Hey All!!!

This week was a really great one... After what seemed like a month of rainy days and thunderstorms and coldness that noone, not even the argentinians were prepared for, we had nearly a full week of sunshiny days.

But alot of really cool things happened this week.

We are teaching two girls named Damaris and Maria, who have burning bright testimonies and parents that think they are crazy and in the past, refused to sign the permission slip to get baptized. and so now, they were learning about the gospel with us in secret, and living in fear of talking with their parents. They had a baptismal date for the 14th of August, so we were getting really anxious for them to talk to their parents.

So we had a super lesson that we had been planning for a long while about faith, hope and courage, but it always seemed that something was missing, then the morning of our charla, we had a great idea to use the story of Esther to help us illustrate our point. How she had to do something that could cost her life to save her people and also stand up for what she believes in. So we taught it in this way... I really love the story of Esther because it shows that a woman can do great things to save herself and her people. Even though she did not have the priesthood, she did not have to be the damsel in distress. And we taught about the faith and courage that she had, and it went really well.

Then at the end of the charla we took various parts of the story to give them ideas about what they can do to make it easier to talk to their mothers... The spirit was really strong and it felt really inspired. They hesitatingly accepted the commitment to talk to their parents before the 7th of August.

Then in the week, we were walking to another investigator´s house and found Maria in the street (The mother of Maria was the more dificult of the two) and she looked really happy and told us that she had talked to her parents and felt so much relief. We found out that her parents had not given her permission to get baptized right now, but told her that they would not try to stop her when she turns 18 in November. Now we just have to wait and see what happens with Damaris.

I know its not exactly what we had hoped, but we are counting it as a milagro-cito and a great victory for Maria. We are very happy for this news.

Then, Some elders in another barrio, Barrio Jardín had a scare when they went to fill their baptismal font, and found that the city had cut the water going to their part of the city. So everyone rushed over to our chapel and had their baptism in our chapel, and we ran around like chickens with their heads cut off looking for investigators to come and see the baptism. This is really important in developing a testimony because when somone can witness a baptism, they can feel the Holy Ghost very strongly and develop an internal desire to do the same. 80% of the people who witness a baptism while investigating the gospel get baptized themselves.

So we ran to a part of our area where we have many investigators and within an hour, with the help of God himself (surely) we got three investigators and a family that is less active that has a daughter of the age to baptize and got them all to the baptism. 7 people altogether. The collectivo was delayed and we got there like 5 minutes before they started the ordinance, so by a breath they all got to see a baptism (WHEW!!!!)

Then yesterday in church, Mabel, our golden, and one of those who went to the baptism, got up and bore her testimony. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard. And thankfully, with the help of the members, 5 other investigators, including three that attended church for the first time got to hear it and feel the spirit.

Needless to say that this is a happy week.
Happy. Happy. Happy.

Love,
Hermana Sarah Tritsch