Strong Leaders!

October 18, 2010

Last Monday we played soccer at a High School in Ciudad Neily. I thought it was going to be a normal mejenga, but we actually played in the colegio gym, against some players from the team, who were supposedly national champions. We played during the lunch break, so a lot the colegio kids came to watch the game, and we lost so it was embarrassing. In a couple weeks well play again, but ill be more prepared to play.

On Tuesday we traveled the 3 hours to Puerto Jimenez, where we ate Lunch at Presidente Conejos house. He has been all over the world on a boat, and his wife cooked a delicious meal. After we visited many references and menos activos with Pte. Conejo, but nothing very promising, just people that don’t want to sacrifice and do their part. At night some Cuban guy gave us turtle eggs and we cooked them and ate them in Martins Zapateria, where Hno Jose lives. Then we went to Ronald and Lilibeths house. Ronald and Lilibeth people that Elder Manning and Elder Faust found a few months ago. They are waiting on divorce papers so they can get married and baptized. It looks like they will be baptized in this month or the next. It would be such a blessing to baptize them because they are awesome people, and we would baptize them in the ocean. Other than them we don’t have much to do in Puerto Jimenez, so we are probably going to go less. We want to help the group there, but they are pretty strong on their own, the distance makes it really hard, and our main area is Rio Claro who seems to need us more.

The next morning at 5am we took the bus back to Rio Claro, and ate breakfast at Krissia, Julian and Kylie's (our cocinera). That night we visited Pte. Cruz and his wife at they’re house, and talked about the needs of the branch and made plans on how to strengthen the Rama. Pte. and his wife, are awesome and make so many sacrifices for the branch. Its sad to see how so many of the members are so ungrateful, and just complain about Pte. when he is doing so much for them.

On Thursday we started divisions with Golfito, and I stayed in Rio Claro with Elder Fottheringham. On Friday we ended divisions with Golfito and started divisions with Ciudad Neily. I went to Ciudad Neily with Elder Amador.

My comp and I want the Zona Sur to get better. Our zone consists of the areas of:

1. Golfito: Elder Fotteringham (Utah) training Elder Oseguera (Honduras)
2. Ciudad Neily: Elder Perez (my ex-comp, Honduras) and Elder Amador (the one who took my place in Heredia (Honduras)
3. San Vito: Elder Marroquin (El Salvador) and Elder Thomas (Utah)
4. Perez Zeledon: Elder Lopez-Carrasco (Washington State) and Elder Clark (California)
5. San Isidro: Hermana Hadley training Hermana Orellana
6. And our Areas RIo Claro and Puerto Jimenez.

Our baptismal goal for the month is 11, but we hope to pass it. It’s hard to help the zone as much as we would like because some of the areas are so far apart. Zona Sur hasn’t had much success lately, but we are going to do all we can so that the zone progresses.

My comp and I really want to help the area and Rama of RIo Claro be strengthened. We have been working very hard with President Cruz so that this happens. Last weekend we started many things we are going to do weekly, from now on. We are holding English and Guitar classes every Saturday morning at 10:00 am. On Saturday the 16th, we had the first classes. No one showed up to English classes, which was pretty surprising. Two people showed up to guitar classes, they are both members, Nelson and Sabrina. I was kind of glad that no one showed up to English, because my comp and I just taught Sabrina and Nelson some guitar basics, and the guitar is more fun than English.*Ü* We were at the church building the whole day, because after Guitar classes, we had to keep the church open for mutual. Then we prepared for a rama (branch) activity we had.

We are planning to have a lot of rama and district activities, so there can be more unity and animo (enthusiasm) in the branch. On Saturday night we had "Noche de Peliculas" (“Movie Night”). About 30 members showed up, which is good assistance for the activities here. We watched "The Other Side of Heaven", and it was sweet because there is a large projector here in the Rio Claro capilla (church building), for when there are General Conferences, and they are letting us use it as well for the Movie Nights we have. We provided soda and popcorn for everyone during the movie. The person who we asked to bring the bags to distribute the popcorn, didn’t show up, so we had to make our own containers. We made cone shaped containers out of paper towels from the bathroom, and it actually worked very well. It was a great activity and we are planning on doing more. We have a Talent Night planned for next week, for the whole district.

