Elder Aaron Peterson: Week 28

I am doing well. An investigator from my last area, A got baptized on Saturday. He's been talking with missionaries for almost a year now. I'm really glad I didn't decide to stop visiting him when he or the lessons were difficult. He had a lot of challenges spiritually. We gave him a priesthood blessing to help him with his challenges that he had. He still doesn't understand some doctrinal points, but has faith that as he keeps learning, he'll be able to understand them in the future. I am very grateful he got baptized. I wish I could have seen it, but it's awesome either way. His conversion taught me that faith, diligence, and love for a person can work miracles.

Many people just aren't open to new ideas here. We have worked hard looking for new investigators, and only a very, very small portion truly progress. A lot of people don't want to change or open their eyes to a different point of view, or even learn something new. It's sad to see people throw away potential blessings for no reason at all, but I know there are people here who have a strong desire and willingness to do the right. We just have to find them!

The ward has been apagado (sleepy) in a lot of aspects. We've received little support from the leaders. It's been a little difficult trying to show the investigators that this is the true church when people have been asleep in sacrament meeting and commonly debate about irrelevant topics in the classes. But, it's improving a little every Sunday, and I'm excited to see what the ward can do this new year.

J isn't coming to church because he keeps sleeping in. He'll get baptized because he has a testimony, but it's now just a question of when and permission from his mother.

Some of the members here are awesome. One hermana, B, takes care of us very well. She is a very special person with a big heart.

We have some cool investigators that are progressing. F and her son, came to church on Sunday. She participated in the classes and liked it a lot. She's super pilas (on top of things) and is very interested in the lessons and the Book of Mormon. We're excited to keep working with her.

I hope I can make a difference in the lives of people here through the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Élder Ventura as we serve here.

We went to the beach today. It was really pretty. The water is warm and blue and the sand was really soft. We just played sports and hung out, then ate food. It was nice.