The Pastor accepted baptism

Hola!! Wow, time is just flying by here in La Ligua. Elder Huaman and I only have 2 weeks left! This week was super eventful! So many great things have happened and I have seen SO many changes in our investigators through the power of the Holy Ghost. Oh and thanks so much for all the support and letters! They seriously make my day every time. Tiffy, hang in there, i´m sure he will come this week! Congrats aunt Jenn with the baby blessing. Haha Cristofer, you got me... that was a good one!! Happy birthday Mark this week.

The Pastor accepted baptism: I do not even know where to start with this unbelievable story. Do you all remember the Vergara family. They are evangelicos, the dad is a pastor of a congregation of 100 people, they are super nice, have given us lunch a few times when we did not have any, we found them doing door contacts with a guitar... yes them. Anyways, Elder Huaman and I have been visiting and talking to Pastor Vergara every once in a while. We normally talk about doctrine from the bible. But this was all a plan that Elder Human and I had because we knew we could prove that the church was true with using his own Bible. haha. So this one particular time that we were in his house, the topic of authority and baptism came up. We made him see the importance of having a line of authority that reaches back to Jesus Christ. We also talked about the manner in which you give authority to others which is through the laying on of hands. He realized that he does not have his authority reaching back to Jesus Christ, and that he has not recieved the priesthood or the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by someone holding the proper authority. Pastor Vergara is incredible. He has so much knowlege about the Bible. And with using his own Bible, we helped him see what is truly required to recieve Eternal Life. He told us that he wants to recieve a baptism by someone holding the authority of God!!!! What!! I could not believe what I was hearing. Another testimony of the power of the spirit in this work. This is a true testimony of the promise in Doctrine and Covenants that if we treasure up continually the words of life, they will be given to us in the precise moment when we need them. He is going to have an interview with President Gillespie to see how things will work out.This is not just some simple baptism. It is a complicated situation. He has a congregation to look after. If he leaves, what next for them. Well, i´ll tell you whats next... We will see if we can start working with everyone in his congregation to bring them to the True and Eternal gospel of Jesus Christ.

Water emergency: We have been through alot with the Fres family this week. It first started off with the word of wisdom. They have problems with Coffee and Tea and Fransisco has problems with Alchohol. I will tell you later on in the letter what happened with them concerning this matter. Anyways, after we were done teaching, they said they had something to tell us. They sat us down and said: We will not be able to assist chuch this week. (This was not good because if they did not assist church this week, we would have to push their baptisimal date back.) They continued explaining how they could not pay the water bill these last three months because Scarlet (5 year old) ran out of her medications and they had to spend Tons of money to get here new ones. It was either the water or the health of Scarlet. As good parents, they obviously chose Scarlet. Due to this correct decision, their water was cut. Now they have 0 pesos until next monday. This caused that transport was a problem as well. They did not have any access to water and they said that they could not assist because there was no way that they could get ready, have clean clothes... How terrible is it to not have any water. Well, we assured them to not worry about it, we would do everything possible to help them assist church and have the necesities of water. We left to go find help from the Branch. This really was a great opportunity to show the family that the branch supports them. We ended up collecting over 150 liters of Water in less than an hour. President Palominos and our branch mission leader took the water over to their house. After recieving this service, they were able to have the resources necessary to assist church with us. And they did.

Unforgettable experience: I never thought that I could see anyone change so much. The Fres family had an incredible experience in church. They felt the spririt so strong, that their emotions took control. They felt so much love and support from the Branch. The branch as well has changed so much. It has changed from a branch that is just going to comlete their duty, to a branch that is animated to go and help in the Lords work. Everyone in the branch greeted them, showed them love and made them feel super comfortable. After church, they were expressing to us some of their thoughts. First off, they could not stop telling us how much they loved church. They felt so good. The kids had tons of fun too! they did not want to leave. haha. As they were expressing their thoughts concerning church, they told us that they have a surprise for us. They gave us all their coffee, tea and Alchohol. They gave it up just like that. They said that they want to change completely. Its kinda funny, they said that they are going to even stop buying dark colored drinks like CocaCola and stop eating Mariscos (clams). (The misionaries in this mission are not allowed to Drink Coca Cola or eat Mariscos.) We told them that it was not necessary to stop drinking Coca Cola or eating Mariscos, but they stopped us and said,"no no no, we want to change completely, and be on the path to Eternal Life." They even said that once they get enough money, they are going to save up and buy some skirts, white shirts, and ties to show more respect in church with the way they dress. Everyone in the family is so excited for their baptism. We are planning a White Night the night of their baptism. Meaning, everyone in the branch that assists to their baptism is going to be dressed up in white. It will be an unforgettable scene.

Heart Breaker: Scarlet has not been feeling so good. She has had some unquenchable pain in her legs. Due to the circumstances, we asked if she would like a priesthood blessing, she and her parents said yes. It was explained that through your faith, you can be healed. Scarlet recieved the blessing. That night, she wanted to go to her parent´s room to sleep with them because her legs hurt so bad. She could not withstand the pain. On the way over to her parent´s room, she fell down. Her legs could not hold her little body up anymore. She cried out, why didn´t the priesthood blessing work?? She moved onto her knees and prayed to our Heavenly Father for help. "Father in heaven, Help me." When I heard this, my heart hurt for her. my emotions took over. Scarlet is such an example to me. She told us that after church, she didn´t hurt anymore.

Sebastian will be baptised: So sebastian has officially recieved all the missionary lessons and is ready to be baptised. He will be baptised with the Fres family on the 22nd of April. He has assisted church his whole life. His parents aren´t member but he has been assisting with his aunt and unkle. We are excited for him.

So thats all for this week! I love you all and pray for you every day!

Chao

Elder Millard