Week 20 in Piamonte

Week #60
2/23/15
Wow, its already week 20 here. Thats crazy. Ive been here for so long, and I love it! 

Well, the most eventful day of this week was Saturday. Not much else happened this week. I got sick with a cold, so i haven't done much exercise. Things are a little stagnant in our area, but we are ready to stir up the waters and get things moving. We have just been working with the same people for a while now, and we need to find new people. 

So on Saturday we got up early to visit William. He was really bummed and discouraged. He told us his family wasn't really supporting him, and that he is having a hard time economically. He said that he doesn't have enough to stock up on trash bags and candy to sell, because that's his job. He told us he felt so frustrated that he didn't want to go to the chapel anymore. When I heard that, I knew he wasn't very serious, and that he just needed to calm down a little bit. I shared with him 1 Nephi 17:3, and promised him blessings. Im glad a bishop showed me that scripture. 

So Saturday afternoon we stopped by María Eugenia to see how she was before the baptism, and her coworker had told her a bunch of stuff about polygamy, and she was not feeling sure about being baptized. You could tell she was just confused. Especially because she is really afraid of doing what is wrong, and it has been hard for her to make the decision. But she was able to reason everything out, and she confirmed that she would be coming. 

Then there was Ximena, its a miracle she was baptized this week. She had her interview on Friday, but didnt pass. She wasnt living with her boyfriend anymore, but he could always just get in the house when he wanted to, and she still wasnt living the law of chastity to the point she needed to to be baptized. So on Friday night, she was feeling bad, as she told us, and went right there and completely ended everything with her boyfriend. So the Elders from Bosa called us Friday night to tell us she wouldnt be getting baptized, and it was a bummer. Then they called us again at 10 and told us that she would be getting baptized, and i just wondered how. So she passed her second interview, and was baptized as well. 

For the service we heated the water, and it was nice. I baptized María Eugenia, and confirmed Ximena. That baptismal service was really nice, and it was encouraging. 

Oh, this week we also took William to the family history center in the stake to get him started on his family history, and he was able to print the page so he can do baptisms for the dead! We have the goal to go with William and María Eugenia to the temple on March 7th and do baptisms for the dead with them. So pictures are attached of that as well, also William doing a wheelie. 

I have been well these days. Things have been a little tough with my companion, mostly because its hard to achieve a good communication. I think I'm going to try harder with that this week. A funny moment- we were walking up a side walk, and i saw a lady on a bike, and when she passed me she said, ´beep beep´. That made me laugh. Just the way she said it was funny. 

I know God lives, and answers our prayers. I know prayer is really, and have had real experiences with prayer this week. If you feel your prayers aren't really getting past the ceiling, or you're not praying, I invite you to pray, and really talk to God. Talk to him about your day, your hopes, your setbacks, your struggles. Ask him for help, be sincere and honest. Those prayer get answered and they comfort the soul. 

Thanks for reading!

Elder Beck