Baptism of Sabina

Hey everyone!

We had another baptism today! Our investigator, Sabina, got baptised. She's the mother of a member in the ward, but she's always been againt religion before. She's had a ton of problems and bad expiriences before and didn't want to get involved at first. But when she prayed and asked God if it was true, she got her answer and everything changed. We had to help her out a lot though, because she can't read or write. So we were always reading from the Book of Mormon to help her gain a personal testimony. She really found everything through prayer. She really has a ton of faith, and even though her other daughters were telling her not to get baptised, she told them that she made up her mind. She told them that she made a promise to God and nothing would stop her from following Him. So that was super cool. One of her daughters told us that she wanted to listen and would like to get baptised as well after she listened to the testimony of Sabina. She lives in another area, but she will still be a wonderful reference for someone.

And as a side note, we finally had a baptism where everything just worked out. There was noise from all the children, but that was about it. We had planned everything a head of time and it actually turned out like we planned. That was pretty amazing. So that's the first time in my mission that that's happened. So I could feel the spirit and relax a lot more that day.

Other than that, I've been eating cow liver with rice and showering in ice cold water every day, so everything is normal. We got "pizza" as well, so that was pretty cool... Though I'm gonna have to eat real pizza as soon as I get back. I can't wait for that and a real hamburger. And real ice cream. And Root Beer. And, well, the list could get pretty long, so I'll just leave it there. But I can't complain in all honesty, I'm really happy here. I guess my blessings all come in different ways.

But I've really been blessed with the chance to help people here. I love every day and every person that we teach. We'll be working really hard to help others see the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just keep those I teach in your prayers and I know they'll find the faith to come unto Christ.

Thanks for all of your love and support! I love you all and you're all in my prayers!
Take care!
Elder Seth Prestwich (prezz-weish)

And now I'm counting down....

Everything has been going well here in Laredo! We've been working really hard to keep people coming to Christ. We've had a little success in our new goals of finding families as well! We've managed to find two families that seem really nice. We'll have to work really hard with them so they can make covenants, but I feel like they can both progress with a little time. We're gonna keep looking hard so we can find a family that's ready and willing to come unto Christ, though.

I was really impressed by the other Elders (Elder Palma and Elder Coronado) in Progresso with their baptism. Their investigator was pretty sick the day of her baptism, but she was still willing to do it. So the two of them brought her breakfast in the morning and managed to find a big portable stove to heat up the water for her as well. She was able to be baptised in luke warm water at least. But it really impressed my how they went as far as bringing her breakfast to make sure she was alright and happy. They really know how to make her feel loved and show that they care.

Nothing way too interesting happend other than that this week. We're just working and hopeing that all goes well! Thanks so much for your support and care!
Love ya!
Elder Seth Prestwich

I still put my fingers on W S A D....

Well, I feel really great about what we could do this week. We've been really trying to follow the Spirit and be obedient with all the rules, and it's shown. We've been able to find new people and the people we're working with have started to progress. Well, two or three of those people. We're really excited about our two fechas and have, as always, high hopes for them.

When I was on divisions with my mission leader last Sunday, he started asking me what it was like to be a missionary and how I felt about it. He's preparing to go on his mission, but in this last while he seems to have gotten excited about going. He asked me how I felt being a missionary, and I started wondering about how normal it seemed to me these days. It's what I do every day without rest. I do the same thing every day in the same area, but it somehow stays interresting. I feel a consistent happiness that doesn't often leave me. I guess I just got used to having all that, so I didn't really think about it much. So I sat there thinking about how blessed I really am. I guess I've let consistencey rob me of the wonders that come from this work. So I'm rededicating myself to looking for the little miracles that happen every day.

Oh, and I found out that two more of my investigators that were close to baptism in Huanchaco got baptized recently!
Hna. Cleidy and Hno. Pepe. So that was super exciting to hear about. I'm super happy for them and really hope they can keep strong as well.

As for cool things that I've done these day, it would be when we went to the lake here in Laredo. There a tiny little village that's about a half hour away called Conache, but there's a little lake and some sand dunes over there. It was actually super fun to go. They've got a nice little picnick area to go to and a field to play soccer. We went with a few families from the ward and it was tons of fun. We played soccer for a while, then headed up to the dunes. It was about a 20 minute hike through the farm fields so it was nice and green. Then we went sprinting up the dunes (as far as we could get, anyway) and running or rolling back down. It really made for a good time.

But thanks for the updates! I hope all is well and that everyone is healthy!
I'll be praying for everyone!
Elder Seth Prestwich