Bolivia, Montero—Week 6

Sebastian's Baptism

Dear Family and Friends,

(We asked her if we could send some extra money so she could buy some Christmas gifts, as well as necessities, for the families). No, I wish we could do something for the families that really need help, but we aren't allowed to buy things for them because they would get too used to it and would always want the missionaries to help them. Don't worry, though. When I come back to visit, I will for sure be here to help many families. That's my goal.

Here is a quick rundown of our week:

Familia “D” FHE—We read in Nefi 1 with Fabricio and Nicole. Their parents weren’t home for FHE, so we just read with them. They are improving little by little.

Familia “B”—They live with relatives and have a huge family. Their grandparents are “pioneers” in the Church here and all of their children are members. They haven’t been coming to Church, so we are going to visit them a bit. They have a son in the La Paz mission who will be returning home one week before Christmas. We were only able to speak with the mom. She said that she gets sick easily, but would like to come to Church again.

“E”—Today she spent the whole day proselyting with us to prepare for her mission in December.

“R”—Is a less-active who has been a member her whole life, but recently hasn’t been coming to Church. She lives with her brother, Nefi, who is also a bit inactive. She has a son that is 3 years old and she’s 19. She is studying in the University until she can go to work when her son goes to preschool.

Service—We painted a room for our pensionista and made tacos afterward. Then we walked around Montero. All of our appointments fell through, so we ate mangos between knocking doors.

Familia “D”—Today we were supposed to have FHE with the Familia “D,” but only “M” was home, so we just taught him and read the Book of Mormon with him. He’s changing so much. He’s reading and praying every day and he said that he can really feel himself changing and becoming a better person. Today he told us their story. They met when “L” came to Bolivia from Argentina with her one-year-old baby boy. Then they had a child together, dropped out of school, and moved to Argentina, then Spain where they had their third baby. They moved back to Argentina, then Bolivia and had their fourth child. Last year, “M” finished middle/high school through night school and now he’s a high school graduate. He’s hoping to be able to go to college next year if he can find a job and save money.

Dad: When "M" told us that his dream is to graduate from college, but that he feels like he's getting too old (even though he's only 29), I was able to share your story with him. I told him that my 53-year old dad is going to college and it helped him get excited to start saving up so he can accomplish his dreams. You are my hero, Daddy! I love you!

I’m so glad I’ve had so many opportunities in my life to progress and succeed. There are so many people here that can’t do anything about their situation, and even if they could, they don’t because of the example of their parents.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

XOXO Hermana Nelson

Sebastian's Birthday and Baptism