T4W2 New Companion and Baptismal Date

Dear Family,

This week has been full of news. Thank you Rae and Emma for the letters, and Miriam and Mom for the emails. I can't believe how much is going on back home. I hope everyone is staying cool and working hard. Sounds like everyone is doing good. Tell Dad to give me an update!

The week started off very difficult in several respects. I found strength in my patriarchal blessing and some further scripture study of the ministering of angels. I made a re-commitment to not be discouraged and to fulfill the responsibilities I had been given. The next day we received a phone call from the Assistants notifying us that Hermana Marsh would be emergency transferred. Please don't think it is anything that had to do with me. She was transferred and I received a new companion, Hermana Gurney. She is a tall girl from Provo, UT. She came out to the field the same time as Hermana Dewey and is still learning to be comfortable with her Spanish.

That same day we had interviews with President for the transfer. This new zone (Woodlands Zone) does interviews early on in the transfer. He talked to me about the new and still very great responsibility of practically whitewashing the area. We both came in new and have to learn the area on our own just like when I first came out to Louetta. This time though we have 52 map pages! That means our area is extremely big. To give you an idea, we were allotted 900 miles to drive in Bear Creek and here we are allotted 1700 miles. Sunday was difficult with both of us trying to remember names and be very outgoing to meet people but we have faith that this is what is best for the area.

We met with Ramon on Tuesday. He is the one we found last week knocking doors and had had a Book of Mormon many years ago. He loved attending church and in priesthood they learned about consecration of oil for blessing the sick. We taught him the first lesson and he had bought us a bottle of olive oil. We taught him again Thursday with another member and he had done all of the additional study questions and scripture study that is found in the back of the pamphlets we give people. He was so grateful when we gave him a new Book of Mormon. We set a baptismal date right there for July 12th. He is so prepared. He accepted it without hesitation. I know that there are prepared people in this part of the vineyard.

We taught a man last night named J. Tadeo who also loved our message and expressed a lot of interest in putting his whole might into allowing the gospel change his life. We have been blessed with people to teach this week. I asked the district leader what the average weekly number of lessons has been for the area. He said that the sisters usually taught about 10. We almost reached the goal of 20 lessons this past week with 18 lessons! Hermana Gurney and I have so many goals to get this area in good shape and to baptize! She is a hard worker and know that I am too, so we are excited to prove wrong all of the previous poor expectations that this area has suffered. We know that it is only through our faith and dedication to the work.

Hermana Gurney commented to me that people are more willing to talk to us and open up to us than her past several months in the mission. She thinks it's because of my Spanish. She thinks that we get more opportunities to teach because there is an immediate trust as I can speak the language well. I feel very blessed that the language or even a fear of talking to people are not my weaknesses, though I have many. I am grateful for my continually improving ability to speak the language and I know that it is a gift of the Spirit. I trust that the words will be given me in the very moment they are needed. I know that the Lord qualifies us for the task he gives us as we do our part.

I hope this hasn't bored anyone. Please pray for the missionaries. Our district that covers mostly rich areas continuously struggles to even have one person they are teaching.

I love you all!

Your very dark brown,

Camille