In Esperanza, you play sand volleyball in the street

Dear Family,

On Wednesday this week, our stake (Esperanza) had its "Dia de Gracia," and a good number of ward members showed up to take part in the work. Starting with a devotional with the Stake and Mission Presidents, 70 missionaries, and a bunch of members, we divided up and went to the ward buildings. From there, Elder Salguero and I divided everyone into groups and assigned them streets in which they would visit every member, focusing on the less active members first. We worked in the sand in the higher parts of Esperanza in the morning - it gets more dangerous as the sun goes down, so we didn't want to bother even being there in the afternoon. We worked all morning, had a quick lunch in the chapel, and went out again in the afternoon until 6. It was a neat experience: we were able to reach nearly every member of the ward, including many less active members. Elder Salguero and I want to do a similar activity (but on a ward scale only) monthly to help activate the several members who don't come to church anymore. It makes all the difference when old friends stop by and invite them to come back.

I had an interesting lesson on Friday: it was a man we had taught once the week before, and we hadn't been able to get very far in the lesson. As we started anew, I asked if he had any questions. He asked about why there was so much death in the world - why good people have to die, and why God doesn't protect them. We answered his question and started teaching the Plan of Salvation, but we couldn't get far: our investigator continued to interrupt and go off on tangents. Patience waned, and we desperately wondered what we could do to help this man see the importance of what we were teaching. In the end, we brought up a few points of the Word of Wisdom, and the man contested that it was fine to drink alcohol, as long as one doesn't get drunk. We talked about homemade wine, grape juice, and similar beverages: the man, still contentious, went to the back room and brought out a Pepsi bottle with his own homemade wine in it. He poured a little bit into a shot glass and handed it to me, claiming it had no alcoholic content. I sniffed it and disovered the too-familiar odor that we often detect in those unwanted conversations with the intoxicated. Needless to say, we declined the invitation and ended the lesson with a few scriptures that supported the point. The investigator eventually admitted that the juice was fermented and that he was just "testing us" - but either way, it makes us a little wary of going back for a while.

Saturday began the meetings for Stake Conference this week. I received a letter from the Stake President asking me to play the piano for every meeting during the conference, so I got to attend every session with my companion. Our conference was presided by Elder Marcus B. Nash, President of the South America West Area (that's Peru and Bolivia). His talks were very uplifting and instructive, and I came away with several treasured pages of notes. Nevertheless, so many hours of meetings, prelude, postlude, choir accompaniment (and the creaky piano bench) - coupled with a long baptismal service - left me with little energy Sunday evening. But we persisted until it was time to go home, and we were able to finish the week strong.

After the general session of conference, we had a baptismal service in the Stake Center for some 10-12 investigators who were being baptized. Two were baptized in our ward: a young woman named Xiomara, and a woman named Alejandrina. Xiomara was baptized by her member friend, Tonio; and I had the privilege of baptizing Alejandrina. They were the first baptisms in our ward in the last 6 months, and from here we're hoping to have a couple every week for the next month or so. There are several wonderful people who are preparing to be baptized in the weeks to come, including other members of the families of Xiomara and Alejandrina. The baptismal service got started late, but I got to see the extraordinary faith of those who were making that covenant to keep the Lord's commandments. It was also a trial to see a few who got discouraged at the last moment and decided not to go through with it. As Elder Nash repeatedly taught this weekend, the Lord wants to bless us; He has blessings ready and waiting for us - but we can't receive them unless we have sufficient faith.

We were informed of transfers this week. Elder Salguero is being transferred to a new area south of Trujillo, and I'm staying here. An Elder Tapia is coming to be my new companion. It's rough to see Elder Salguero go - we accomplished a lot working in Pueblo Libre, and I hope I can keep it going.

Glad to hear all is going well over there! Good work, Tia! Start high and keep improving! I'm glad you were able to do well on all your finals. Justin, I hope those employers get back to you soon! Drew and Michelle, I hope all is well in Provo. Enjoy the Y and good luck in your classes! Mom and Dad, have a safe trip back to Oregon. Thank you for your prayers and letters!

Love,
Elder Withers