"If ye have faith, and doubt not" (Matthew 21:21)

Hello everyone, Its been almost a month since I last wrote, and so much has happened. I've been really really busy, which is kind of the best when you're engaged in such a noble cause Since I last wrote, Estanzuela has been on fire. Mario Romero was able to get baptized at last, after being on the fence about baptism for over 2 years. Marvin Vasquez, a member returning to acivity, finally got to baptize his daughters--Rocío and Katerine--after being ordained a priest. Honestly, we haven't achieved that much here, all of the successes I've seen have been miracles. I know that as we have faith and do everything we can, the Lord works miracles in our lives.

The Zone has been doing excellent as well, but the goings about to get a lot rougher. Our mission president called a special meeting with the missionaries in our region (the interior, or the rural part of the mission outside of the capital) and invited the local leaders from all of our areas to attend. He talked to us about how faith can move mountains, and then announced that the plan was to create a new stake here in Zacapa.

That's a lot easier said than done. To have a stake, you're supposed to have 5 strong wards. I am currently serving in a district, which is like a stake, but is dependant on the mission for support, and consists of branches. In order to make a stake here, 2 of the branches here in my Zone have to become wards, and the 3 weak wards in Zacapa have to start acting like wards. In simple terms, that means we have to activate a LOT of people, baptize a LOT of people, and exercise a LOT of faith. The mission is such a unique experience. Although there are high expectations, we don't have quotas. I'm not going to get fired if I don't work; it's a labor of love. Recently in my studies I keep coming back to charity. Paul taught that even if we gave everything we had to the poor, it would be worth nothing in the eyes of God if we didn't do it out of love. Our motivation is so important, because when we do things for the right reasons-- we change. We don't just do good things, we become good people. And God can bless us so much more and help us so much more. As a missionary, it's so important to strive to have charity, to be 100% motivated by your love for God and for the people you serve. It makes all the difference.