Tulancingo, Mexico- August 29

Hey Mom!

This week has been another excellent week! Leonides (the 84 year-old father of 2 converts) is doing great! He still has a lot of desires to be baptized and we have been planning with the ward to help him be baptized, we are really excited! Suzana is also doing pretty well, it has been hard helping her to find her answer, but I think that it will just require a little bit of patience and a lot of prayer. This week she couldn't come to our ward at 10:00am because she had to go see some family, but we went with her to another Tulancingo ward at 8:30am. This week we were blessed to find another golden investigator! Her name is Margarita, and she contacted us in the street, she told us that one of her cousins that lives in Pachuca had been telling her about the missionaries and the church, so she talked to us on the street and we went to visit the next day. She had been going through a few problems with her son that has had problems with drugs, and she was really stressed out about the whole situation because her son´s girlfriend just had a baby, and they have had lots of problems. We left a blessing in their home and we felt the spirit really strongly. She accepted a baptismal date, but this Sunday she didn't come to church. I feel like each day the Lord blesses us with many opportunities to serve and bless the lives of others. The mission really has been a great experience!

In my Book of Mormon reading I have been reading the Isaiah chapters in 2nd Nephi. I know that they are a little hard to understand, but I have learned quite a bit more. Today I was reading something really interesting. I thought is was really interesting that one of the chapters that Nephi includes is Isaiah chapter 11 and that in Joseph Smith History verse 40, one of the scriptures that the angel Moroni mentioned to Joseph Smith is that same chapter and he told the prophet Joseph that it was going to be fulfilled soon. In Doctrine and Covenants 113:1-4 explains a little more about that chapter and it basically tells us that in the last days the Lord was going to lift up a servant to be an ensign to the nations, one who had the Priesthood and was descendant of Joseph and of Jesse. I think it is really interesting that Isaiah could see these last days, and it is interesting to think that that person whom he mentioned could possibly be Joseph Smith. Cool stuff right!?

Well Mom, I hope you are doing well! I hope you have a great week! Is there anything that I can do for you before I get home? Buy a sombrero or something? Mexican Independence day is coming up! Should be fun!! I love you tons Mom! Have a great week!

Elder Paynter