sister was a member, and who on her own read through 2 nephi (to those deacons out there who still have not read the book of mormon, there is some inspiration!). She was amazing, and it was so cute when she got baptized, because honestly the water was freezing, but anyways, she has been giving energy to her older sister to go to Church, and it is awesome. Another that got baptized was Yazzmin, she is a 14 year old whose mom would not let her get baptized. The mom refused to speak with us, so my companion and I thought for a little while about this, how we were going to get the mom to give permission. Well Jesus gave a parable about a wicked judgethat didnt care about God or man, but a woman bugged him enough that he gave her justice. So my companion and I decided to use other people to bug her enough that she would give her permission. We talked to the moms mom, her uncle, Yazzmin, members of the ward, everyone was just going by and askng the mom and trying to convince her to get baptized. We sent Yazzmin 3 different times until finally Yazzmin asked for it as the gift for her quinceñera, and the mom realized how important it was for her daughter (or just got so tired of being bugged) that she gave permission, so Yazzmin got baptized this Sunday, which made me super super happy because I really could feel myself being in this girl´s shoes. She had a giant testimony, and is awesome. As far as investigators go, we are working with a couple that needs to  get married, another that has the wife still married to another man (in mexico both parties have to agree to get a divorce or its super complicated) so I have been having to read up on a whole bunch of mexican marriaged laws, and taking out their birth certificates. Needless to say, at the end of this, if my career as an accountant doesnt turn out, I might be able to become a MExican divorce attorney, so there you go. We also have been working with a man called Marcos, and man it is so weird to see how much power the people we care about can have an effect on us. He was a bit of a drinker, but man his wife begged him to stop, and to join the church, and so has completely left behind alcohol, dropped like 60 pounds, and is getting ready to get baptized. HE still lacks a little bit of a testimony but honestly is moving along nicely. Finally, and hte fmaily that I have come to love the most is Familia Lagos. They are super sweet and kind to us, and have had so many problems, but man at times it is hard to help people to get things through their skulls. We were talking and they kept putting up excuses why they could not keep the commandments or go to church and other things, and so finally my companion and I just looked at each other and told them they either had faith or they did not, and that they could throw up all the excuses they wanted but that it would just be a lack of faith, and it really touched the moms heart so much, and so now she wants to close her shop on sunday. Anyways, those are the people right now, I have been enjoying my life as a missionary, and missing you all a ton. Congrats to meg on completing her mission, thefirst of many to finish for a while (at least that I have heard of)

con cariño 

Elder Standridge