Finally! Out in the field.

Well well well, so much has happened in the past week that I barely have any time at all. They had us send letters last Tuesday but that was no help since they won't even get there for a while. So sad to here that Romney lost. My heart sank when I saw a picture of Obama smiling with a cellphone to his ear at one of the newstands. Anyway, everything is going well for me. I´m very happy here.

I've been assigned to the Canete zone of my mission. More specifically, I'm serving with my new companion Elder Tohara in a little town called Mala. I love the people here. There's a big big problem with less actives in this town, but those who do attend are very faithful and a great example to me. The hardest part is that, apart from a place like Utah, members here just don't have the same kind of influence, support, and resources that I'm used to. These people pass through many trials and many of the parents have to work on Sundays to provide for their families. That's our biggest obstacle, church attendance.

On the bright side, we are having great success. Elder Tohara and I have baptisms lined up for every Saturday over the next couple months. Pretty amazing! One sister investigator, Hermana Cruz, lives about 20 minutes north by bus near a cattle ranch. A member, Sister Prissy, lives close by and accompanies us to our visits. Sister Prissy is a single mother with several children, and I have never seen such incredible strength and faith.  She is a HUGE part of the branch and gives us references all the time.  Hermana Cruz is an older women and has her baptism set for the 1st of December.  She's also very humble and an incredible woman.

In general, the people here are very very very poor. It's almost unimaginable sometimes. But my Quito trip prepared me well for what I would see. Our chapel is pretty makeshift, but the cool thing is that the church is building a new one for the Mala people by next summer around June. I'm hoping that will really help attract more people to the church.

I also love my companion Elder Tohara. He is such a good example to me and the trainging with him is going very well.  He has about 6 months left and has remained so faithful.  He's from Bolivia and speaks really good Spanish. He was impressed with how well I can speak coming fresh fromt the CCM.

I also had my first baptism last Saturday.  Hermana Blanca is about 13 years old. The rest of her family are members, so hopefully they can find strength in being a complete family within the gospel.

Love you all!