Monday July 9, 2012

Hola familia!!!! well one week more one week less. i am glad we are doing better with the bishop but i feel he might be abusing our help a little bit in ward counsel this week he announced that if we didnt do something fast the first week of september we would be dropped from ward to branch, my first thought was "good, maybe it will teach you a lesson on procrastination" but i quickly ate my words as the bishop handed us the ward directory and asked us to verify the directions of over 500 members of the ward. well it would be rather easy if it was in the great city of South Weber where everything is in a line but here they give you a block a house number and send you out to find it. i live in a city called mi peru where we have done most of our work in the last 6 months but a part from mi peru there is probably 15 pueblos that we need to find and visit in order to fulfill the bishops assignment. but i just think of nefi . . . i will go and do and not rebel. and thus we are doing and will do. sunday we did spilts and visited all the members in mi peru but now comes the fun part walking and walking. it makes me laugh that as i am walking from pueblo to pueblo you too are walking and walking. i am just glad i dont have to do it with a hand cart. i had another interview with president amongst other things he thanked me for the work with the ward and gave me that good old i told you so smile that he does. but he also gave me some bad news. . . that my job was done and that these last two weeks will be my last here in ventanilla. i am very sad because i wont be able to see olga baptized or the taboada family married but i know that i have done what the lord has required of me in this area and needs me in another part. president called me a sower in our interview when i left santo domingo i left it with 12 baptismal dates. and as i entered ventanilla the ward hadnt had a baptism between october and february, and now leaving i have 7 converts that we found and taught and am leaving the area with 5 baptism dates and 2 families ready to wed. . . i am glad president recognizes that i sew but i kind o wish he would let me reap once in a while. but i guess every missionary has his function. all i have to say to the next missionary that gets here is . . . your welcome and dont screw this up. president also said last 6 months and every time he did it was like taking the knife out of my gut and stabbing me again. he talked about my plans and if i would need to come to the offices to apply for classes or jobs and i think he liked my answer "render therefore unto caesar the things which are casear´s; and unto god the things that are god´s," (matthew 22:21) i told him that i just wanted to spend my last 6 months in the field working and that there would be time for all that when i am done. but until then know that i love you all and i am working as hard as i can Elder Landon R. Welch p.s. i am sending a letter to bishop workman today but i dont have his address so if you would be so kind to forward it on to him when it arrives home i would appreciate it. LOVE YA

Monday July 2, 2012

Hola Familia!!! man how i miss my country. not a day goes by that i dont realize something else about the land of the free and the home of the brave that i love and miss so much. but dont get me wrong i love the land of the lama too. we had a good week. and the bishop was true to his word and is still becoming more my friend day by day. we went with him to visit some of the remote areas of the ward like i was explaining last week and the weirdest thing happened i got blisters on the bottom of my foot that has never happened to me before and i am guessing it is because i have relatively new shoes but who knows. but now i am suffering every time i step with my left foot my cut stretches and man is it painful especially walking in pure sand. i have started to have some troubles with my companion that is the only bad part of this week. i think his batteries have kinda died. i find myself doing most of our responsibilities alone. but i figure give him a little time to find his excitement and get back to work. but i did tell him that we wont waste a day and he was alright with that. the families we found last week . . . ALL of them came to church on sunday, with exception of one hermana with her 4 sons. and now i can say with assurity that we had more investigators in church than members as we started the sacrament meeting and like your testimony meeting ours was equally powerful. but not in the same sense. it was hard for me to feel the spirit as we heard one sister explaining how she cant say she loves the ward because that would be a lie. man i miss the church i knew as a child. i never remember such animosity of hatred in our ward i just dont understand what is the great difference. but it was a kind reminder from the lord telling me to keep working. we are currently working with a Family and i have alot of hope for them. they are the parents of jamil taboada (who we baptised a few weeks ago) he opened the gates and the water is now flooding in. yesterday Paul (the dad) came to church and said that during sacrament he prayed and really felt something. that was such good news because he has really been the tripping stone for the family but now that he has his answer he know what he needs to do. Tempora (the Mom) had a daughter still born and that has affected he alot but yesterday we watched the movie "on the way home" and talked about forever families and that was the home run that sealed the game. they arnt married but now have a date set to be married, it is a thursday and they described their reasoning something like this "thursday so that friday we can be interviewed and saturday baptised." it is amazing to see the power of the spirit in the conversion of these people. well fam it is off to fruit, but no futbol today because of my poor blistered feet but always remember that i love you and i am working as hard as i can Elder Landon R. Welch p.s. i am going to send a letter today addressed to bro and sis bench and the next week one to bishop workman so advise them that it is coming and to be on the look out. but in order to send it i need paper money so i am going to buy my monthly shampoo and soap with my card so i can use the money for the letters. love ya!!