An Atheist who Prays to ___ Twice a Day

Hello family,

Yes, our good atheist friend J___ has finished reading First Nephi in the Book of Mormon and now prays to God twice a day. The funny thing is that he still isn't sure that God exists, although he has felt more calm and focused since he began praying. We left him the commitment to pray and ask to know if God exists. I told President Ochoa (he comes with us to the lessons) to call me if J____ ever gets baptized. I think I will cry if he does. I love lessons with J____ because they always are heavily guided by the Spirit and taught by testimony and personal experiences.

Thanksgiving was celebrated at the bishop's house. Because a turkey was giant and expensive, we dined on a chicken, stuffing, and puree de papa [mashed potatoes] instead. I thought it was really nice of the bishop and his family to celebrate an American holiday with us. Bishop is now employed by the church and had to work during our meal (the first time I have eaten la comida without him since I got to Alpuyeca).

We did a service project in Galeana on Thanksgiving day as well. We swept 1 km of concrete curbing and scraped paint off of it as well in the blistering sun as cars blew by. All of the elders stopped to take a break and sip a cup of Coca Cola (the water of Mexico, and I'm afraid I am hooked on it as well) and then hit the cement for more work. I will probably never see that strip of road again but I have never been so personally acquainted with any other stretch of asphalt in my life.

I don't think I have told you all of the pueblos in my area. My area covers more than 4 municipios and includes pueblos like (so you can see how big my area is on a map): Coatlan del Rio, Mazatapec, Miactlan, Palpan, Alpuyeca, Tepetzingo, Tetecala, Tetecalita, El Rodeo, Zapata, Tezoyuca, Xoxhitepec, Xochicalco, Xoxocotla, Chinconcuac, Coatetelco, and I think a few more.

We finally baptized A_____! It has been weeks of her pushing back her baptismal date and we finally got her to be baptized just last night. She was very excited and there were a lot of people in attendance (20 plus). The service went really well with two nice youth talks and a bienvenido to the mujeres jovenes [young women] from the presidenta herself.

Like most baptismal services here in Alpuyeca, something had to go wrong in the final minutes. Instead of having no water and needing to go baptize A____ in a swimming pool (remember Y__'s baptism?), the water came out of the faucet green. Before we knew it we had a font of green water. It was crunch time so we called Jeovani. He came to the capilla [chapel] and couldn't believe his eyes. We rushed to a store, bought some cloro (bleach, I think), poured the bottle into the font, and mized it around with a squeegee tool. The water turned from a Shrek green to a more tranquil lake green (more clear). Hurrah for last-minute Mexican thinking. Ah, I love the crazy things that happen at the last moment.

We are going to try and help A____'s brother change his mind about not being baptized. The poor chap is 13 but works to support his family and has received a lot of pressure from his dad (who hates us). He is very confused and I think a little sad.

I loved hearing A____'s testimony at her baptismal service when she could resolutely declare that she knew that this church is true and that the Book of Mormon is true after her own personal experimentation with them both. I know that it isn't enough to claim to have faith, but to use your faith and experiment upon the words of the prophets and of Jesus Christ. I know that our leaps of faith are supported with a firm foundation of testimony as God leads our trajectory.

I love Alpuyeca and I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I may not be here by the time Christmas rolls around. I am trying to find any moment to talk to my converts and let them know I love them.

That's all for this week. Thanks for correcting my degrading English grammar. I may not be eloquent in Spanish but my English is already getting worse.

Bye,

Elder Bosque

P.S. Here are some more photos. Um, it's best that you don't ask what Elder Anderson and I were doing when these pics were taken. Just know it was all very safe...Mexican style :)