1/4 of My Mission Complete!?

Well, we've finally got another baptismal date. We've been working with Liz for a while now and she's always had doubts and questions. She grew up in the church with her family until she was 12, then she and her family left due to some problems in the family and some of the members. But we've talked with her and she's come to church on her own accord and things were going well, but she wouldn't accept a baptismal date. Until we finally got down to her real problems and addressed them. The spirit really worked through her to forgive and to accept our invitation to be baptized. Now we just have to work carefully for the next two weeks so she keeps her excitement up.

I've finished with another exchange, and it's really cool to see how much I've learned and progressed with each exchange. I'm a lot more capable of teaching and following the Spirit now. Spanish is a lot more relaxed for me (most of the time) and I almost never feel frustrated with it. I've become more and more appreciative of the chance to be here in Peru and share the Gospel.

I continually see the little miracles in my life as well. For example, I got really sick for the first time out here in the field. I had a bad fever, headach, I felt like throwing up, and my body felt limp and heavy. I was sure that I wasn't going to be able to work, but I asked my companion for a blessing. I had enough energy to get up and start walking out the door, and hour by hour I felt better and was able to teach and work. I was able to recieve a blessing of the Lord to heal my sicknesses quickly.

As for a couple strange things that happen, I just don't think I'll ever get used to the chickens. They're everywhere... For example, this morning, a woman got on the bus with a baby in one arm and a chicken in the other. It was just so weird to me that people bring chickens in crowded public areas.

Also, I saw a dog that was trained to fetch water. There isn't clean water here, so people have to buy and refill tanks of water. My pensionista told us a story of how they trained their dog to leave their house carrying a wagon behind him (kinda like a horse) with an empty tank and a few coins to pay. He'd walk about 10 minutes to where they'd refil water and they'd just take the money, fill it up and the dog would walk back. I think that's the niftiest trick a dog can do. Teach him to run your errands.

Hope all is well and everyone is hinging in there!
Elder Seth