Week 43

Wow, another week!

What can I say, this week was one to remember. It was full of hard work and finding a lot of information. If there ever was a week to find out what your sector is all about, this was the week.

To be honest there isn't a lot to report. Not too much to say other than it’s hard. The mission is hard at times. But after the storm, good things come. We all have hope for something better.

Ether 12:4 says

4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

I love that scripture, I believe that this advice is simply an equation of success for us in this life. First comes the hope and faith. It provides us an anchor for our soul that is a steadfast and sure security for our life. But we must continue in good works and being led to glorify our Father in Heaven. The scriptures are so simple, but so precise. I love them. I hope that each of us can continue reading them and applying their message in our lives.

This week we actually were able to visit with Maritza and her Neighbor Marion again. They hadn't let us in for about a week, but we kept trying. We had a powerful lesson. They even accepted to prepare to be baptized. We extended a strong commitment to them to go to church this Sunday. We called them and invited them and tried our best to help, but they didn't show up.

This Wednesday, we had an activity with the young men in the branch. We went out to the forestal, where there is a gigantic gymnasium that they have and played soccer for about 3 hours in the morning. We had all the jovenes (youth) from the branch and Danko (our investigator), and Sebastian (Maritza's son) came as well. It was a ton of fun. But because we played so hard we were drained the rest of the week. I actually got to score a handful of goals. I'm not just a useless gringo after all!!

Thursday night we had a simple branch family home evening. A few people showed up. We watched ''Finding Faith in Christ'' and played a few games. We had some good times. This week we are going to be having a dessert competition for our weekly activity. It is going to be some good fun to see all the sweets that come. Hopefully with all the families invited we will see more people at the church than we do on a regular Sunday.

We had a good Sunday this week, I got the guts to take the little keyboard at the church and bring it to our house to practice the hymns for the week. The music coordinator and I planned well and I successfully played the hymns for the sacrament meeting. Hopefully I can brush the dust off my rusted talents of playing the piano.

It’s been foggy this whole week, well it’s been foggy for the past 2 months. We rarely see clear skies anymore. The fog here is so wet. It’s like rain but without water falling. Things never dry out here anymore. It is interesting to see how different the weather is for all of us.

We continue to name the dogs here in Retiro. We found this weird looking dog with curly hair and named it 'Beethoven'. Elder Martinez, when he sees a dog, he'll shout out a random name and it just sticks.

This morning we went to Cauquenes. It’s just west of Parral. We spent the morning at a senior couple’s house, the Scholes, and had a mini Christmas in July. It was a really good time to unwind a bit and relieve some stress.

Thank you for all that you guys do! I love you all so much. I am so grateful for your support. Until next week!! Have a great week!! Live the gospel and have fun!

Elder Ethan Haws