On Sunday morning we also started something that we plan to every Sunday morning for a while. The assistance in Rio Claro has been very low lately, about 20- 30 people in Sacrament and at the end of church only about 10 are left. The branch is very inconsistent. So on Sunday Morning I went on divisions with Pte. Cruz (president) in his car, and Elder Galarza went on divisions with the 1st counselor Hno. Marin (Brother Martin) in his car. We went to as many members’ houses as we could to wake up, invite, and animate them to go to church. Since we split up, and we have two cars, we were able to visit almost all the members, and if not we called them on the phone. When Sacrament started we could already see the fruits of our efforts, because the majority of the members we visited, came to church. We had an assistance of 51 members at church, which is really good for this branch. We are definitely going to keep implementing our "Wake members up so they go to Church" plan for at least a few weeks to see what happens.

It was awesome that so many people came to church because I had prepared a talk for that day. I gave a 20-minute talk about Enduring to the End. I used Lehi’s dream and his plead to his rebellious sons about being like a river and a valley, and being firm and constant.

I think my talk had an affect, because I chopped heads a little bit, but tried to help them understand the importance, of doing all they could to “Perseverar hasta el Fin” . One thing I mentioned was that "Enduring to the end" means, no excuses. Enduring to the end means, going to church every Sunday no matter what happens. It means staying at church for the 3 hours. Etc. It was funny, because usually many of the members leave after sacrament meeting, but that Sunday everyone stayed the 3 hours.

Church was also awesome because we had two investigators at church, Stephanie and Timoteo. They are both set to be baptized on the 30th of this month. We had a great lesson with them and Yassini about the Plan of Salvation.

In the 3rd hour my comp gave the Elders Quorum class, and I gave the Young Men’s class. There were more YM than usual so I tried to aprovechar (take advantage). In the class I tried to help the young men understand that they are so important for the branch, and why it is so important that they meet there responsibilities, and try to learn and progress in this life.

It’s a really interesting experience being in this branch in Rio Claro. My comp and I basically have to do everything at church. Give talks, bless sacrament, count and deposit tithing, plan activities, clean and close church, prepare church for reunions, teach classes (its always a surprise which class well have to teach), and we are basically acting as Pte. Cruz's counselors.

Pte. Cruz is really great. He sacrifices so much, and even though he doesn't have much money, is always exhausted and overworked, and has his family to take care of; he is always so willing and determined to help us and this branch. He is really grateful that we are there to help him as well, and we are all good friends.

Enduring to the End (Spanish)

Temple Trip, it was worth it

October 11, 2010

San Jose, Costa Rica Temple

This week we had a lot of work to do. We had to prepare for a temple trip that the Rio Claro District (group of branches) would make on Friday till Saturday. Our p'day this last week was changed from Monday to Saturday, because we were going to be at the Temple on Saturday. On Monday we taught our investigator named Sharon and tried to find new investigators. Basically our investigators right now are only Sharon, Jennifer, Gina, and Mauricio. Then we had a long reunion with President Cruz about the Rama. Although not officially, we are basically Presidente Cruz's counselors, because he doesn't have anyone else. We have had to help him a lot, because he has been here for 5 months, and hasn’t had a stable job in all that time. Even through all that and problems with his wife, he is always trying to help the branch here fortalecerse (strengthen it) and grow. There are very few active priesthood holders, and the few that there are have either there rights suspended, or are just lazy. There are a lot of these problems, but President Cruz, Elder Galarza, and I, really want to help this branch and are going to do everything we can to strengthen it.

On Tuesday I went to Golfito for divisions with Elder Fottheringham, our District Leader. I met some of the people they are going to baptize this month, and that area is looking good. On Wednesday I returned to Rio Claro, and my comp and I visited some inactive members, and we committed them to coming to church on Sunday. A few of them actually did, like Hernan Medrano. We also visited Jennifer. We were going to drop her, but instead we just talked very clearly with her about why she needed to do her part so she could be baptized. We put a baptismal goal with her for the 23 of October. We'll see if she progresses and does her part to meet that goal, because she seems dispuesta, but she’s been known to disappoint.

