Two more points for Heaven

Dear Family,

This last Saturday we baptized Santiago and Jorge, and the service was good, not exactly because of what happened or what was said or done but the people or better said the souls who made it.

Jorge Yactayo was a baptism long in the making an investigator who started about 20 months ago. He got married on Friday, which is a miracle all on its own. His new wife is a member and they have been living together for some time now because they were waiting for papers to get married and it took a long time because he is from a little town in the jungle that almost nobody knows anything about. I have mentioned before that it is very hard to get married here in Peru as far as paperwork and blood samples go so I don't need to get into those details. So for his baptism I can't say we did much other than put together the service, he acts like a member and already knows a lot.

Santiago on the other hand means a little more to me, sure the worth of souls is great in the sight of God and no one is better than anyone else but 3 months ago it was super hot in the afternoon and we were planning to go up a little higher on the hill to contact and it was there I knocked on any old door and out walked Santiago with a big old smile "What can I help you with?" he said and here we are. He has an amazing testimony and a firm value of being early to things which made it really easy to get him to go to church. This last time when we went to the temple we decided to buy him a hymn book so he could sing along. I am so grateful I was able to help these 2 men make this eternal covenant.

I have mentioned before Diomedez and his family and all of their problems but it is really cool to teach them. They trust us a lot and we joke around a lot but they are just sort of a different type of people than ones you would see in church. And I know we are supposed to picture each of our investigators in the temple but for them it was just so weird to think about for me. They laugh a lot and are always making jokes one to another. Anyway, flash forward to yesterday and they came to church! It was a miracle! Little by little we are getting to that vision where they can one day be baptized, even though that is far off because they have to get married.

Well for my birthday, the zone will bring a cake on Wednesday to district meeting and I will bring the decorations there to celebrate. We also went to Papa Johns so it was a really good birthday week.

The elder who came in to replace Elder Macgregor, the other companionship here in Pamplona, is Elder Hatch from Arizona and he is just a salt of the earth type of guy.  He is super tall and played basketball in high school and very humble. Anyway, we get a long very well.

I just wanted to share my testimony of the small and simple things. Here we teach the acronym OLA orar leer y asister or pray read and attend. And I really know how important those 3 very small things have an impact. This week we were teaching a lesson and I needed to pull up a scripture but I have never been a wiz at that. I was trying to explain baptisms for the dead and I just thought to myself "Well I am pretty sure that's somewhere in Peter" and bam I opened right to it. STUDY YOUR SCRIPTURES.

Love,

Elder Kreyton (how they say and spell my name here)