Happy Wednesday!

Dear Family,

We had the baptism last week for Jackie Fraioli, which was wonderful. The
spirit is always so strong at baptisms and we were happy because quite a few
people showed up. A lot of support, which is the best thing.:). We have been
working a lot with the whole Torres family. They need lots of help. The
mother and father fight all the time and blame each other for their
problems, and yet they are still together.... I was wondering why that is.
The only conclusion is that they love their daughter, Sofia. We have been
trying to get them to do something as small as compliments. That is a
constant struggle.

I had a really good conversation with Christine (the mother), the other day.
We talked about following the Holy Spirit. My original intention was to talk
about how to recognize it, but she told me she feels the spirit everyday and
she knows what she needs to do, but she brushes it aside because it asks her
to do something to difficult. I shared my testimony, that though those
things are hard, it will bring us happiness. That the Holy Ghost always
leads us to right. I believe she realized then that God really was answering
her prayers, she just struggles following the answer. I don't blame her. I
understand (at least in part) what she feels (I'm sure each of us have that
in our lives, where it just seems like too much to ask). But I do know that
until she follows that prompting, things are not going to be like she wants
it to be. Still, the atmosphere in the house is improving.

Had a really cool experience yesterday while tracting. We met a man,
William, who as we started to talk to him said, "Yes, I know the Mormons.
And I respect them a lot because they live what they believe." What a great
way to start! Next thing he says is that he wants to do some geneaology and
wanted to know if we could find out some information about that. We keep
talking to him and he says... "Yeah, if you have some time I'd love to sit
down and talk with you for an hour or so." So we will be meeting with him
next week. Unfortunately we have to work on his wife. He told us that she
thought Mormons were a cult (I've heard that one before). We will probably
bring a couple with us so she can see that we are normal people, with great
testimonies.

So, I'll be coming home to Utah. Wow, things have been changing fast. It
will all be completely new. Oh question... Dad, didn't you serve part of
your mission in Ecuador. There is a family here from Ecuador who want to
know when and where you served there. I know you served in several different
countries, but was fairly certain you spent some time there. Could you let
me know.

Love, Me