On Thursday we went to Cuidad Neilly to do a baptismal interview for a joven named Angelo. He has been wanting to be baptized for a long time now but his parents didn’t let him because they thought he was just doing it for the missionaries. Angelo shared scriptures with them, and even cried, he showed them that he really wanted to be baptized for the right reasons, and they agreed to let him do it. My companion interviewed him and then we had his baptism and confirmation without delay. He was really happy to finally be baptized. That night we returned to Rio Claro and taught Gina, and put a baptismal meta with her for the 23rd of October as well.

On Friday we taught Sharon again, as well as some less active members. We also visited some of the members who were going to go to the Temple for the first time that night, and taught them a little about what we were going to do. The whole Rio Claro District (group of branches in the zona sur), which consists of the branches of Rio Claro, Ciudad Neilly, San Vito, Golfito, and the Group at Puerto Jimenez; met at the Rio Claro church building at 10:00 pm that night. Then we all boarded a bus that we rented, and made our way to the Temple, which was 7 hours away. Usually the missionaries can't go to the temple with their wards, but if they are in branches they can, so it was pretty sweet.

Saturday (October 9th) we arrived at the Temple in the morning, after a 6-hour bus ride with the Rio Claro District. The ride was long but I enjoyed it. There were loads of young men and young women going to the temple for their first time because Ciudad Neilly has baptized loads of Jovenes (youth) these past few months. Because there were so many jovenes it was kind of a loud bus ride, and many people who were trying to sleep were kind of annoyed. In the end though, it was a fun ride.

When we arrived at the Temple at 4:00 am, the guard let us in the gates. Everyone sat outside the Temple, some talking and some sleeping. There was a line of people waiting to use the guards little bathroom. At about 5:00 am, the Temple President arrived and opened the Temple for us so we could begin the Obra Vicaria (Temple Work). President Galvez (Mission President) came as well, and he renewed my temple recommend. Then we started doing baptisms and confirmations for the dead. We did this as a district nonstop from about 6:00 am til about 1:00 pm. For this 7-hour period, there was always someone in the baptismal font, doing baptisms for the dead, and there were also four different confirmations taking place at the same time. Also during that time, while some were doing baptisms and confirmations, others who were investidos, (had their endowments) were doing sessions. I did many confirmations, I was a witness of the baptisms for a very long time, and I even got a session in. With the about 50 people that came from the district, we were able to do 2,600 ordinances, and although it was very exhausting, it was 'well' worth it. WOW!

At the Temple I saw some people from Heredia. Hna. Flores (Bishop Flores wife) works there so we saw her. Hna Adilia and Gendry were also there and they actually brought Elder Perez and me cake, which I finished eating this morning for breakfast. When we went outside of the Temple we also saw Hna Jessica and Genesis. Hna Patricia was inside the Temple, and I never saw her, but outside I saw Arellys, Ceciline, and Aaron. It was good to see all of them again. On the bus ride home, you could tell everyone was exhausted. The jovenes although exhausted (because they had each been baptized like 30 times, then they changed clothes, then found out they were going to do more baptisms, so they changed back, and were each baptized another 40 times) they still managed to have enough energy to not stop talking the whole ride back. I tried to sleep, but Yassini (who I met in Cariari) and her friend Heredia, wouldn’t stop talking to me so I really couldn’t sleep. Everyone, including me, also started singing hymns on the way back. We also ate garbage. *Ü* We arrived in Rio Claro at about 8:00 pm, and ate dinner at Hna Gonzalez and Yassini's house. Then we finally arrived at the house. The Temple trip was a very special experience, and we are planning another trip for December.

The next day Sunday (10-10-10), we went to church. A friend of Yassini showed up to church, and since she was the only investigator there, we only taught her with Yassini, in the investigator class. She has been to church once before, and she said she loved it. She basically told us she wanted to be baptized, so before teaching anything at all, I asked her if she would follow the example of Jesus Christ and prepare to be baptized on the 30 of October. She agreed to be baptized on that day. My companion had left the room for two seconds to get some chalk, so he was a little surprised that when he got back, Stephanie already had a baptismal goal when we hadn’t even taught her anything yet. After that, we taught her about the Restoration and we are going to continue to teach her and prepare her for the 30th.

