School thy feelings

Dear Family,

This week, Ricardo (14) was ready to be baptized on Saturday. However, Friday night, his parents decided that it was too soon. That was upsetting. Ricardo cried. He was more upset than we were. I walked home without saying anything. Then I locked myself in the bathroom and sang "School Thy Feelings" and a few other uplifting hymns. Same goes for Jose (13), who was going to be baptized next week. We invited them to fast (they even gave fast offerings) and pray about it. They still come to seminary. According to Jose's mom, they argue doctrine with their Catholic grandma using the Bible. That made me chuckle. They're excellent youth.

Vanessa, a recent convert from January, has been bringing her neighbors to church. They're all little children - Daniel (8), Ivan (7) and Mirka (4). We began teaching them last week, and their mom, Yolanda, came to church on Sunday. Vanessa's neice, Maryori (16), also came to church for the first time on Sunday. We were all very happy to see them there. Maryori and Daniel have a goal to be baptized on May 16th.

Yesterday, the Bishop got all the members together in the 3rd hour and gave me the floor (after taking some 20 minutes himself). He wanted me to talk about missionary work and how the members could be better at inviting their friends to investigate the gospel. I think I did okay. I have better public speaking skills in Spanish than I do in English, I think.

Well, there's little time left - so I better share the big news. We heard about transfers today. I'm leaving Esperanza and heading north. My new area will be Pacasmayo, in the Guadalupe Zone. I'm going to be a zone leader again, apparently, so that should be loads of fun. My new companion is Elder Celis, from Chile, I think. Guadalupe is a district, and Pacasmayo is a branch. It will be my first experience outside of a ward and stake. Pacasmayo is where all the cement for building comes from. I hear it's hot, with lots of rocks, sand, mosquitos and ancient ruins. Hurray!

Love,
Elder Withers