197 days to go....

¡hola familia!
> elder guillen, my new companion, is awesome. i really enjoy being
> with him and i love how responsible he is. he has a lot of fun
> working too and that makes a huge difference. my last companion would
> get mad at the members, but elder guillen is very positive and he
> brings a new spirit to cinco saltos. i´m excited to be working with
> him here.
> i´m happy kingston enjoyed his birthday on saturday! i can´t see the
> videos because this computer doesn´t have a program to watch... so all
> of the videos you sent don´t work. i saw the pictures though. on
> saturday, we were able to baptize melani! it was the first time that
> i have baptized anyone and it was a very special experience for me.
> melani was so happy and excited and it was a privilege for me to be a
> part of the ordinance. we took some good pictures and i am going to
> print some to give to her so she can always remember that day. she
> almost didn´t make it because she couldn´t get out of work, but we
> made it through and she was able to make it on time. on sunday, i was
> asked to confirm sofia a member of the church, the girl that baptized
> before the conference, and the first councilor, pablo, confirmed
> melani. that was the first time that i have confirmed somebody as
> well. an awesome weekend.
> my district has changed a lot this week. the hermanas in my district are doing awesome. hermana velez is working very well with hermana rosas, from buenos aires, and she came from neuquen and she was able to achieve the standard in her
> other area. i know we can learn a lot from her these next few weeks.
> i´m not worried about them too much, but on friday, i talked with my
> district and we set the goal of having 9 baptisms this month as a
> district. we already have one! the elders don´t have any fechas for
> baptism, but the hermanas have 4 really good ones. this week, it
> doesn´t look like we will have a baptism because brenda and daniel
> didn´t go to church, but franco and dolores are preparing for the 21
> and noemi is preparing for the 28. my companion, elder guillen is
> really excited to work and we get a lot done together. we will see a
> lot more miracles this month.
> presidente peterson wants us to meet with the ward mission leader and
> make goals for the trimestre, and we already have done that. we have
> the goal of baptizing 15 people in the next 3 months here in cinco
> saltos, and reactivating 8 families. we have the list of people that
> we are going to focus on and we are working with the members to help
> them come back. elder guillen and i are going to focus more on
> finding the less active members with the priesthood and help them come
> back to church. we really need them... and it just happens to be that
> they now have kids that need to be baptized, and they have lots of
> friends that want to hear about the gospel :). this week, we had 38
> people in church, 3 of them were our investigators. franco, herminia,
> and noemi. you have no idea how happy i am for them and we are so
> excited about what we are doing!
> i got my easter package today!! i really enjoyed it and my companion
> is excited to try some of my favorite easter candies. thank you for
> sending them!
> it´s starting to get a little colder now. the leaves are falling and
> i´m starting to use my long sleeved shirts again. i´m thinking that i
> probably won´t be using my short sleeved shirts again for a while...
> but that´s ok because i prefer working in the cold :).
> my scripture for this week is josué 1:9- mira que te mando que te
> esfuerces y seas valiente; no temes ni desmayes, porque Jehová tu Dios
> estará contigo dondequiera que vayas. that´s by memory. it´s a great
> scripture that helped me this week. i´m studying the book of joshua
> right now and i don´t know how many times God tells joshua to
> esforzarse and be valient. i don´t know what it says in english but
> this scripture did a lot for me this week.
> i know that i am where i need to be and i´m doing what i need to do.
> it is an honor for me to be a part of this work and i don´t want it to
> end. i love my Savior and i´m so happy to be here.
> i´m looking forward to another great week in cinco saltos and i´m
> hoping you guys enjoy this next week as well. i want pictures!
> remember that videos don´t work for me. pictures do.
> i love you guys!
> con mucho amor y ánimo,
> elder summers