odd man in

Dear Family,

Sorry I didn't write last week. I took the excuse that I had talked to Mom on Mother's Day, but even so, we just ran out of time to go to internet. And now I've spent 10 minutes reading what you've sent me for the last couple weeks.

I'm in Pacasmayo! I like it. Everything necessary is close - the bus station, the post office, the haircut places, the investigators, the beach. I can see the beach from our roof. It's a delightful view.

We had a baptism on Saturday - a woman named Marina. She asked me to baptize her. That was exciting. She has a stronger testimony than some of the members who accompanied us in teaching her. She bore her testimony at the end of the baptismal service: the best one I've heard all my mission.

On Friday, the assistants called and said that Elder Huancapaza, a missionary who had been working with a local member as his companion, was going to come live with us till the end of his mission. So now we're three. Reminds me of my MTC days. But we're seizing the opportunity and doing loads of visits to our district leaders and the other missionaries in our zone. Elder Huancapaza doesn't know it - and they've told me not to tell him - but he's going home next week. That's actually when his 2 years runs out: for some reason he came halfway through the transfer cycle at the start. So he'll be with us till next Monday, I believe.

Last Monday morning, we went out to jog at somewhere around 5:30am. We ran by the beach, and on our way back to the room, I stumbled over a little rock and ate it on the rugged pavement. A nice security guard came by on his bike and proceeded to explain to me how I fell. Then he began telling a story about how his daughter had fallen once. In the middle of the story, we shook his hand and said thanks and ran back to the room. We laughed a bit about the security man. My pensionista helped me bandage my wounds. They're pretty much all better now.

My companion, Elder Celis, is a fantastic missionary. He's around 10 times cooler than I am. He's from Chile, and his English isn't too bad, either.

We're super excited to make a Stake out of this District. It seems the biggest obstacles are a need for active tithe payers and Sacrament Meeting attendance. The missionaries in our zone are committed to the idea. They're doing an amazing job.

Our pensionista, Teresa, was baptized the week before I got here. She's angelic. She shares the Gospel with everyone. On Saturday night, we had a meeting arranged with 4 couples to talk about families thanks to her arrangements. Her husband has been a member all his life, but he had been less active until Teresa started investigating the church again. He's just as excited about everything as his wife is.

Our zone has baptized eight people so far this month - the most we've ever had here is 12 in one month, looking at last years statistics. We're working towards coming out with 18 or so. I love to see the conversion of the people. It's amazing when they come with the fire of the Gospel in their hearts. They face the future with hope and faith. They read their scriptures and pray, and they seek to know the truth even more. I love it.

Love,
Elder Withers

That's Marina, my companion, and me.

Love,
Elder Withers