Continuing in the Faith - May 23, 2016

Hello Everyone! Well this week was a week that went by super fast in everything that we were able to do. We have been experiencing some problems and trials with the branch that we have been serving in. Each week that we have come to church the attendance has gone down little by little. It has been hard to see. Eventually the Branch President came to us and simply told us that he was putting his trust in us to help everyone out and to get the branch going again. It has been a week that has been a huge blessing, a trial that is sent from Heavenly Father to recieve the support of the members here that we have been praying for for months. We started out the week by planning a Ward Activity that we are going to be doing every friday night to help everyone grow together in unity. We were able to have our first activity on Friday and we had an awesome attendance! EVeryone was super excited and happy and it was a happiness that we were able to feel for the first time with the members. On Sunday the spirit was so strong in all of the meetings and we could feel a greater love coming from everyone through the spirit. It was so great to be able to hear about the way that we could have an effect on members in 2 branches too. In Coyul, after having an assitance of 18 for the past year, had their Conference. We went there again last Saturday to find investegators and visit with all the members. In their conference yesterday they had 55 members and investegators come to church. It was the most that they have had in church in more than 3 years! It was so awesome to see how happy all of the district leaders were to have that great of success there and to see the strength that it gave to everyone here in Huatulco to hear about that. WE continue to work with Andres and Omar, there have been many challenges in trying to find a day for them to be baptized and it seems as if the adversary is working extra hard to prevent it but all 4 of us have given a greater effort to make sure that it happens. The 2 of them continue to read the Book of Mormon and everytime we stop by Omar can tell us everything that happened in the last chapter and he is only 14 years old!! Andres is accepting everything and loves to be able to study all that we can give him. It has been so great to be able to develop the Christlike attributes that are so necessary for conversion. I have found my own conversion in seeing the effect that these attributes can have on others. I am so thankful for this opportunity to serve and grow in this gospel through the teachings of Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and that he is our Savior and Reedeemer and that I am in his only true work upon the Earth today. I hope that you all have a great week and can come to know him personally through his teachings. Elder Peterson.