Mother Nature is a cruel woman.

So, remember how happy I was about the sun last week? Turns out it was just a trick and the cold and ``rain`` (wet air) came back with a vengeance. Today is the first day of spring, but outside it is super cold, and wet and humid. It’s the kind of cold that enters the bones and your whole body hurts. But....oh well. What can we do? The good thing is that the weather didn't affect the great week we had :)

So today is transfers, and there is like...a 99.9999 percent chance that I will be transferred, or my companion. Que triste. I have absolutely LOVED my time with Hna Torrico here in bello horizonte but I know that whatever the Lord has planned for me will be where I need to be.

So this weekend was the baptism of J! and the Elders in our ward also baptized a mom and her daughter. So we had the baptism together. It was probably one of the best baptisms I've been in in my mission. One of the other wards in our stake also had a baptism that night, and 8 were baptized! and...the baptism was at the same time as ours. Bad building planning, but...oh well. So we combined with them as well! There wasn't enough room for everybody in the room with the font so we started upstairs in the chapel, and then our ward went down first. Everything turned out really well and J. bore a really beautiful testimony. I. and her daughter as well. J. told the story about how we had found him, that he had been feeling lost spiritually and prayed that God would lead him to the path that he should be on, and to find the church that he should join permanently, and then 2 days later we contacted him in the street :) I. shared something similar, that her daughter always saw the elders pass by and she told her mom that she wanted them to teach her about Jesus. Her mom told her that if she prayed and had faith, then they would stop by one day to teach them. And...then the Elders came up and contacted them :) The spirit that was felt in that room was really beautiful. 

Earlier that day we also had another really beautiful experience. We went and visited la Familia L., (P.) and we talked to him, his sister and his grandparents. His grandparents aren't sealed in the temple yet either and so they are another family that we have been working with to get them to the temple. We had a really good lesson (we watched the Mormon message video about the temple in El Salvador and the brother and sister were the only ones active in their family, but they were able to be an example, and brought their mom and dad to the open house and they regained the perspective and are now active and preparing to go to the temple.) So we watched that and talked to P. and his sister A., about how they are just like the brother and sister we saw in the video, that they can be the examples their family needs to make it to the temple. Their grandma thanked us and told us that for 13 years tons of missionaries have passed through their house, but that we are the first set of missionaries that have motivated them to be sealed and to go to the temple. The most beautiful feeling came over me when she said that. I almost started to cry right then and there :P It just felt good to know that what we are doing is making a difference. They have a goal to be sealed before the end of the year :)

This week we found two new amazing investigators! A mom and her daughter. She told us that most of her life she has ignored the things of God, or hasn't given much interest to them, but a month or so ago her nephew was diagnosed with a brain tumor and it completely changed her perspective. She wants to make things right with God, and she has a hunger to learn more. Her sister is a member, and lives in Utah, and so she had heard about the church before. Also, one of the girls that works in her daycare is a member, and so she asked her if someone could come by from the Mormon church to teach her. That’s where we came in :) We had two super awesome lessons with her and her daughter this week, and she alone started to read the Book of Mormon. She has lots of questions, but she has a strong desire to know for herself. They both came to church yesterday and had a great experience :) E. came to church again as well! We had 5 investigators come yesterday. What a great day :) 

I think I have struggled, but learned the most, in this area, then in any of my others. It has been so hard, but SO good at the same time. I feel like it is here where I have grown the most, and matured the most ;) (hopefully) I can`t believe how fast the time has flown by. I am just grateful to my Heavenly Father for all of it. 

Well, it’s almost time to go. Here are some pictures from the baptism and other adventures this week. :)

Love ya`ll. Hasta luego!

Hermana Shelton

Pictures:

Peru: Where the chickens come to die. (not a joke. The one thing you can count on here is that each meal you will eat rice, and chicken.)

Sorry if the picture grosses you out a little bit. I`m used to it. :) My companion was like, ``Hey my companion is from the states and wants to take a picture with your chickens to send to her family`` and the lady was like, ``yeah! sure come on back!`` They thought it was really funny :)

Baptism!!