diet and exercise

Dear Family,

The secrets to taking an inch or two off one's waist are much more easily said than done. I took the first steps towards making a decision to start trying to get some results this week - I decided that if I'm supposed to be in charge of the health of some missionaries, I ought to follow the suggested exercise routines in the missionary health guide. The book said to be creative, so I did a few pole-vaulting exercises (that I've missed for over a year) out in the cul de sac (well.. it's not really a cul de sac - it's not a street - it's all sidewalk) for my cardio workout. I'm also eating about 1/4 of the rice I've been served for the last year and exercising a little more self control when numerous bread rolls are placed before me to only eat one of them. My pensionista complained a little bit at the start, but it doesn't match my complaints when I got to squeeze into my baptismal pants the other week. Motivation has to come from somewhere, I suppose.

A recent convert took us to meet one of her friends and share the gospel with her on Tuesday, and we had a long, spiritually-packed lesson on the Restoration. The recent convert bore her testimony and opened things up. The Spirit prompted us to promise specific blessings and helped her friend see how the gospel really applies in her life.

On Thursday, we had a work visit with the elders in San Jacinto (a little isolated town built aroud a sugar-cane processing facility). My companion taught me how to solve a rubix cube (said rubix cube is now broken and its location is unknown) during the trip there, and then I traveled back to Nuevo Chimbote with Elder Giles for a day of working together. We spent the morning talking to people in the streets and looking for some old investigators. We knocked only one door, and a woman came out and let us in so that we could say a prayer. That prayer turned into a 45-minute lesson on the Restoration. She had investigated the church in another part of Chimbote some 6 years earlier. I love it when the Spirit takes us to the right doors.

In the afternoon of the same day, we had a couple baptismal interviews to perform for another area. When we came out of the church and were walking away, the elders yelled at us to come back. Apparently, a couple of theives (at least, that's the word I heard "ladrones") running from the police ran in the open church doors and went upstairs. A couple of police pick-ups followed, and a couple uniformed officers ran in and ushered them out. It was a little exciting, but it delayed us in going to the house of a recent convert who had just suffered a difficult situation. We sang hymns and shared scriptures until the Bishop got there (I'm grateful for good bishops!), then headed to other appointments.

On Saturday, our pensionista's son-in-law was baptized. His neighbor, who had fellowshipped him in Family Home Evenings, performed the ordinance. Once again, all we did was push play on the DVD while they got changed. I'm extremely grateful that we're in a ward that works!

However, our ward currently has no high priest group leader, so we have combined classes with the Elders' Quorum. Yesterday, somebody was asleep and snoring quite loudly as we were reading from the manual. My companion and I had a chuckle about that. Our Ward Mission Leader woke up the snorer, but it was only a matter of minutes before the snoring began again.

Today, we went on a little field trip to the ruins of Sechin (around the time of the Jaredites). Sechin, unfortunately, is not the lost city of gold. It didn't appear to be very lost (it cost 6 of the best to get in) and was made of rocks; and it wasn't much of a city anyways. My companion was upset for having paid so much for not much attraction. I was okay with it. We emptied a full jar of Nutella over some soda crackers with the sister missionaries (and really the big purpose of going was so that the sisters would feel a little more involved in our activities as a zone), so I was content with the activity.

Right now, we have a baptismal service to attend in 15 minutes. It's the 8-year-old son of the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric, but we've been invited because he told us that he has invited 4 non-member families to the baptism. Now THAT'S missionary work! Woohoo!

The missionary health guide said that just 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every day will help you feel happier and increase your self-esteem. I'm happy! The manual must be right!

Well, time up or not, I don't have any more time! Thank you for your letters! Even though it takes half my internet time reading them all, it's worth it.

Love,
Elder Withers