New

So these past few days, as some of you know, I have been in a new area. It is Socorro, New Mexico, and it would be a small town to many of you but to me it is a BIG town. ha-ha This area was in my district and is where we would go to shop and stuff so I'm already very familiar with the town! 

I have mainly been doing busy work ALL these days but the few times I've been out we have had great lessons and we have 2 families we're hoping will enjoy our teachings this week. 

The ward leadership is very excited I am down here as a full time missionary and have already heard things about me through the grape vine... ( don't know if that's a good or bad thing) but they know we're here to work and wanna tackle it so they are already giving referrals left and right and wanting to really help us and the work here. They are on board for the Hastening of the Work. 

This area has been DEAD for a long time. There have been no baptisms for over a year, almost a year and a half...!!!  I don't know if there's some cure here but every time anyone gets close they all fall away and it's tough for the ward and especially for the ward leadership. They are kind of down by it ... so I asked if we could bear our testimonies this Sunday and if I could bear mine and they said yes.

I basically introduced myself and said we're here to work our hardest for this cause of the Lord and we need all the help we can get. I promised them that this year they will see MANY baptisms and that the Lord is really working in Socorro for a great cause. And I believe it 100 %!

I like this area because it is a challenge and I love a good challenge. 

Also, my branch president from Alamo has his physical therapy practice down here, so I see him all the time and other people I know from Magdalena and Alamo, so it's great. We work out at the gym, he is there every morning. 

We are teaching a guy named Bruce who got out of prison like 7 months ago and has tattoos all over his arms but he is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Great heart. He just got married to a member of the church and they are great together. COMPLETE opposites but the Lord truly put them both in each other's life. He is a recovering drug addict like a hard core one.The only thing keeping him from baptism is his parole.  So my Mission President and Bishop and others all wrote a letter to the First Presidency asking for permission to do it sooner, so we will see!! He's SUPER solid. Calls himself a Mormon already. ha-ha 

I miss Alamo. I try not to think about it but I'm looking for every Native American I can find down here to teach! Members in the ward already have names of some Navajos they have tried to work with and are wanting to use me as a resource to help because I guess I "know the people and culture". 

Some of the people I said bye to last week were crying and I got very emotional as we hugged and said "Aqushi" ( Laters) meaning that it's not goodbye but just laters till we see each other again. One was crying in my shoulder saying that EVERY DAY she will pray for me in the morning and in the evening and that she will look out her window every day waiting and hoping for the day when I return again... 

I promised them ALL that I'll be back next February so that helped too :)  

The church is true, if it wasn't I wouldn't be here. I'd probably be in prison somewhere.

Love,
Elder T