8 Months?

This past week was really great. Last Monday we got a call from the zone leaders telling us that we are now going to be contacting 20 people every day. Well, we didn't make it quite to the 20 each day, but we did our best and found quite a bit of success as we found 10 new investigators. Overall, it helped us focus a lot more on our purpose, and it was a really fun week. 

The big news this week was that Carlos Alberto Escobar was baptized on Saturday. He asked me to baptize him, and it was an honor. It's miraculous to see how much of a difference the gospel of Jesus Christ has made in his life, and I know this gospel is true. God the Father lives. Jesus is His Son, our Brother, and our Savior. I have prayed more times in these past 2 months than any other time in my life so that Saturday could come. It was really cold on Saturday, and when we filled up the baptismal font we realized that there wasn't any hot water in the church... Beto and I froze. It was honestly colder than any other water I've been in. However, after the ordinance when he was submerged in the water and left, we were both warm in the water, it was quite the experience. He then hugged me and thanked me for everything I've done, and I thank the Lord for all He has done for Beto, because I know that we really just have been instruments in His hands. Beto brought 12 family members to the service, it was a pretty awesome sight. He also brought his own refreshments... which was good because the members only brought one small cake. He brought 12 liters of soda, and a whole bunch of cookies, alfajores, and pastries. Then all the members left and his family stayed to clean up. It was quite the day. His family also calls me Batman and my companion Robin, so that's cool. When he came to church yesterday he was in slacks, a white shirt, and a tie. It was quite the sight. He was confirmed a member of the church and I am so happy. I imagine that the happiness I feel is only a fragment of the joy that our Father in Heaven feels, along with Beto's deceased father. 

Yesterday was a really good day as we brought 5 investigators to church, and had 8 less-active members show up that we have been teaching. It made me really happy to have the chapel quite a bit more full with 59 people in attendance. 

Today I realized that I completed 8 months in the mission. It is honestly incredible how fast time flies. I know the church is true. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. Thomas Spencer Monson is a prophet of God. We are always only a prayer away from God. I love you all.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett