One Month Mark! Week 4

This last week was hard haha. Very hard. My companion was out of his medication all week so he was super on edge and there were many times that he wouldn't plan for the next day or go visit someone or do companionship study just because he wasn't in the mood. He got mad at me a ton haha, and we did an emergency exchange last Monday night because he could no longer live in my presence, so another Elder stayed with me at our apartment hahaha. We switched back halfway through Tuesday. We have talked a lot since then, and our relationship is doing significantly better. It is still hard though, and I am learning a lot of patience, but I trust in the Lord that "all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.":)

Despite the trying week I had haha, I have some very incredible news...... WE GOT SOMEONE ON DATE FOR BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Her baptism is scheduled for September 5thh!!!! She is the first person my companion has had on date in over 3 months and she'll be the first baptism in the ward in 8 months!!! Her name is Lynzi, and we taught her the first lesson last Thursday. She has already come to church three times with her boyfriend Mark. He was inactive and has started coming back to church with her! When we taught her on Thursday, she was already in 2 Nephi and has already been praying every day!! I can't believe it either!! She has been so prepared to hear our message! At the end of the lesson, we asked her to pray and ask that she can know what we taught was true. She did! And while she did, the spirit was so strong! She finished and we asked her how she felt, and she said very peaceful all over. And that was the Holy Ghost!! And we told her that!! Now she knows what the spirit feels like! We asked her if she wanted to have that with her all the time, and she said definitely! So we invited her to be baptized, and she she said YES!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! We taught her again on Saturday, and she said that she knows that the Book of Mormon is true! We have another lesson with her in a few days!!!

The only catch is that she lives out of the mission haha. We have been teaching her at her boyfriends and she has been coming to church with her boyfriend. So there is a chance that we might have to pass her over to the missionaries in her area. But who even cares as long as she gets baptized?!?!? Ahhhhhhhh it is so incredible. I have never been so happy in my whole life. The Lord has prepared Lynzi to accept the gospel, and I am so beyond grateful that I am privileged to help in her conversion process. 

Another success that happened this week is Matt. He got baptized two years ago, and then fell into inactivity. We have taught him three times and we are working towards the temple with him. He decided that he really wants to work towards the temple. But his job has him work on Sundays so he said he couldn't come to church. We committed him to ask his boss if he could get Sundays off. I was praying for him every day and I fasted that his boss's heart would be softened. Last week we followed up with him, and he said that his boss said that he could probably have every first and third Sundays of the month! I was ecstatic! But I was pretty dang surprised when he showed up at church yesterday!!!!!!! He said that he asked his boss AGAIN and that his boss is letting him work extra throughout the week so he can come to church every Sunday!!! My prayers were answered! Whaaaaa!!! Haha it is only a matter of time before he gets the priesthood and gets to the temple!!! 

I got to do like 20+ hours of service this week! I am truly coming to love service with all my heart. I love opportunities to serve people, which isn't something that I've always been a huge fan of haha. One of
the families we served had a pair of stilts that I got to try out, and they were pretty fun hahaha, I look like an old man though haha.

This is an excerpt from his journal for Friday July 31 that I really loved(Melanie),
The best part of my day was at dinner tonight, which was authentic Peruvian food.  We were at this woman's house who has 6 children, is raising them alone, and is trying to keep them all active in the church.  The youngest of her kids is a perfect little 5 year old girl with Down's Syndrome.  I have never seen anyone so cute and so beautiful.  She has such a happy personality that lightens up the room.  I was eating dinner and she just hopped on over to me and took my hand, patted it gently, gave me a handshake, and then gave me a big kiss hahaha.  It made my whole week haha.  My whole mission!  I'm just so grateful I got to partake of her perfect spirit.  She is 5, but she is already such an incredible example of Christ.