I love reading your weekly emails that you always send! They are always so great and fun to read! I cant believe you were able to read the ward list here in La Paz.....the world is SO small. Also.....just to double check, is there money on my debit card? For emergencies or anything....just to make sure? I tried to take some out today just to have a safety stash because it hit me that that would be a good idea....but the ATM wouldnt let me.
Truthfully this week was long. There were also lots of bright spots in the week though too. Best of all was that we had district conference....so the branches of la paz, las termas, santa elena, and feliciano all came here to meet. President and Hermana Giuliani came for the meeting....and it was soo good to see and hear from them! We hardly ever get to see them and it was so fun to have them here. (That is how I was able to get mail in the middle of the month because they brought it up with them in the back of their car).
Most disappointing of all is that Marisa came back from Neuquen.......unmarried. She went all the way down there, a 30 hour drive one way, and wasnt able to get married. We had a lesson with her on Wednesday. (Actually we were on exchanges with the Hermanas from Parana so I felt a lot of pressure for this lesson since it was the first time since we had seen her and Hermana Sainsbury wasnt there) and we also brought Hermana Obertello with us to be there as moral member support. It was an interesting lesson to say the least. We walked in and she is normally always so happy and inviting, but this time she wasnt so I could tell somehting was up. We get to talking to her and find out that when they went to Neuqen.....her "husband" didnt even have to get divorced. This whole time they had been telling us that "they need to go to Neuquen so he can get divorced and then they can get married." He has been divorced this whole time, and just needs to go to some governement office in Neuquen to pick up the paperwork. And he didnt do it. Marisa told us that he got very bitter all of the sudden about her decision to get baptized and is now saying that if she only wants to get married so that she can get baptized....then he doesnt want to get married. Its soooo sad.....and she is so hurt. She wants to get married and she is offended that he wont marry her, even just to support her in her decision to be baptized. I wish I could just go down to the office and pick up the paperowrk myself. The thing is though, even though we are on the southern end of the equator....we arent at the edge of teh planet. We are living in the 21st century where fax machines exist. We are going to try and see waht we can do. We have to come up with a plan fast though, becuase she has been waiting so long to be baptized and she needs to be living the law of chastity. She has family who live down there who can mail things.....but I dont know. We are going to visit her again this week and help her come up wiht a plan. Its just sad that all the waiting to be baptized hasnt even paid off yet.....because she is still waiting. The other thing that is frustrating is that Marisa has learned about plural marriage and how it used to exist, and it has been quite the testimony shaker for her. We are working it through it with her....but man she has been a difficult investigator to help get to baptism. And all of our other investigators arent really progessing either. We are dropping a lot of them lately and looking and contacting ALL THE TIME. We are trying to find teh Lord´s prepared people.....and help those who are ready to progess. The thing is that people´s agency to choose the natural man over their spirutual desires is hindering thier ability to progess. This transfer has been kind of hard in that that way.....in that we are working hard and we have good numbers to prove to teh Lord we are working, but we are seeing so little success. We follow teh spirit, are obedient, and tyring to be grateful for the blessings we have......but the Lord is really putting us through a refiners fire right now. The prepared people are just very well hidden right now......but we will find them! Its just going painstakingly slow right now.
Other than slow progession here.....all else is well! We were able to organize and help the branch president here hold his first ward council meeting...so thats progress. And a less active that hasnt come in 2 years showed up to church.
Its starting to cool off and I have never been more exicted for the autumn and winter seasons. Its going to be sweet!
I love you all lots and have a testimony of this work! I know the church is true!
I love you more than all the ping pong games we plan on P Day!
Hermana Withers
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