Letter 35: Maybe I Should Start Putting Titles On Each Letter

We saw some blogs that other missionary's families are running for missionaries serving here in Juarez and I noticed they all add a title to each letter they write. I don't know if it's my lack of time or creativity, but I never added titles, just numbers. But now I will add a quick title to my letters (I will try my best).

This was the first week in a long while that I didn't have to travel anywhere. So I focused all my energy on getting down to the nitty gritty and setting some secure baptismal dates for next month. Well, after much prayer and teaching, The Lord delivered. We set 3 baptismal dates this week!

The first date is for an old investigator we've been working on. His name is Alejandro, and we have been so close to baptising him, but something always gets in the way! I´ve never had to push back a baptismal date as much as I have with Alejandro! We worked with him really hard this week, and finally set one more date, August 2nd. We are going to have to work really hard, but I am going to get that man in the water!

We also set a baptismal date with a newer investigator, Connie D. Connie is a half Russian, architect/private eye/ criminologist/painter/single-mom. She is one of the most interesting investigators I've ever taught, and she has tons of crazy stories to tell. She was a reference from a member, Sister Araceli G, and she is an awesome investigator. We are teaching her and her 8 (almost 9) year old daughter, Dacha. Connie has had some incredible experiences as she has started to investigate the Church. A little before she met us, she had a dream in which she saw her little daughter drowning, holding on to a book. As she got a closer look, she realized that this book was the same book she had seen at a friend's house. Well, that friend was Araceli, and that book was (you guessed it) the Book Of Mormon: Another Testament Of Jesus Christ! Connie is determined that this is the true church, and we set a baptismal date for August 14th! She is anxious to learn more about the Gospel, and has been attending church and the Relief Society activities regularly.

The final date we set was nothing short of a miracle.

I think I´ve talked about this investigator. His name is Edgar D. He is the son of a less-active sister in the ward. He is 25, and has never had a solid interest in the Church. We started teaching him a few weeks ago, and really focused on becoming his friend and showing him how the Gospel applies to his own life. Teaching him was a bit tricky, and getting him to go to the church was even trickier. We were just about to drop him, when all of a sudden, he started to come to church. He's been coming for the last 4 weeks, and has gotten involved with the Single Adults in the ward. He has really seen a change in his life, and we´ve totally seen a change in his heart. At the end of our last lesson with him this week, I couldn't stop feeling this itch to invite him to be baptised. Thoughts of doubt came into my head, but I quickly discarded them. We invited Edgar to finally be baptised, and he accepted! Elder Webster and I couldn't believe it. We set his date for the 28th.

I love preaching the Gospel, and I love seeing people get closer and closer to baptsim.

Elder Velazquez