Hello errybody!

Where to start this week... We went to the visitor's center with Nereyda, a recent convert, her husband Octavio, an investigator, and their 5 year old daughter, Ashley, who's a mega fashionista, haha. It was really good! We talked a lot about eternal families and eternal marriage, which was really exciting! We had another lesson with them a few days later because Octavio had this whole week off of work, and he committed to baptism! His only struggle is the Word of Wisdom. But his date is the 16th of November! This is actually the 3rd time he's had a baptismal date, but the other day at our ward halloween party, he was talking to one of our Elders and confirmed the date and was discussing baptism and everything. So hopefully it'll all work out!

Speaking of our Trunk or Treat party! Mom sent me a mega-package full of cupcake decorations and cake mixes, and we went crazy! They were a huge hit! Everybody loves the missionaries now, thanks mom!

Okay, other people we've taught: Byron and Yarli, cousins from Guatemala that just moved into our area. Byron is super friendly and Yarli is a bit shy, but they are both looking for a church since they are new to the area, and they're really interested in our message. Byron really just wants to follow the path of Christ but never has been exactly sure how to do it. We had a second lesson with them on Saturday, and Byron committed to baptism, also for the 16th! It's so impressive to me to watch people as they open up to the message we have to share and see the changes they make to follow the example of Christ and be baptized. When people really feel the Spirit, they are willing to change anything. It's always such a good example to me!

We've also been teaching a 14 year old boy named Roberto. His dad and stepmom are both active at church, so he's been attending a lot with them. He's just come from Mexico and is going to high school and learning english at the same time. And he's a great student! That's so impressive to me. Anyways, we've been teaching him for a long time and we even had a baptismal date with him a few weeks back, but he's just been waiting for a special feeling to confirm what he's been learning, even though we're pretty sure he knows it's all true. The only hard thing is that he hasn't been very diligent with scripture study or prayer! We've been trying to help him understand that it's very possible to have that special experience that he's been looking for, but that he has to do his part. It has been tough the past couple weeks to try and find a nice way to say it, so finally we were just kinda tough on him and told him that he has to put in his effort. The Lord is always waiting to bless us! We just need to take that first step and show our willingness. So we taught him that, and we got through to him! He was kinda silent, but in the end he just said, "You guys are right. I haven't been doing my part." So he's gonna work harder now on prayer and scripture study, and he also committed to a baptismal date on the 16th of November!

We also have one more man who's ready to be baptized, Silvestre. We were walking into Gospel Principles class last sunday, and one of the elders in our ward pointed out an older guy sitting in the back that he hadn't seen at church in 4 months, but that he lived in our area. So Hna Arevalo and I went up to him and chatted a bit, and he invited us over this week! So we went by, and basically he's a member that hasn't been baptized yet, haha. The only problem was that he had a girlfriend that he was living with several months ago, but she's gone now, and he's started coming back to church after a few months of realizing that he was really missing it. So he's the fourth person we have for the baptism on the 16th of November! Bottom line, we've had some great miracles in finding and helping people commit to baptism. What a great week!

Everyone remember to do your part! Heavenly Father is waiting to bless you! Show him your willingness by being obedient and humbling yourself through prayer. It's hard but definitely worth it!

I love you all!
Hna Watkins