How are you all doing? I hope you are all doing AMAZING and that you all have had awesome weeks! As for me, this week was very normal, but just because something is normal doesn't mean that it wasn't SPECTACULAR! The past few weeks, we have dedicated ourselves to build more friendships with members (first off because they are amazing people, and second off so they can help us in the mission work :) and this week we really saw the fruit of our labors. The ward family home evening that we started had an all time high of 40 people, and we received a couple really good references from members, so we cannot complain at all. I am loving working with the members here in Avaroa and I hope that things continue to go well :) As for our investigators, I will focus on Brayan, Martha Choque, and Veronica. With Brayan, as you know, he was baptized a week ago, but we had the wonderful opportunity to do his confirmation yesterday in church. I had the opportunity to perform the ordinance (which is ALWAYS a wonderful experience :) and we are just really happy for Brayan :) Now, Martha Choque. Martha is an amazing investigator that we have had for quite a while and she has accepted a baptismal date for not this Saturday, but the next. She is what is called a Cholita here, which is a term that refers to the traditional people of Bolivia. She is not able to read, so we have been very creative with teaching her the missionary lessons (using all the pictures we can find) and we teach her a little bit more every lesson about letters and how to read. We are in LOVE with Martha and hope that she continues to progress :) With Veronica, she is the daughter of a long time investigator (also named Veronica. It's quite confusing when we're teaching them both at the same time ;) and is scheduled to be baptized this Saturday! We have loved teaching her and look forward with hope and excitement to this Saturday :) One of the amazing things that we have seen with Veronica is the way that she has been fellowshipped in the church. Working with Noemi (the Young Women's President), we have gotten her to many activities and she is already really close friends with a lot of the young women in the ward. The coolest thing to see is who her new best friend is. She lives right across the street and is named Nayeli (technically Majherly ;), our recent convert that we just baptized. Nayeli has continued unbelievably strong in the church and has been a principal force in the conversion of Veronica. Whenever we walk down the street of those two (Called the Rieles), we almost definitely will see those two walking, talking, and laughing together, and that makes me unbelievably happy :) Now, my thought for you guys: I don't think we realize how powerful a good friend can be in helping us get/stay on the right path. It doesn't matter if you have your whole life in the church or less than a month (like Nayeli), you can be a force for good in the lives of those around you. My challenge for you this week is to find somebody in school, in your family, or in your ward that is either less-active or not a member and try your best to build a good friendship with them. I promise that you will be blessed spiritually and you will be an "instrument in God's hands" to the bringing back of one of the lost sheep into the fold. I have had the wonderful opportunity to see this process with Nayeli and Veronica, and I know that you all can do the same :) Well, I love you all and I thank you so much for your support while I am here in Bolivia. If you ever have any questions about what I am doing here in Bolivia, don't be afraid to ask! You guys are the best and I hope that you all have amazing weeks!
Elder Wynn
Brayan's Baptism!
Nayeli's younger sister Nicole and I :)
Playing around with an AWESOME mask an investigator owns! :)
Love you so, so much!
Love,
Elder Wynn
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