Kicking

Dear Family,

It's worrisome to report that most of the hand-written letters I'm receiving these days have unsettling, common inscriptions like, "this is probably the last letter you'll get from me" or "see you soon" or "call me!" or "we'll just talk in person". I'm pleased to report that - judging by the US postmarks and the Peruvian ones - most letters are getting to my hands at an astonishingly fast 8-10 days after being mailed. So don't be afraid that they won't arrive! There's still plenty of time. No need to get me thinking about other things anyways. Status quo.

Well, the weeks are sailing by much faster than I would like. Perhaps the urgency of all of this helped us focus a little more when we talked to people this week. We were a lot more direct. That meant that people who really wanted to listen ended up listening, and those who really weren't interested (and sometimes aggressive) rejected us a lot faster.

Yesterday, the Relief Society Presidency was reorganized. The old presidency had been there for about 5 years now. The new president is Teresa, our pensionista who has been a member for a month and a half. Her first counselor is Janeth, who was baptized on the same day. And the second counselor is Paula, who was baptized about 3 weeks later. Only the secretary is a member of advanced experience. Teresa was feeling quite overwhelmed at the idea of it, so we shared some scriptures and experiences to help her understand how to manage. Her determination is inspiring. I'm excited that the recent converts (who are extremely excited to work) are given a chance to grow.

One of Teresa's girlhood friends, Maritza, is one of our investigators. We visit their family frequently (the Pinillos Family). They have three children. Maritza came with two of her sons to a Family Home Evening that we held at the church on Saturday night. We read parts of The Family, a Proclamation to the World as part of the lesson. I really want to see their family baptized before.. umm.. rather, I want to see it happen soon. They're one of those families you just come to love. They even had their own family home evening this week (by themselves), and Maritza's husband, Jorge, offered the opening prayer. It took several visits before he accepted to pray in the lessons.

There's nothing better than living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And to live it in the world as it is, we need a testimony in our hearts. It's simple and it brings a world of blessings. There's nothing like it. No happiness can endure without it; with it, no sadness can remain permanent. The worst thing is when you lose hope in those moments of sadness. To beat it, you just have to lift yourself up on legs of faith (which might be troublesome if those legs are feeble and weak). But we press on. Good will triumph in the end. Christ has "overcome the world," a friend reminded me in a letter not too far back. So our hope for the future is simply a measure of our faith in Christ mixed with a handful of patience.

Love,
Elder Withers