Elder Tobler

I got to know a little bit about each area and about the zone

October 4, 2010

This week I got to know my area a little better. We actually have two areas. Rio Claro is our official area, but we also work in Puerto Jimenez, two days out of the week. Here in Rio Claro there is a branch. Puerto Jimenez is a Group. Here in Rio Claro there is a nice church building, with air conditioning to meet in. The branch president is Presidente Cruz. And guess what. He is the same Cruz, that was bishop of the ward in my first area, Moravia. It's pretty crazy that I might finish the mission, with the same ward/branch leader as I started the mission. Also in this branch is the brother and son of the family Marin in Tres Rios, as well as Yesenia and her family, who are related to Xinia and Saylen from Cariari. I actually met Yesenia in Cariari about a year ago. It was crazy seeing these people again. The president of the group in Puerto Jimenez is Presidente Conejo. The church meetings in Puerto Jimenez are in our new house there. So we have two areas, two houses, etc. and its pretty sweet. The problem is that these two areas are 3 1/2 hours apart by bus. We would be able to go in between each area in 40 minutes if we could take a boat, but since we can't do that as missionaries, we have to take the three hour bus ride around the bay or gulf thing that divides the areas, to get to the other side, and to the other area. Its pretty exciting stuff. This week I basically got to know a little bit about each area and about the zone, but there is still more to learn.

This weekend we had bad luck with Conference. We went to Ciudad Neilly (city) (my ex-comp Elder Perez's area) where I did a baptismal interview for Crispiliano (Who technically lives in Panama, but I guess the closest church is here). We were planning on watching Conference on the computer in the secretaries office, but no matter what we did, there was no signal, and the Internet didn't work. That night we returned to Rio Claro, and we watched the Sacerdocio (Priesthood) Session, which was amazing. Yesterday morning we went to find someone to take to the conference, and it looked like we didn't have any one to take, because right now we have basically no investigators, but we were able to invite a woman named Gina, who my comp had taught once before, and she came to conference. We watched the whole Sunday morning session without problems, but we missed most of the afternoon session, because it started to rain really hard and the signal wasn't getting through. Although I missed most of conference, what we saw was really special, and made me meditate a lot about the future.

Elder Tobler

I Had a good b'day! *Ü*

September 30, 2010

I had changes yesterday. I am now in Rio Claro in the Zona Sur. I am zone leader. My companion is Elder Galarza from Mexico City, Mexico. Elder Centeno, my old Zl, is the new Ap, and Elder Dwiggins, who is from AZ and goes home with me, is the new Zl in La Paz. My ex-companion Elder Chavez took my place as District leader in Cartago and is with Elder Montoya now. Although we were all sure that Hermana (Sister Missionary) Flores was going to have changes, instead Hermana Vallecillo had changes, and they sent her to San Carlos, way up north, near Nicaragua. Hermana Flores stays in Cartago at least one more change, which would give her 7 1/2 months in Cartago. Some think she is following the footsteps of her trainer Hermana Roundy, who only had two 9 month areas in her mission. I feel bad for Hermana Flores because she was ready for a change. Her new comp is Hermana Hunsaker. Elder Orton in Turrialba had changes, but Elders Castro, Urbina, and Palmer all stayed in their areas. Yesterday was our p'day this week because it was changes. We left San Jose at about 6 pm and got here to Rio Claro at about 1 AM this morning. Yeah, it took about 7 hours in bus to get here. I’m really excited to be in the Zona Sur. It is a pretty jungly place, and some areas in the zone are on the beach.

In the end the district only got 9 baptisms this month, two short of the 11 or more we had planned. We saved one at the end, but then lost one so, there was nothing we could do. 9 is still pretty good for the district of Cartago, and I think they are going to continue to progress.

