[This email had so many pictures that it got stuck in the mail. That is why it is so late. Carlos resent this without the pictures this week. ]
Dear Family and Friends,
“THE DROUGHT ENDS HERE!”
That’s the motto that my companion and I have taken for this upcoming transfer. It’s referring to the drought of baptisms that has been in Beaumont throughout the last several years and all of the negative attitude around the mission about this area being “dead.” My companion for this transfer is none other than… Elder Hatch! He is staying out here with me for one more transfer! This will be his fifth transfer out here and his second with me. Elder Campbell will be going home on Wednesday, so that will just leave Elder Hatch and I, which is what we were hoping for! We have so much potential here it’s wild. The investigators we have are progressing, but there have been bumps and bruises along the way. I believe, though, that this will just help them and make them stronger converts in the end! It will be such a great feeling when we get some baptisms here! And we know it will happen – we can almost taste it! This area is about to have some success! So I am really glad that Elder Hatch and I are staying here because we get along really well and he is a hard worker. We have the same ideas regarding obedience and hard work. Supposedly, there was a Spanish Elder coming out and I was going to train him but it doesn’t look like he is coming out anymore. But I prefer staying with Elder Hatch! I’m really excited!
Tuesday we had a zone trip to the temple in Houston. We all got together in a big van and a member drove us on the almost 2 hour drive. I love that temple! We had a sweet rap battle on the way back to Beaumont … haha some of the Elders had some funny mission raps. It was a long drive though and I slept most of the time. We didn’t get back until really late.
Yaneth and Beto are Doing Great
This week we did really well at finding new investigators and getting investigators progressing. Yaneth has been giving us referrals like crazy! That’s how we found Dunia and Jamileth, and now we have three other ladies who are investigators as well. Yaneth and her husband Beto are on fire! We are almost done with everything we have to teach them. We had a lesson with them where we were talking about the Book of Mormon. They are reading and praying together as a couple everynight and also studying individually. They are explaining the stories and doctrines to each other. When I asked them if they thought the Book was true, they said yes, they feel that it is true through the feelings they get when they read. Then, I asked them what that meant. It took a while, but Beto said, “It means God restored His church.” BOOM! The spirit just nailed everyone in the room. They’re so sweet!
Last night we had a lesson with them at Presidente Garcia’s house. We discussed some commandments, including the Word of Wisom and Law of Chastity. Everything is almost good to go with their wedding. They have some birth certificates on the way so that they can get the marriage license. Sister Garcia is getting everything put together with the decorations and dress, etc. So withing the next couple of weeks we should have a wedding and a baptismal service! They love each other so much, it’s insane. Beto drives two hours to work everyday. He wakes up at four to go to work and doesn’t get back till 8 o clock. He said he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t love Yaneth and want to see her. Also, he didn’t know that drinking coffee was bad and he said that he will never drink coffee again! It was awesome! I wish you all could know how good it feels to come out of a lesson with hot investigators like that!
Dunia Not So Well
We had a scare with Dunia this week. We went by on Friday and she looked depressed. We talked to the sister of the branch who said that Dunia could love in and she just had a couple concerns (would the boyfriend come after her, can she pay the light bill, etc.) and Dunia said that she didn’t want to be a burden so she just wouldn’t move out. We tried to read with her but she wasn’t paying attention, she said she wasn’t in the mood.
Finally, she said she didn’t want to be baptized and that we were wasting our time with her because everytime we come by we would just talk about the same thing (how she has to move out and get baptized). So after that, we were feeling pretty sad. Luckily, the next day we told Yaneth about it. She told us to wait for a minute, and she went and knocked on Dunia’s door and told her to come over! Dunia said she was sorry for the way she acted, that she felt really bad, and that she didn’t mean it. She is just an emotional rollercoaster, and it is messing with us too! But she came to church with Beto and Yaneth and she was able to talk to Presidente and Hna. Acosta about her living situation so things look to be moving forward there.
Jamileth
Jamileth has been really busy. Apparently, she is the most wanted “mesera” or waitress in Beaumont/Port Arthur so she is always working! It’s been hard to get a hold of her. There hasn’t been anything to report with any of the other investigators y’all know about. Either we are still teaching them or we weren’t able to get a hold of them this week.
Mission is Great
I love this work! Elder Hatch and I have had some really deep talks about life and the Gospel. I can’t wait to apply some of the things I’ve learned to my life when I get home. Please keep praying for us and our investigators. Pray that everything will go well with Beto and Yaneth’s wedding. Pray that Dunia will be able to move out and get baptised. I again invite all of you to kneel in prayer or just offer a prayer in your hearts every thursday at 6:00 pm Central Time (5 o’clock in Utah) for the Hour of Power. Pray that as we knock for an hour, we will be guided by the spirit and led to those who have been waiting for the Gospel. We will see miracles from this!
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers! Love,
Elder Viitanen
Yes, I pray every day for your investigators and people, who are waiting the Gospel. Of course I am praying for you and the other missionaries.
I love you.
Mummi
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