But, hands down, the best part of Valentine´s Day is when Antonio José and José Antonio passed their baptismal interviews and got even more set with the 22nd as their baptismal date. :) Yes!!! We are really going to do it! We are going to have six baptisms in the month of February, the same amount that our ward had alllll last year. And I know it really wasn't things that we did, but rather the Lord allowing us to act as instruments in His hands. Faith really does proceed miracles, and this really is a miracle. And instead of just putting goals for the month based on the people that we had at the time, we really prayed to find out how many people the Lord had prepared for us, and put the number, with faith that the people we had would work out, and that we would find even more people as the month went on. And, of the 3 people that have baptismal dates at the beginning of the month, only 2 of them are of the 6 that will be baptized by the time that February is over. Its such a testimony to me that if we allow room for faith, that the Lord will allow us to perform miracles.
So, tonight at 5, Sayuri and Vanesa will be baptized! Sayuri is 12, and Vanesa 14. Hmm... can you think of two girls that I love that are just around those ages as well? Yep- I will be thinking about you a lot today Rachel and Abby!! Its been awesome, the week before this one, Elena was baptized, and shes almost 17, and then one of my first baptisms, was Leidy who has 10 years. And then Jesus and Daniel, who are 22. And Anotonio, who is 43. Haha, does anyone see a pattern here? I'm baptizing the Peruvian versions of my family!!! I'm just short of a 40 year old woman to match up with mom. (Don't worry, Ill find her.) But it really is a special experience, to be able to relate these people with you all. It makes me love them even more, like they really are my own family. I'm so excited for these two young women to take this amazing step in their lives, and be the first in their families to make covenants with their Heavenly Father. I know that with time, the families will follow. They will!
Andy likes to throw water on us a lot now, because one time we had a water fight. And now, since we have to go down these stairs and through the garage to go out the front door, and they have a balcony up top, when we leave, he runs and grabs his water gun and waits for us to walk out and then shoots us. Its so cute. I love that little kid so much. I know for sure that I'm getting a transfer, and I think we are all just trying not to think about it too much until it happens. I don't want to think about saying goodbye to Hermana Pug and getting used to a new companion all over again either. But, its been kind of good to know beforehand that I'm going, I get to tie up all my loose ends, get all the contact information from my converts, and I get to tell the members to keep going with this incredible progress. And I get to pack all during the week, and attempt to get rid of stuff from my way too heavy suitcases. Change is hard, but its good. I'm going to print off pictures today, so I can give them away during the week. Ive been here for so long that I have a lot of pictures with the members, and I thought that would be a good recuerdo. :)
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| Andy and Camilla playing a pan flute |
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| My Pensionista & I |
I got to have an interview with President yesterday, because our Zone didn't get them awhile back, and also because this is probably going to be my last week in the office. It was so great, I got to tell him about all the progress Ive seen in the ward and in myself over the past 8 months. He is a really big advocate of self confidence, and because he believes in all of us so much, I feel that our mission has gained so much more confidence. In ourselves and in other missionaries, and in the members. When I shared with him how our ward was changed, he was so genuinely happy for me, and when I shared with him how much I had changed, he was literally overjoyed. That's what is really important to him. The baptisms and the rescues, and the success of the mission all have their place. but the ultimate concern for him is personal conversion of his missionaries. And, if a missionary is acting against the rules and standards, he doesn't just dismiss them as bad people, he sits down with them and finds out what is making them act that way. He says that a lack of self confidence if most often the biggest culprit. He said to help his children learn this attribute, he would go up behind them when they were getting ready in the morning and say "Whew! I cant WAIT for tomorrow!" and then his children would ask "Why is that Dad?" and he would say "Because I get better looking every day!" Hahaha, kind of silly, but I love it. I love my mission president so much, and have learned an incredible amount of things from him and his wife. They both lead so well, because they lead with love.
Uhm... well, this is turning into a whopper of an email, I think in part because you're still all sleeping and not emailing me.
Oh yeah- I sent a bunch of pictures of Volleyball. That was last PDay. Our ward wanted us to play so bad, because they wanted to win the stake tournament, so we helped them out. It was so much fun to play with them. It was kind of a big deal to a lot of the sisters, and sometimes things got a little heated, but I was there to diffuse the tension and shout "No entiendo NADA!" Or "I don't understand ANYTHING!"
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| We won the tournament.... and now I'm 100% positive that they will make a rule that says that missionaries cant play. Oh well, fun while it lasted. :) They gave me my jersey afterwards too! |
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| I never thought I'd be playing volleyball for Relief Society in Peru. |
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| Do I look sun burnt? Because I am. |
Okay, I think Ill send this off now, because you all woke up and are emailing me now.
I love you all so much, and think about you lots. But not too much. The appropriate amount. :) Hope you all have a great week!!
Loves,
Hermana Leavitt
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| A bull staring down a car in my area |
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