January 9, 2012

I liked what you said about the WHY in doing the commandments and all of that stuff. It is absolutely necessary that the investigators know the why. If they don`t, they`d never do anything. Mirta, Ramòn and Claudia, (Flia. Rama, now.) if they didn`t know that being baptized and keeping the commandments would give them a eternal family, they would never have been baptized! But, they knew the reasons why, and that`s what gave them the faith and the courage to do what they did. They`re my miracle family. Them and Flia. Colque are... They`re something else... I love them so much. 

First of all, I got Melyn`s pckg... And already put it to good use!! The lemon poppy-seed muffins were... Oh my gosh... Buenìsimo! I`m saving the others for my birthday. Melyn, thank you so much for that pckg.! I loved it, but even more than the food... The CARD!!! I LOVED the card! It made me laugh so hard! E. Calvache didn`t understand why I was laughing about a kid in a bunny suit, but he`s never seen it, Pobrecìto! Grandma`s pckg... Still haven`t gotten it. I`m hoping it comes today. If not, I will be calling the office to see if they have it but just haven`t sent it still. I would really like the pckg. from my wonderful Grandma. The pants... I think they`re repairable. I gave them to a sister here to fix them, but she still hasn`t gotten them back to me. We will see. No, don`t worry about sending me more, haha. And no to the shirts, stop spending money on me! I can take it in these shirts, with the rolled up sleeves they`re fine. But thank you for asking. :) 

Well, we had the baptisms!! They were great! Yenifer and Karen were so excited, their mom is so happy, she wants to be baptized too, but can`t until she and Justino get married some day. No, they are not the daughters of Justino. Miriam has three daughters, and every single one has a different dad... Argentina is famous for that... :( Anyway, they all came to the baptism, Miriam was just flooded with tears, Justino came and enjoyed it. I baptized Karen, (9 yrs. old), E. Calvache baptized Yenifer (13). They`re a wonderful family. I love my converts so much... San Martìn has been very good to me, and it might be that way for another 4 and a half months. I forgot to tell you guys that we had transfers this week. And guess who`s leaving? E. Calvache. 

We got the call on Saturday night. We found out that he`s leaving and that I have another Latino coming here named Elder Agasani. He will be ending the mission here in San Martìn because he only has 3 months left. There`s two things that could happen. I could be here for just a month and a half more, and then be kicked out somewhere else. Or I could be here until he ends, then be here to help another Elder get to know the area. I could be here for 7 and a half months! Crazy! But we`ll see what happens. 

So yesterday we went by all the recent converts that we had together. Yenifer and Karen were sad to see E. Calvache go, including Miriam as well. But we had an awesome lesson together, then said goodbye. We did a lot of other stuff yesterday as well, but that night we went to Flia. Rama`s house to say goodbye to our Miracles. When we got there, they were watching the movie The Legacy from the church. They`re already watching church movies on Sunday! We watched it for a little bit with them, then we had a little chat. Mirta started crying, then Ramòn started crying, then I started crying, then E. Calvache started crying. We were all standing up in a circle in their living room, crying. E. Calvache told them that just last week he had had a dream about the pre earth life when we were all together with them, and we told them wait for us, we will find you, we PROMISE you that we will find you. Wherever you guys are on the earth down there, we will find you and we will bring you guys back. I then spoke about my feelings about how it will be when we are all up in heaven, reunited again... And we all give our Heavenly Father a huge hug... I can`t describe the feelings I have for this moment that I WILL have somewhere down the road. They were so prepared... They were always waiting for us. I could end my mission right now, and be happy until I die. But I know I can`t. I need to keep going. I want more experiences like that, and I know there are more families waiting for me and my new companion, E. Agasani. 

I am so happy. Mom, Jared, Dad, Melyn, Jordan, Dani, Aubrey, Kim, Chris, Holden, Grandma, Grandpa, Omi, Buppy, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends, Loved Ones... I am Happy. For right now, I don`t want to come back. I want to stay right here. Missionary work is hard, but I don`t care about that. This mission is shaping me into something else. I`ve changed so much. And I`m going to keep letting the Refiner refine me until I come forth as gold. I`m no where near that, but I`m trying. I love you all so much. I love missionary work, and don`t want to do anything else. Sometimes missionary work is hard because you just can`t find the people that are searching for the truth, but when you find them... It is a feeling that is indescribeable. 

Keep up the good work at home. I love you all. Pray for my investigators, and that we can find more. That E. Agasani and I can be strong, excited and driven to make success. 

E. Cuthbert