A Trying Time

In a letter to our family dated July 16, 2009, Justin writes, "I'm tired. We worked a lot today. We went up to the big hill on our area and went looking for new investigators. By our house in the more urbanized part of our ward the people haven't really been listening much to us when we go knock on their doors, but further out the people seem to be a bit more humbler. We found a guy today that finally let us come into his house, Gumarcindo or something like that. It seems like he'll be able to progress. We also had an appointment with the Jurado family. Tomasa, the wife, has finally made the decision to get baptized although it seems like her husband Jose has since got a little less excited. He hasn't been there for the last appointments, but we are hoping to get a hold of him soon. The goal is that they get baptized this next week on the 25th. We have to work a lot to get them there."

July 17, 2009
"Sunday night. Just finished another week. It was a tiring one. We walked and worked a lot. Sunday is always kind of the make or breaker, to see if all of your work pays off, to see if the investigators go to church. We had 0. It's only been 2 or 3 times in my mission that I've only had 0 in the chapel. It can get frustrating. But I've learned that getting upset about it doesn't help much. We just have to do all of our part and we can't control the results. We can't control the decisions of others, although it makes you feel a lot better when they complete with the commitments. We also finally got a hold of Jose, the husband of Tomasa. Unfortunately he told us that he no longer wants to get baptized and of course Tomasa doesn't either. But we talked about it with my companion and we figure it's all just a test that the Lord has given us and we have to pass it. So we'll just keep on going and hopefully things go well." Way to go Justin!Persevere and keep the faith.

Justin wrote that their zone leader moved in with them and he is apparently not the most likeable person. Justin wrote, "I'll try to be more Christlike." Good move son.

"We're finally coming out of winter. It's not quite as cold at night or in the mornings. I didn't mind the cold much though. I think I've forgotten how much hotter it is in Peru. I used to always get home soaked in sweat, never here which is nice. Not complaining about that."

Wade Buxton. You. Are. The. Man. Justin wrote that apart from mom and dad, you are the only one who writes him. The rest of you repent and write him!