FOR FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, WE HAVE BAPTIZED MORE THAN 1000 PEOPLE IN COSTA RICA IN A YEAR! and we aren't even done with the year yet. The mission is getting more missionaries and opening more areas, because of the progress it’s made. Its crazy because when I first got to the mission baptizing 1000 in a year was the long shot goal, but now we passed 1000 and still have time for more. The Lord is really blessing Costa Rica. *Ü*

I’m excited about my new area, but am really sad to have had to leave Cartago, and the district as well. Last week we helped some members move. My comp and I were the only ones that showed up so we had to move everything. My comp hurt his back. Last week we also went to the museum in Cartago, and we got to see pictures of the famous 1910 earthquake that destroyed the whole city of Cartago, and we didn’t even have to pay a colon. We went on three way divisions with Turrialba and Paraiso as well last week, so I could do the Carolina and Johan baptismal interviews in Turrialba. On Friday the ward had the farewell of Carolina, who is going on her mission to Panama. Bryan and Shirley showed up, and I was able to share my testimony about being a missionary. We ate cookies and had hot chocolate. Carolina is the only member in her family, but she has truly found happiness since she joined the church. She has a great testimony that she is going to share with the people in Panama.

On Saturday, Xinia met me at the Basilica and gave me the package you sent. I also got a package from Grandma and Grandpa. Thank you. We went with the Hermanas and the Elders Quorum President to visit Manuel and Ricardo, but they weren’t there. We went to visit Brun and Jazmin and also a mute guy that asked us to give his mom a blessing. The moment we arrived at the house to give the blessing, a car with Jehovah’s Witnesses pulled up and we were all kinda waiting at the door. We outnumbered them, unlike usual. It was awkward, but we entered the house and gave the blessing, while the testigos waited outside, then we left and my comp and I made our way to Paraiso. I did the baptismal interview for Charity in Paraiso and she was baptized on Sunday morning. We visited other people and had a good time but i'm sad that Manuel and Ricardo couldn’t be baptized this month.

Sunday, was the Primary program in theCartago Ward. It was cool to see because we had helped Daina (the little girl who isn't a member yet, but comes to church by herself) and Arturo (Jessica's son) prepare for their parts in the Program and they did a great job. After Church we had carne asada with Bryan, Shirley and theHermanas (Sister Missionaries). It was really good, and my comp made some great Guacamole, like always. After lunch we all (us, hnas,Bryan, Shirley) went to Hna. Marielos house to watch the Jose Smith: Profeta de la Restauracion movie. Bryan and Shirley loved it. Hna Marielos and theHnas did a really good job hermanando (felloshipping) them. That night my comp and I went toAnghedon and Jazmin. We didn't know about changes yet, but we took pics and said goodbye just in case we had changes.

On Monday at lunch Hna Flor (widow lady in ward) invited us and the Hnas (sisters) over to teach us how to make Tres-Leches. In the end, I don't remember how to make it, but I remember it was really good though. That afternoon, we went to Jessica and Isa, and also to Eladio. We shared a message about Lehi's Vision and Enduring to the end to each of them. Although we stilldidn't know about the changes, we took pictures just in case, and gave them pics of their baptisms. I always give my converts the pictures of their baptisms with a note, scripture references, and my info written on the back. On Monday night they finally told us that I had changes. And that Hna Vallecillo, and Elder Orton had changes as well.

On Tuesday morning I started to pack. I forgot it was my birthday until the Hermanas called me at about 10:00 am and sang "Las Mañanitas" birthday song thing to me. That was really nice of them. I kept forgetting that it was my birthday throughout the whole day, until someone would remind me, and a few minutes later I would forget again.

At about 11am we went to Hna Flor's house to take pics and say goodbye. Then at about 11:30 we went to visit Hna Lijia at her sister’s house. Then we took the bus to Paraiso at about 12:00 pm. We got there at 12:30 pm where we met Elders Urbina and Palmer and went to Ana, Suyen and family's house to say goodbye. It was really cool, because when they found out that I had changes, they told Urbina to tell me that I had to go say goodbye to them, and they aren’t even from my area. So after saying goodbye and taking pics with them, we returned to Cartago. We met the Hermanas at the bus stop of Guadalupe, and we took the bus to Guadalupe. We went to Familia Morales house and said goodbye to Mainor and his family. Then we took the bus back to Cartago. On the bus ride back the Hnas gave me some birthday presents. They gave me a sweet birthday card, a tie, and missionary agenda that were all decorated. Everything was decorated very professionally because Hna Vallecillo has studied advertising or something like that in the University. My comp and I then went to Jessica and Isa's house to say goodbye.
Jessica and Isa had a birthday cake waiting for me, and they through eggs and flour on me (they have that same tradition here as in Colombia). They were really sad that I was leaving. We went to Xinia, Karen, or Familia Araya's house to say goodbye, but unfortunately only Sebastian was home so I never got to say goodbye to the rest of the family. At night we went to Hna Marielos and Carlos house. They had a goodbye party for me and Hermana Vallecillo. They also made me a birthday cake and sang me happy birthday. Had a great birthday. (Thanks for everything)...although it was sad to say goodbye to Cartago.

