Que tal?! This week's been pretty loco, fast-paced and somewhat confusing. Thanksgiving was actually a pretty sweet day! We had our P-day after a couple hours of proselyting in the morning. It was CRAZY windy though and fairly cold for Arizona so definitely not one to spend outside here. The wind absolutely destroys us on bikes because as we cruise it just practically stops us, and it takes like 5 times the effort. We definitely have noticed that our legs are getting pretty huge and muscular, and we're trying to decide if we want them to be...haha. I guess there's not really a choice but we just think it's kind of funny. So we only had to have one Thanksgiving dinner which was a definite relief. A bunch of the other missionaries had like 3 appointments and we felt for them. So we went to the Amparo's for a dinner and had some way good turkey, potatoes, rolls, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. Everything was way good - the pies were delicious!! We were very content and got to spend the rest of the night in our apartment, chilling and writing letters. We never really have time to do that, so it was way nice.
Well, in terms of investigators and missionary work, this week wasn't a terribly successful week. We did everything we could think of to get people to Church - taught about it, promised blessings, stopped by Saturday, went to their places Sunday morning, and out of like 10 or 12 that told us they were going to go, 1 went. So we're re-evaluating everything again and seeing what we can do to get people to understand the importance of things, and realize that we only want this so that they can have these blessings and different things they need in their life. We have found a couple very solid new investigators though and I'm anxious to see where they go.
We did have a way cool lesson this week that i want to tell you about. So Maria Hernandez, a lady who got baptized a couple months ago, has a daughter and son that we're teaching ( Liliana and Jesus). We hadn't really felt like we were making much progress but we had a lesson with them on Monday after having dinner with them and the whole mood and environment was just different. Liliana had been reading the Book of Mormon before we got there and was so much more open and willing to listen. We were teaching her about the Gospel of Christ when Elder Johnson challenged her and asked if she would get baptized. She said YES! But she wouldn't agree to a specific date just quite yet - we're thinking here in maybe 2 or 3 weeks. And she would get baptized together with her brother.
One thing that's also pretty exciting is that Cesar Barraza Sr. finally finished his baseball season so he and his wife should be getting baptized super soon. They know it's true, they know how good it's been for their kids, and they want to be 100% dedicated to the Church when they get baptized. They're going to make the best members ever.
So we've been working with a lot of recent converts and less-actives lately in the branch, and it's been awesome because we've gotten to see so many go to the temple! Over half the people I've seen baptized here have already gone to the temple and it's so amazing to see that change in their lives. We were teaching Lorena (one of the recent converts) about temples yesterday and she brought out some really cool scriptures from the Bible about temples. She asked us about a bunch of things in 1 Kings and asking us if our temples had them. She was so impressed when we said we did! I guess that's what happens when you belong to the one true church :)
We've totally talked to a lot of legitimately crazy people lately though too, and seen a lot of Anti-Mormon literature. Pretty messed-up stuff... but it definitely makes you grateful that you have a healthy mind and the real truth in your life. All we can really do in those situations is bear our testimonies to them and tell them we know without a doubt that this is true and that we got an answer from the Lord. Nobody can really argue with testimony.
So we've been setting some record lows here in Arizona (not saying that it's actually legitimately cold) and it makes it fun with a piercing wind as we ride everywhere on bike. I'm definitely grateful for my thick jacket I brought! It's been probably like 40's and 50's - of course a lot colder in the mornings and at night. So yep, Arizona has made me a pansy when it comes to temperature but it's okay because I'm still not like the people here that put on a jacket that freeze when it's below 80.
And wow, my body's pretty beat up. Since we've gotten that gym membership we go there for a solid cardio and long lifting workout. It kills but I'm glad I have a stud companion that works out super hard. With all of this biking and working out, we're not in bad shape and I just hope I can retain some of it! My legs never really get a rest from biking but it's always comforting knowing you're not being lazy. Speaking of bikes, we've had more problems - mine's still getting fixed and we've had tire and brake issues with the one that we're borrowing. I didn't know bikes required so much upkeep! But then again, I don't think people use bikes half as much as we do... probably around 20 miles a day. Sometimes closer to 30.
But anyways, I'm loving it here like always and doing great! I love hearing from everyone!!
P.S. our apartment looks awesome since we just put up this little Christmas tree and Christmas lights last night. I love December!
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