Well everyone another week has come and gone, this week has gone by especially fast. Basically this whole week we were in interchanges, we did them from Tuesday to Saturday, so we were together in our area on Monday and Sunday. Interchanges definitely take their toll, the nights felt like they were an hour long, but I slept like a rock every night. I barely even dreamed. We have a really good zone, there are some elders that really work with all they have. But we also have some elders that need some help, badly, and that is why we are doing interchanges all the time. This upcoming week will be somewhat similar. They make me tired but at the same time they make the week go by very fast. We will end up the month with about 12-13 baptisms, depending on a couple people that are on the fence. There are also a bunch of less active families that are starting to come back to church, which is awesome.
Do you guys remember C from Lourdes? Well yesterday was her baptism. I was so happy to hear that she got married and took the decision to get baptized. Her husband V, is also preparing to get baptized in March. Super exciting. I wish I could have been there but it is good to know that while I was there I laid the foundation for their success. Thats good enough for me. Elder C got to perform the baptism, and it took him three tries, aparently after the second C was about to call it, and had to be talked into doing it a third time. I gave him a hard time about that for sure! In zone meetings we always recite Doctrine and Covenants 4 in spanish as a group, and he hasn´t memorized it, out of "brotherly love" I am having him recite it solo in front of everyone until he has it memorized. He is going to learn it one way or another.
This week is the baptism of C and C, this wednesday. They are both super excited! Ss are their parents. It's C's 8th birthday that day so we are going to see if we can get them a cake or something like that. I love going over to their house to teach, the lessons just go so well, and they really pay attention, they have completely quit coffee and are trying hard to live everything we have taught them. The mom needs to get divorced so that she can get married to R, her husband went off the deep end. So for now they are waiting for the papers and everything before they can move forward. The mom, C is already a member but R no. We are also working with another partial member family, the G family, he is a police officer which makes it hard to find time to teach him, but he is very positive. Loves to read, and when we have a few spare minutes I get to talk to him about guns, and stuff like that, it's refreshing.
Hermano S drank some alcohol again this week, so we are going to have to work a little more closely with him. His son J, is starting to listen to us, and went to church this Sunday, so we are excited for him. We talked to a friend of a member that lives over in this colonia called La Joya. She has brain cancer and the doctors have said that she has 2-6 months to live. Super sad. Hermana M will probably adopt her two daughters after she dies because without the help of the mom, the husband won´t be able to support all of the children. It's hard to see people in such a hard situation and not be able to do much other than teach them that God has a plan, and that if we are faithful we can be together forever. It is a time for me to reflect on if this is something I really believe, and in the end I realized that I know that it is true, death is not the end, and even though it is a bitter parting, it is not the end of the story. I hope to help her, her husband, and children understand what will happen after death. That their is always hope.
I can´t believe that it is almost March already, this past week I hit the one year mark of living here in El Salvador, it's sure been a wild ride. It also means that its summer right now. But the rain will come in about two months, the mangos are finally here which means mangoes breakfast, lunch and dinner, I am so excited. This week is going to be busy as well, but I look forward to working hard and knowing that I got a lot done. I feel so much better at the end of the day when I know that I gave it my all, anything less than that and I feel like it was a day unfulfilled. I hope you all are enjoying your time and happy. I look forward to talking to you all soon!
Elder Schriever