On Wednesday morning we all crammed into a member driven taxi with our suitcases on our laps, and unable to see anything during the whole ride to Los Yoses for changes.

Elder Tobler

Elder Montoya & Elder Tobler

Anything is possible for our Heavenly Father.

September 20, 2010

Yesterday morning Isa was baptized and confirmed a member of La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Ultimos Dias. She was so happy about being able to enter the waters of Baptism, even though the water was freezing cold. The baptism supposed to start at 7 AM, but it started half an hour late, like always (we know if we say the baptism is at 7:00, everyone will get there at 7:30, so we always announce the baptism times to be half an hour before we really want it to start). We had a simple baptismal service, and I was able to baptize her. Then in Sacrament Meeting Don Julio gave Isa the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

At the beginning of this last week, Isa had decided she would stop smoking whenever she felt like it. On Monday, while she was sitting on the couch smoking a cigarette in front of Don Julio and Jessica, Isa suddenly stopped smoking. She handed the half smoked cigarettes to Don Julio, as well as three packs of cigarettes that she had in her pocket and in her purse. She knelt down and began to cry, saying “No mas, No mas. When Don Julio saw that Isa was praying and pleading for help, he gave her a priesthood blessing. Then Isa, Jessica, and Julio all embraced each other and started to cry together. Since that moment Isa hasn’t touched a cigarette, and on Thursday when we went to visit, she told us that she was going to be baptized on Sunday morning at 7:00. In the lesson we just talked about life after death and about the final Judgment, and we didn’t even mention baptism, but I knew that we wouldn’t have to. I had felt earlier in the week that Isa was going to tell us she wanted to be baptized in our next visit and that’s what happened. I’m very thankful for the spiritual experience Isa was able to have that helped her beat her addiction, and make a covenant with the Lord. Although no one thought it was possible (Isa’s son’s told us we were wasting our time and we were trying to plant flowers in the desert, or something like that) anything is possible for our Heavenly Father.*Ü*

This week was good except for we don’t really have any good investigators. We are teaching a man named Jerson still, but he isn’t progressing. Jerson is Hna Mairena(Eladio’s future suegra)’s brother in-law. When we started teaching him, he was a crazy drunk “fallen pastor” (he used to be a pastor). He was always drinking alcohol, and it was destroying his home and his family (his wife Maritza and daughter Yaritza). Although his wife told us we were probably wasting our time, because the missionaries had tried before, we were determined to help him out. We went by many times, and although he was drunk we committed him to stop drinking at least whenever we had appointments with him, so that we could help him. At first it didn’t work, but then we got him to come to church with us one day. We went early, so that he wouldn’t drink, and tried to take him to church, but the effects of not drinking made him dizzy, so he couldn’t walk to church. We ran to the church and got a member to go with us to pick him up in his car. We got to church, but Jerson couldn’t make it through the first hour because he felt like throwing up, because his body was so used to having alcohol in it. We ended up having to take him home early, and we thought we had failed, but since that day he hasn’t drank alcohol. The next week he came to church by himself and we have been teaching him since then. The problem is since he is a “fallen pastor” he thinks he knows everything about the Bible, and even though he is reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, he’s basically already decided that he can’t accept another book that isn’t the Bible. Every time we go over there now, the lesson turns into a Bible bash, and even though we chop his head off with the Bible and the Book of Mormon, he is to proud to admit it, and always comes up with the most random topics and explanations for his point of view. Its really sad because even though he is really thankful that we helped him stop drinking, he doesn’t want to accept the gospel, so we’ll probably have to leave him pretty soon.

