Hello family and friends, I hope everyone is enjoying the spring season as weather begins to change and that you are soaking in all the college basketball possible over these next couple weeks ;)
General Villegas has been quite the hoot this past week as the work of the Lord continues to progress ´little by little´.This past Tuesday, Elder Man and I took on the roll of the Relief Society and made a dinner for the Avaka Family... It wasn´t anything too hard, just some mashed potatoes and some fried chicken but hey, they´ve been going through some harder times and with Elder Man´s always creative ideas we fulfilled with what we thought was helpful in the moment. After puting it all in a pan we made the long walk out to their home, sneakly set it by the front door, then as if we were little 14 year old boys hit the door a couple times and ran! I´m sure it was quite the scene for the mate sipping neighbors but hey, you do what ya gotta do.. When we made it back to the apartment we were happy to see a large thank you text from Hermana Avaka, reassuring us that they had gotten there before the street dogs :)
The other night we were making some street contacts in the street and came across a lovely older women named Clara. Clara is an 81 year old who reminds me much of my own great grandmother Lora. Growing up in humble settings, she now enjoys a wonderful life with the accompany of her family. At this time especially however, she feels lonely and sad due to the recent passing of her husband during the holidays. She is a realist in her comments and a disciple of Christ in her loving serving to all. We feel the hand of god led us to her and will continue our efforts in helping her recieve the restored gospel of Christ.
This past Saturday turned into quite the adventure.. As we were preparing the font for the baptism of Mateo Ojeda we quickly saw the rusted out pipes were not going to hold a full tank of water this time. Elder Man and I set off in search of a metal man and finally came across Gerrado, a marvelous man who kindly accepted to work through the siesta that we might have our font ready for a baptism on Sunday morning. After recieving the reinforced metal frames E´Man and I set to work on painting and constructing.. at 10 o´clock we had finished and the work and everything was prepared for a lovely baptism on Sunday morning.
Sunday morning, with the help of President Castelli and his family, we finished organizing the small details and had a wonderful baptismal ordinance. While the water was a wee bit chilly, the Holy Ghost accompanied our small group as Mateo Ojeda was baptized through immersion. It was a beautiful day full of smiling faces, warm hearts, and one happy mom (Hermana Ojeda). The celebration continued that night when we were invited to help celebrate Mateo´s 8th birthday party! With foosball and ´futbol volley´ the Elders had quite a bit of fun reliving our glory days of competition. Even came across a beautiful StarWars shirt.. The Gospel has been restored in these the Latter-Days, and we as children of our Father in Heaven have the oppurtunity of living it bringing forth the joy we all seek in this life. I love where I am and love what I´m doing, ´little by little´may we all continue coming closer to the Savior, even Jesus Christ. Keep on Keepin´on.. Elder Larsen