This week was good, but as usual as I come to write I am not feeling the best (the picapollo fried chicken I had for lunch isn´t sitting so well...it should pass quickly, though). We worked really hard on getting members of the ward to go out with us and visit and meet our investigators, especially those who have not yet been to church. We still had a lot of fallen appointments, as usual, but we managed to go out with one or two people every day. We didn´t get even near our goal of 35 lessons with members present (we hit 11), but that is much better than the 4 we´ve had the past 2.5 weeks combined. 35 was really a goal we placed with a lot of faith, but was more realistic than the 45 the zone leaders told us we needed to have. One of our zone leaders is really concerned with numbers and baptisms, especially since as a zone we weren´t even near our goals for the month, and it seems to me sometimes that he passes the mark. However, I understand that every person has a different way of looking at the mission, and he has had a lot of success and a lot of joy from all the conversions in which he´s been able to take part. I need to let that frustration go a bit more.
We have been trying and trying every night to pass by Ce****, a less active, and his wife L****, and only got to share with them once together, and once when it was just Ce****. She seems really interested, and he is happy that she´s interested, but neither has come to church yet. First they were sick, then one of Ce****´s grandparents died, then this week the 27th of February is the Dominican Independence Day (and also the last week of Carnaval), so everyone parties Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night until super late, and does nothing but sleep in between. We´ll keep trying, and we have a lot of hope in that respect, but...GAAH! :) It would be so easy for them to come to church--they live practically in the same street!
Cultural note--did you know Carnaval is a celebration of when Africans first reached the island, and that some really weird costumes and customs therefore come with it? Also, did you know that while the DR is part of Latin America by language, it is part of the Caribbean by race?
We had a baptism this week--the grandson of a member in the ward who just turned 8. I would give more details, but there´s no time for that. Suffice it to say our finding and baptizing him this week was miraculous.
We also had one of our most rapidly progressing investigators come to church this week, despite the cast on his entire leg. He, his wife, and one of his daughters were able to get a ride from a ward member. That was really great, and the best part was that they had a good experience. Even though another "investigator" showed up to church and in Gospel Principles started arguing about the Day of Pentecost with the Ward Mission Leader, our INVESTIGATOR bore his testimony of the book of mormon and its necessity in that class, which nearly brought tears to my eyes. We hope to have a baptismal date with him and his wife for the 19th of March, and we need to extend that invitation again, because last time they weren´t so sure about it.
Anyhoo, I love you guys and miss you. Best wishes for the week!
Élder Rowe
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