4 for the Lord who stands at the door

This week was tough...I was sick like I mentioned last time and had to stay in a couple days. Wednesday I went out and started proselyting again and I`m tons better now (although I still have a really annoying cough that comes and goes) so thank you all for your prayers!

We had to do a couple exchanges this week with our sisters. The first one was a challenge- it was a sister who has been struggling to open her mouth and contact. In an entire week she talked to 1 person...we strive to talk to 70 which is 10 a day which was a goal that Elder Ballard established. So we did some practices and talked it out to see what was making it so hard for her. That day with a lot of motivation, love, and encouragement she was able to do her 10 contacts for the first time the 4 months she`s been on the mission! But man, it wasn`t easy! After that intercambio Hna.Duffy the mission nurse did an exchange with me. She is just starting her training but is way ahead of a lot of greenies I`ve met! She also graduated from BYU`s nursing program so pretty much she`s my new idol on the mission and gave me tons of tips and advice for my application and how I can get a better shot at getting in. Plus she saved my life and helped me get better! So grateful!

This week we also did A LOT of service, probably more service than I`ve done in all my mission! We helped our investigator Ingrid paint her brick wall and the ex-branch president paint part of his house that he expanded and built. It`s always fun to change up the routine and give a hand.

Then Hna.Thomas came back from the exchanges and was super sick (she didn`t get it from me!) So she had to stay in a couple days to recoop, but is tons better now as well. Winter season is tough health-wise, while Hna.Duffy was with us she received about 20 phone calls from missionaries who were feeling sick in just one day, it`s nuts!

As for our investigators Ricardo is finally getting married this week! Yesterday him and his wife (who`s less-active) showed up dressed in their sunday best! He was in a suit, white shirt and tie, and his wife in a dress. They looked lovely! Ingrid is our other hopeful towards baptism who is from Peru and eating up everything we teach her. And Maria is also progressing a lot with her Book of Mormon, she`s already in 2 Nefi and finds all the answers to her prayers within it`s pages, but the challenge with them is the same as usual...COMING TO CHURCH!

Anyways, we`ve been struggling a lot to find new investigators, we`re going through our 7 years of drought. I knew something was gonna happen because last week I was working on the attribute of patience and boy did the Lord try my patience with being sick, the exchange, and then my companion being sick and not having any new investigators. This week is humility...another scary one...but I`m ready for whatever He`s got for me, after that I`m pretty much home-free :)

Spiritual Cookie: "Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not an effort of once a week or once a day, but once and for all!" -Pdt. Uchtdorf

Hna.Ibarra