Querida Familia,
Thank you very much for your letters! I enjoyed the photos, and
hearing about Stake Conference (Elder Malm spoke at the MTC while I
was there!).
This week has gone rather quicky. We don't have many investigators, so
we're busy inviting people (contacting "a ful" as they would say
here), and visiting active members, and less active families to find
people to teach! We're also working hard to gain more of the members'
confidence, by filling out progress reports, consulting with the
bishop, offering to serve and help, and generally trying to be
powerful, worthy, hard-working missionaries that they can trust and
that will be accompanied by the Spirit!
The branch here is a bit small—normal attendance is about thirty, but
I do expect it to grow, as the branch has goals to do so, and the
organizations seem to be working well. One long-time member says that
this branch was the first in the Rioja, and is the most frequently
split! We're hoping to grow the branch and split it, in place of the
looming threat of closing it if activity decreases too much!
I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this church is based
on and guided through real revelation from God to His prophets, and to
all church members and leaders. We have been blessed with so much to
help us to return to our Heavenly Father! Baptism that actually cleans
of sin; the gift of the Holy Ghost that is actually that! I want to
share these things with a bit more enthusiasm and boldness this week.
I love my Heavenly Father and I do want to serve Him, for Him!
Hope you are well, love you all,
Elder Schlachter
P.S. Thank you for the music! I'll probably learn a line or two in the
moments when we're by a piano! We have a stake choir here, and stake
conference in a couple weeks. Elder Strong is playing the piano, and
I'm thus singing!
