WHEN YOU'RE TRYING AND DOING WHAT YOU CAN AND YOU STILL CAN'T MAKE IT, THE LORD SURPRISES YOU AND MAKES UP FOR THE REST.

HELLO EVERYBODY!!!!

Well it sounds like everything is going good way up there in the states. Things are going well here although the last week was... hectic. Very hectic. Well anyways the end of the week was a little hectic but the beginning was just pretty normal. Nothing too exciting happening. Wednesday were entrevistas, which went well. Actually, there isn't really anything interesting to report from entrevistas. President didn't say anything about whether I´d move up or not. He just told me how I was feeling about my progress as a missionary. And about moving up, he just said that we will see. I´m really fine with whatever happens at this point. Another cambio as comp menor or getting moved up, either one works for me. I´m just here doing my work and I´ll let the president and the assistants worry about my cambio.

Speaking of the assistants, they kind of messed up big time last week. On Friday I got a call from the office asking what our address was because they are updating all of the records and while I was on the phone with the office I thought that I´d ask about my passport and visa and about some nice handmade 60 custom leather scripture case holders that I got because I was supposed to get this stuff a while ago. When they went to go look for them they realized that like 5 scripture cases and 5 visas and passports were stolen out of the assistants truck because it looks like they had forgotten to lock it. The poor hermana in charge of all the papers for foreign missionaries about had a heart attack. We found out later that those whose passports and visas were stolen were going to have to make a trip up to Santiago to take care of a bunch of paper work and fix the big mess. But luckily a day later a missionary in a different part of Talcahuano called the mission office telling them that he had all the passports and visas except one. It turns out that a policeman just stopped him on the street and asked if the passports belonged to him or any of his friends because he had found them just tossed away laying in the street. So I have my papers and I don't have to go to Santiago! Yay! Unfortunately, my leather cases are still missing but that's life. Things of the world can be replaced.

Other than that fiasco, it was a pretty sleepy week. We haven't found any new people to teach in quite awhile so we have just been trying new methods of finding people. Looking through the reports of old investigators in the area book who never got baptized, visiting innactives. Stuff like that coupled with contacts of course. It hasn't resulted yet but we will see. We just gotta work harder and have faith and patience.

When Sunday came around it was a very bitter sweet day. Unfortunately, mostly bitter but there was definitely a lot of sweet. All of our best investigators didn't show up. We went to this one house of this family that we´ve been teaching, who we thought for sure were going to come, to pick them up. The Dad wants to get baptized but isn't married yet and the kid really wants to get baptized. The 9 year old kid reads the Book of Mormon and always listens intently when we teach. Then we always play Uno or Jenga with him after the lessons. They have flaked on us every week but this week the Dad promised his son that he would take him to church and he promised us as well. When we went to get them Sunday morning the grandpa told us that the Dad went out last night upset and angry and still hadn't come back. It looks like he went out and got drunk. And the kid was asleep and the grandpa wouldn't wake him up because he said it was the Dad's responsibility to bring him. It totally broke my heart that this kid wants to progress and get baptized but his Dad, who's a little messed up, is keeping him from receiving the gospel. So I was way bummed but was cheered up a little to find an investigator already there that wasn't really progressing at all. And in church she told us that she decided that she wants to get baptized. So we have a baptism for this Saturday! I guess when you're trying and doing what you can and you still can't make it, the Lord surprises you and makes up for the rest. :). So I´m about out of time this week but I´ll let you know how Margarita´s baptism goes next week. I love you all and remember... Haz lo Justo! Chao!


Elder Harper :)