I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL I'M THE MISSIONARY GOD IS MAKING ME TO BE!!

Familia!!!!

How goes it? Well thanks for the Halloween letter, hahah I enjoyed the picture and all the stickers and notes. Oh and don't forget the sponge one tatoo, definitely gonna rep that while hitting the streets of Peru. Well I'm glad you guys had a great week and pops had a great bday. Sounds like you guys had fun, and Iz keeps wreckin it at cross country, what a stud. Well this week was pretty great and pretty fast. Monday we had a zone meeting with president Risso. Everyone had interviews, and this time mine was in Spanish. He just asked me how everything was going and how our area was. My comp played a nasty trick on me. After his interview he said that he was being transfered and that I would receive my new comp that night haha. I believed him for almost a day but I pried the truth out of him haha. So no changes with us but we are getting a new ZL and a couple others in my district are leaving.

Well it was just a normal week of teaching and such but on Thursday we did innercambios and I spent the whole day with one of the ZLs. I was stressed out at first cuz I was gonna have to lead all day showing him to all our citas and stuff and knowing my horrible sense of direction, you can probably imagine. But everything turned out well I was able to find every house ok and teach that message. It was cool being with another Elder and seeing his way of teaching and doing things, and the advice he gave. He's trying to learn English so I would talk to him in Spanish and he would talk to me in English. But he's a super good missionary and made me go out of my comfort zone. In lessons sometimes I don't get the opportunity to speak much but this Elder  just kept turning to me and every time I was surprised what came out of my mouth. One lesson he made me commit two people to be baptized and it was our first time teaching these people. They didn't say yes right away but the spirit was super strong and we promised them that they would be ready and in the closing prayer they prayed to be ready to be baptized so that was pretty sweet!!

The baptism of Diana was Saturday!!! It was again an amazing experience. She is the most ready person to accept the Gospel I've seen in Peru! It was only 2 weeks from the day we contacted her to the day we baptized her and yet she knows so much! She is like halfway through the Book of Mormon and has such a strong testimony. After she was baptized she bore a powerful testimony. She talked about how at first she wasn't too sure if our message was true and didn't know for sure. But when she sincerely prayed about it, she received a strong witness of the holy ghost and overwhelming peace and joy telling her it was true!! OH it was sooo sweet. 

Sunday our investigator Franco, who is getting baptized this next Saturday did not show. So we left after sacrament meeting, hunted him down and brought him to the next sacrament meeting. His sisters still haven't attended so they cant be baptized til later. But it's awesome how there are so many people here ready to accept the gospel and follow the commandments of God. My testimony has grown so much on the power of this gospel has to change lives and what true faith can do! I was reading about the sons of Helaman this week and how they had such strong faith because they kept the commandments of God and trusted that God would deliver them. This helped me cuz I constantly doubt my abilities, but I've come to learn that I don't have to doubt in my abilities cuz it's through faith and trust in God that I'll be able to teach and to speak and not through my own abilities.

Well this week has been really great. I've felt so much happier as I've been striving to think about my investigators and not home or my own weaknesses. I know this church is true with all my heart and that the spirit and true faith has the power to change lives.  I love this work and I can't wait til I'm the missionary God is making me to be!!! Well til next week, thanks for the letters and support keep it coming..

Elder Harper