Dear Familia,

This week was very busy. First off, I need to declare my new found love for apple-cinnamon Cheerios. I got sick of Zucaritas and E. Morales got me hooked on these delicious Cheerios. I also have a new spoon to add to my collection. It's hard to believe the one in my right hand is about 16 years old now. Mum--when I was about 12, I told you I was going to take it on my mission. Here's the proof!

Interviews with President always come at the perfect time. Tuesday was a rough day with little to no success. Wednesday followed in a similar manner. The entire week we have been teaching and finding people to baptize for this month (our monthly goal being 3). The mom of I__, does everything she can to avoid us and has been successful in doing so. The options we have to baptize for this month are slim.

E. Morales and I decided to fast to receive spiritual strength in fulfilling our inspired goal. The same day that we terminated our fast we had interviews with Pres. (Thursday morning). The talk with Pres. really helped calm me down and give me more hope. This area is hard and we are really making an effort to forward the work here and I am grateful to know that President recognizes our efforts. I can feel that he is proud of my efforts and that he loves me as one of his missionaries. It is hard to believe that in 5 months or so he will return to Argentina and we will have a new mission president.

The interview helped me focus and realize that all that matters is your fullest effort to be a good missionary. There will always be struggles, whether you baptize 1,000 or 3. This past week was a struggle week but I have grown quickly from the experiences I have had and we have already seen blessings from our fast and our hard work.

We rent a two-room, one-bathroom house from a member family, familia Velez. We held a Noche de Hogar with them and Hna. Velez invited her hard-core Catholic parents. We have since taught them and J__, the mother, is so close to being baptized. We have had spiritual lessons with J__ where she has received rather significant answers to her prayers.

On Thursday we taught J__ and spoke about how, with one God, there is one baptism and one path or manner to obey Him. We referred to Ephesians 4 (using her giant Catholic Bible to show her we use the same Bible) and testified that this church is the restored church of Jesus Christ on the earth. At the end of the lesson, we invited her to pray specifically to know that this church was true and if she should be baptized. She hesitated, but decided to pray.

The prayer started off like a normal recited prayer (reciting the Lord's Prayer), but soon she began asking God to know if "The church of my daughter (Hna. Velez) is your church and if it is the true church, and if I should be baptized in it." During her prayer I was praying with all the strength of my soul as if I was wringing out every spiritual drop of my spiritual material to help her receive an answer. She ended her prayer, and we waited in silence.

I looked up as I heard sobs come from J__. She wiped her tears from her face. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning. She told us she felt good and that she felt peace. We helped her recognize that it was an answer from God. She accepted being baptized, but rejected the date of the 28th for her baptism. We set up a cita for Saturday night.

Saturday night with J__ we addressed her next doubt-- being baptized so quickly. This is a doubt we find very often in our work and is due to a misunderstanding of the doctrine of baptism. We referred to the story in Acts 2:37-41 where Peter baptizes 3,000 people the same day that they felt the Spirit upon hearing the word of God. We invited her at the end of the lesson to pray specifically about the 28th to know if she should be baptized that day. J__ prayed with sincerity and real intent, truly desiring to know if she should be baptized the 28th. Again, and miraculously so, God gave her an answer immediately after she uttered amen. Two consecutive answers within two days. It was amazing. A few tears fell from her eyes and she told us that she felt good again. But, because salvation is not a cheap experience, things weren't going to continue being this easy with J__. She presented another duda [doubt] about being 100% committed to the church after baptism. Out of time, we set up a cita for last night.

We went with Hna. Velez once more to visit her mother. We spoke about how baptism is not the end of things, but the beginning. Instead of being the end result of a change, baptism is a part of the process. It accelerates one's learning, spiritual growth, and strengthens the testimony. We explained to her that over time she would make a complete change from the Catholic traditions she so dearly holds on to as she grew within the light of the gospel. She threw out a duda that she didn't know how to read; we told her God speaks to His children individually and in the way they learn the best, and that our bishop didn't know how to read. She continued denying the 28th. Her daughter bore a strong testimony of the gospel and baptism. We told her God gave those immediate answers to her prayers because He knows she is prepared and she will go through with them. We ended the night in a toss up, and are going back tonight. Funny, despite the fact that she is resisting baptism she keeps letting us in the door.

I know that this is the church of Jesus Christ. I know that He is our Savior and that He lives and communicates to a living prophet. I have no fear because I know it is all true.

Onto your emails. I love you all and I hope you are doing well.

Con amor,

Elder Bosque

Here's a photo of Zapata's main street. The vehicle with the orange cover is a form of public transportation. Just imagine 25 people crammed in it.