some little adventures

Dear Family,

It was an adventurous week. Almost a bit too adventurous, I'd say. But I enjoyed it! A little adventure does one good every now and then. I've taken the oft-repeated advice of writing down the things that happen on a daily basis in a quick note in my daily planner so that I know what to write about this week. You'll now get to see what things stuck out to me each day.

Tuesday night, we lit a candle in our room and enjoyed a Peruvianized version of s'mores, using Choko Soda crackers (that's your normal soda cracker with a delightful chocolate coating) and some colorful marshmallows that we found at a little store nearby. The snack was relatively cheap and didn't cause the singed hair and smoky smell of the usual bonfire approach. It was my companion's idea.

We had five baptismal interviews to perform on Wednesday. We left our room at 9am and hopped a car to Casma (an hour south of Nuevo Chimbote where we live, cost: 6 soles, about $2, a person). Arriving at 10ish, we had a little companionship problem to fix; while Elder Caviedes handled that, I went with another Elder to perform the baptismal interview. Walking all over the place, plus little delays here and there, we finally hopped another car back to Nuevo Chimbote. We got back in time for lunch, then had our planned appointment in the afternoon with Patricia, who was preparing for baptism the next day. She's a 40-year-old woman whose husband passed away a few years back; she has two sons: the older is 17, the younger is 10. We taught about Temples and Family History, and she really enjoyed that.

As soon as we left that lesson, we ran and hopped another car to San Jacinto, a little town about 40 minutes south-east of Nuevo Chimbote - like you're going to Casma then take a left halfway down the highway. My companion took care of that interview, and we took that last car back to Nuevo Chimbote. Luckily, we found a car who wouldn't charge an arm and a leg (cost to go to or from San Jacinto is 5 soles a person); furthermore, he didn't spare the gas flying down the highway. We got back right in time for three more interviews at 8pm. Unfortunately, the candidates were a little slow in showing up, and Elder Caviedes had to go out to call the mission president (former missionaries understand why), so we went running to find the nearest Locutorio where we could call from. We ended late, but everyone passed their interviews. Hooray!

Thursday night we had a baptismal service. Patricia was baptized (my companion did the baptizing), and another sister, Ana Cecilia, was also baptized (I performed that ordinance). In her family, there are 5 girls, all named Ana. Ana Maria, the oldest, lives in Lima with her family. Ana Cecilia is the next one down, with two children, then follow Ana Luisa, Ana Consuelo, and Ana Sofia. There were a few of the Anas in attendance at the baptism of their sister: we're hoping they'll get excited to take that step as well.

Friday was just so crazy that I can't include the details or I'd be here all night. To make things short, we had a zone conference with Elder Hooker, a counselor in the South America West Area Presidency. The meeting was fantastic, and even better was the little interview my companion and I got to have with him afterwards. Since a bunch of elders came from a long ways away (like Casma and San Jacinto), we had 6 extra missionaries sleeping in our room. It was a little rough, but we managed to sleep well enough.

Saturday morning, we weeded the garden out in front of the Anas' house. Their flower bush was in need of pruning, too, so we took care of that. Before the end of the day, we talked with Alex, our pensionista's son-in-law. He told us how he has been taking his Book of Mormon to work with him, and when he reads, it takes away the fear that he had before when working in some dangerous places. His excitement helped him accept a goal to be baptized within the next week or so. I love the Book of Mormon!

Alright, time's running out. Thanks for writing and praying for me!

Love,
Elder Withers