Basically the only good new investigators we have are Jessica Maria and Gladys. Jessica Maria is a friend of Jessica’s. She is 18, and we taught her for the first time the other day. She didn’t have much time so we just talked about the Book of Mormon, and left her a copy to read. We will see how she progresses. Gladys is a mildly elderly lady that lives in front of the church. She is such an interesting lady. She kind of looks like the lady from the incredibles that makes their super suits, except that she has a super high, sweet, kinda crackly voice. She runs a little shop in Cartago Centro. It used to be a gift shop, then it was chair shop, but now it is a rocker store. Yeah, an old lady that sells slipknot and Pink Floyd stuff. Sometime religious fanatics tape signs on her shop that say, ‘Closed, in the name of Jesus’, and one time a woman came in saying, “It smells like death in here”. That woman came in the store and said that so many times that one time Gladys told her, “You know its really funny that every time you come in here, it smells like death.” Anyway, Gladys is a widow, and was reluctant to let us in because it was nighttime, but she received a book of Mormon from the 1^st counselor in the ward, Hno Rojas (who is a professor and a really good man), so she listened to us. She is kind of incredulous, because she has gone to many churches before, and has decided to follow God in her own way, but we’ll see what happens.

On Wednesday night I went to Paraiso and visited Alejandro and Adriana, who had been set to get married and baptized that Saturday, but Adriana had changed her mind. We talked about and settled her doubts, and she decided once again to be married and baptized on Saturday, and they were. The only problem is in the end Adriana wasn’t confirmed, because she decided she had to stay home and wash clothes. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

On Thursday night the Hermanas and us went to Carlos and Marielos house for Hno Carlos’s birthday. We made and ate food and cake. We also sang and danced to a song that goes, “Periquito, Periquito, se parece a su mama. Por arriba, por abajo, por delante, por detrás.” (Little parakeet, little parakeet,You look just like your Pop From your feet to your middle, From your middle to your top) They got me doing that dance/game on video, and they really get a kick out of watching it.*Ü* We also visited Hermana Lijia this week. She is staying at her sister’s house so she can take care of her, but she was really happy to see us.

Our recent converts are doing ok. Xinia, Karen and her family are having economical problems, and are going through tough times though. Sometimes they have to work on Sundays, and they aren’t as strong as I would like them to be, but we are trying to help them through it. Eladio is pretty strong in the church. He is eager to read and learn more each day, and has already given his first talk in church, which was really good by the way. He and Arline are planning to get married soon, and he is set to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood this next month.

Anghedon (Brun) and Jasmine are super strong right now. They are so happy every time we visit and every time they go to church. Anghedon has already shared his testimony at church, and has received a calling in the Young Men’s presidency in the ward. He is also preparing to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, and is very eager to read and learn all he can. Every morning he sends an email with a scripture from the Book of Mormon to everyone at work. He is going to baptize his son Sebastian when he turns 8 in November. Jazmin is also very strong and is sharing the gospel with her friends. She always has a smile on her face when she talks about the gospel. Yesterday we watched the video about Parley P. Pratt and Vincenzo D. Francesca finding the Book of Mormon and gospel. They really loved it and Jasmin wants to show that video and others we’ve seen with them, to her friends.

We are really worried about Jorge, because he broke up with his member girlfriend Pamela, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be moving to Cartago anymore. We need to find out the address of the church where he lives in Escazu, so he can attend there. Jessica and Isa are really happy and excited to be members of the church, and always read the Principles of the Gospel Book, Libro de Mormon, and love the hymns. We bought them hymns cds at the temple for cheap, and they love them.

The district goal is 11 baptisms this month. I was pretty sure we were going to pass the meta with about 13 or more, but like always, a lot of things go wrong. A few of the investigators that were set to be baptized this next week didn’t go to church. We have 7, and should still meet the meta, as a district. I’m disappointed because I wanted every companionship to meet their area goal, and even we are struggling to meet it. We’ll see what happens.

Elder Tobler

Anghedon y Jazmin