gospel fruits

Dear Family,

I am doing well. In fact, I'm doing much better! I took a little more time this week for personal reflection and prayer, rededicating myself to a good attitude and hard work. With so little time during the day for such meditation, I admit I stayed awake (although in bed - at least fulfilling the letter of the law) late an extra while as I put on a new lens to look at the world around me.

Let me tell you a little about the people we're teaching. There is an older couple, Manuel and Martha. Manuel is 65, and his wife, I imagine, is trailing along nearby in her late 50s or early 60s. Manuel lost his job shortly before retirement and somehow (I believe he grumbled the blame at the last president or government official in Peru) lost his claim on social security. They gave him what he had paid over the years, but he's still worried about how he's going to get along for the next x years he plans to stay alive (that's the variable "x", not a roman numeral 10). He accepted a baptismal date after reading the Book of Mormon, coming to church, and a couple lessons we've taught him. He isn't in a great financial situation to pay tithing, but he said he would anyways. I love that faith. Fantastic! Martha hasn't come to church yet; however, we've been paddling the boat of conversion through her sea of excuses, and I know she'll be blown away if she comes to conference. Brother Arriaga (or Hermano Arriaga, for us), our ward mission leader, has come with us to a couple of lessons with us. Hno. Arriaga is 68, so they're more or less on the same page of life. He has been a member for 26 years, but he teaches like a missionary and, furthermore, has endless life experiences to back up the principles he teaches. Hurray for teamwork!

One night a couple weeks ago, we were walking down the street, and as we are wont to do, we said "buenas noches" to all the passersby. One man, apparently in his 50s, paused to ask us if the second coming was near. We testified that it certainly is, "even at the doors," and that we're here to help him get ready. He invited us into his house, which was only some 10 feet behind us. His name was Wilson, and we only had time for a short conversation that night, but in the meantime, we met his wife, Magda. It turns out that Magda is good friends with several members! One of them, Jackie, has been coming with us to visit her in every lesson - we can only find Wilson at home on Sundays, so we usually teach Magda by herself during the week: member help is crucial. We found out this week that Wilson is still married to his ex-wife (an unsettling trend here in Peru) and that, despite the fact that he and Magda have been together about 10 years now, they are still outside the bonds of marriage. Magda wants to get baptized - she has prayed about the Book of Mormon and knows it's true. So we've got a goal to work toward. The other night revealed another piece to the puzzle: it seems things haven't been going so well in their relationship, but even so, Magda said she was willing to get married anyway, just to do things right. I suppose that sometimes, as missionaries, in our urge to get things done right and done quickly in terms of weddings, we look over the important factor of chemistry between the partners. Nevertheless, I was a bit nonplussed by the idea of just tolerating someone while you live with them and.. yeah, anyways, the special part was at the end of that lesson. Magda offered the closing prayer and prayed for the Lord to bless her family with that love that they once had, and she asked for help in getting married. She was in tears when she said, "amen," and I might have been, too. Heartfelt prayers are heard on high.

Speaking of getting married, there was a wedding this week. Hilton and Silvia were finally married after 12 or 13 years of being together. Silvia was already a member (indeed, she's the Bishop's sister) but had been less-active for a while. For the last year, they've been coming to church nearly every week. They tied the knot in Trujillo on Friday, and Hilton was baptized on Saturday night. The Bishop performed the baptism. Now the whole family are members and are active. I wish I could tell you the roller coaster ride it has been for Hilton since last year. A 180-degree change.

Well, looks like my time is running out - President Mora called and took up some of my time in the middle of this, so I'll continue next week, hopefully with some new people from this week. Thanks for your letters and your prayers! Happy Birthday, Tori (I know, a little late)!

Love,
Elder Withers