Atalaya Week 3!

Hello all,

I am glad to report that Hermana Cheever is alive and well. I am also glad to report that we have hot water after 2 weeks and that all my rain stuff is waterproof.

This week I learned that sometimes you might not make your goals, but that miracles still happen. We had the grand goal of 12 investigators in Sacrament Meeting and we had a total of 3. However, those 3 were great! One of them, Jesica, is someone Hermana Abbott and her old companion had found and taught either once or twice, but once I came we couldn't keep contact with her because she's only available in the mornings and because I'm new we have an extra hour and a half of studies in the morning and can't go teach her. Well, on Friday we were walking home from teaching the Familia Diaz and we had about 30-45 minutes until we needed to go home so we decided we would stop by Jesica to see if she was home and invite her to church. She was home! She came outside and talked with us and we were trying to set up a time to come teach her and nothing was working out. Then she said that Sunday mornings would be good. It was perfect! We told her that on Sunday mornings from 9-12 we have church and invited her to come with us. Because she's great and loves learning about God she said she would! We told that we would stop by around 8:15 on Sunday morning and walk over together. On Sunday we got out of the apartment a little later than planned and when we had tried calling Jesica she didn't answer. We walked to her house and said a little prayer that she would be there. We knocked and she was waiting there by the door all ready to go with her Book of Mormon and everything! She loved church! 

The next people that came to church are the parents of Nayla, a less active recent convert. We thought they wouldn't be able to come because Nayla had said that her parents were working on Sunday morning and Nayla was going to be babysitting in San Justo, but she told us she would try to go to the church there. Well, as they were just about to start the sacrament portion of Sacrament meeting, Nayla and Zulma and Hugo walked in! It turns out that Nayla got back in time and that Zulma and Hugo were working later in the day! 

Now for the rest of the week. On Tuesday we had divisions with the Hermana Training Leaders. I went to San Justo with Hermana Durfee, and Hermana Alvarez and Hermana Abbott stayed in Atalaya. We had two totally different days in the two areas. In San Justo we didn't teach a single lesson, but we did a lot of street contacts which is really good because that's something I have been trying to work on and improve. We also practiced contacting in our district meeting earlier that day, so it was kind of cool that I got to put into practice what I had learned right away. In Atalaya Hermana Abbott and Hermana Alvarez taught ten lessons! They found some great people that I am really excited to work with!

I just realized that I haven't told you all about the Familia Diaz yet. Oopsies. Well, they're great and I love teaching them! The mom and daughter, Margarita and Milagros, have a baptismal date for this Saturday and I just really hope they make it! The father and son, Abel and Cristian, are great people and can add some great things to the lessons, but they're kind of hard headed and unwilling to commit to anything. 

In our area we have it split into four areas and we have only been working really in green and orange, but this week we got into blue and purple! There was a lot of walking done this week. I think there were three days this week that we went from one corner to the other in our area because we would be working down at the bottom, but we're trying to have daily contact with Margarita and Milagros so they can make it to the 6th for their baptismal date and they live at the top. But, now we have reason to work in blue and purple because now we have people there so this week won't be nearly as all over the place I don't think because it will be planned out better.

The word for this week is COLECTIVO. That's what they call the buses here. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. 

That's all for this week. Love you all! The gospel's true, God loves you!
-Hermana Cheever