From: Elder Joshua Freeman
Subject: Last Zone Conference
Date: 9 May 2005 3:13:31 PM EDT

ÁHola!

ÁHappy Day After MotherÕs Day! It was nice talking to everyone that was at home. This week we had Zone Conference, which went really well. It turns out it was my last one because next change, Elder D. Todd Cristofferson is coming, and weÕre going to have a conference with him that will replace Zone Conference. This weekend was cold and rainy, so that affected things on Sunday. But in any case, on to the week.

On Monday night, we had 3 citas that all fallar-ed us. So we buscar-ed a little, and then we went to SilvioÕs and taught him the lesson 2. It went pretty well, and he accepted baptism. But he didnÕt come to church yesterday, so weÕll have to talk to him and see how heÕs doing. After that, we went and visited Carlos and Sonia for a little bit, then came home.

On Tuesday morning, we had our Zone Meetings. They changed the schedule, so now we start a half hour later, so that we get more study time in. But other than that, things were normal. In the afternoon, we went and had a little charla with Mariza, and we met two more of their sisters that live in Thompson, and arenÕt members yet. After that, we went and talked with a couple named Derlis and Mar’a that we dropped a little while ago, just to see how theyÕre doing. Then we talked with Bernardo about faith, and how itÕs only effective if itÕs faith in Jesus Christ. After that, we went and talked with JosŽ and Esmilce, and they basically told us they donÕt want to leave the Catholic church, so thereÕs not much we can do with them. And after that, we went and talked a little with Miguel before going to Noche de Rama. There were actually people there, so it went pretty well.

On Wednesday, we visited Sandra and Liz. Liz told us that Pte. CaballeroÕs mom left the hospital and is now staying just below her house, so after we talked with Liz, we went and down and visited her. And we met her daughter Felicita, whoÕs a member in Limpio, in the north mission. And after that, we came home. In the afternoon, we went and visited Mirta and finished reading 3 Nephi 11 with her. Then we went and talked with Derlis (the lesson 1 from last Tuesday. He read a little, so we explained more about the Libro de Morm—n.  Then we went and talked with an inactive we met last week named Indalecio. He was pretty nice. After that, we got fallar-ed a little, then went with Mariza to talk with one of her friends that the missionaries used to visit. That went okay, but sheÕs a little strange. In any case, after that, we talked with Roberto and Nimia about the importance of having authority and there being only one true church. ThatÕs one of the biggest doubts people express here, that all the churches, or at least a certain group of churches, are true, and that there is no one true church. After that, we went and talked with Isidro and Gloria and answered a couple of questions that they had about the church. And then we came home.

Thursday was Zone Conference. It was really good, and our Zone sang ÒFaith in Every FootstepÓ and it went pretty well. Also, we have a new senior couple, the Yonks, that are here. And we found out that the Karns are going home this month, which is kinda sad. TheyÕre an awesome couple. It was really weird giving my last testimony. ItÕs still strange to me that IÕm going home soon. In any case, the main focus was Pte. Gavarret talking to us about the power of the Book of Mormon, and the importance of using it more. It was a really good Conference. When it was over, we came home and changed our clothes and got fallar-ed on the citas we had. So we talked with a couple of other people. We talked with Sixto and Matilde, and he said heÕs already happy being a drunk, poor carpenter, so why should he want to be any happier? ThereÕs not much we can do for people that have no desire to progress, so that was kinda sad. After that, we went and buscar-ed a little, then went and shared a little with Pte. Caballero and his wife, mom and sister. That was the first time weÕve been able to talk to him other than at church on Sunday since IÕve been here. So that was good. And then we came home.

On Friday, it was rainy, and the sun didnÕt come out again until today. We went and talked with Bernardo about basically the same thing we talked to Roberto and Nimia about, but heÕs happy where he is. So, yeah. After that, we went looking for some former investigators, and in the process, found an inactive lady and her family. They were really nice, and we shared a little with them. Then we found the guy we were actually looking for, and set up a cita with him, then came home for lunch. In the afternoon, we went and read a  little with Lourdes, then went and visited the Flia Alderete. They have a nephew thatÕs living behind them now, named Victor, and we taught him a lesson 1. It went pretty well. After that, we got fallar-ed a couple of times, then went and talked with Isidro and Gloria. They made us some food called revido, I think, that was interesting. But we talked with them about theyÕre reading and praying, and they said that they feel the Spirit when they read it. But, IsidroÕs whole family is Catholic, and they happen to be in the middle of their nine-day prayers because his dad died a few years ago. So heÕs still not sure what he should do, because they think there will be a lot of opposition there. But theyÕre doing good. After that, we went and read a little with Carlos and Ada, and that went pretty normal. He said heÕd come to church on Sunday, but didnÕt. In any case, after that, we went home.

On Saturday morning, we tried visiting a lot of people and finding some new ones, but werenÕt very successful in either one. ThatÕs never any fun. We ate at Gran V’a, then came home. In the afternoon, we got fallar-ed a lot, but did share a little with Celina and Mariza and Luc’a. Then we went and talked with Miguel, and invited him to church. After trying to visit a few more people, we went and read Alma 32 with Roberto and Nimia. He said heÕd come to church on Sunday with Silvio, but neither one came. After that, we went and visited our 2¡ counselorÕs family. They live pretty far away and heÕs the only one that comes to church every Sunday, but theyÕre a really good family. His nameÕs Hno. Rodas, and he has two kids, Victor (21) and Laura (12). Anyway, after that, we came home.

On Sunday, we gave talks in church. That went pretty well. And after the meetings, Manuel and Gustavo R’os (who just turned 12) got the Aaronic Priesthood. That was pretty cool. We came home and made lunch and Elder HigbeeÕs family called. His dad is Stake President in Cedar City, and he knows Jim Roberts, and he was on the same golf team in college as Mr. Roberts. So he said to tell him hi (his name is Tom Higbee). Small world. Anyway, we then planned and went out looking for a reference and called home to fix the whole number problem. Then we had Correlation meeting in the church, and then visited a couple of people and took our clothes to CelinaÕs before coming home. Then I talked with you all and that was it.

This morning, us Elders played soccer, and it was fun. Then we all went and ate at PancholoÕs and did a little shopping, then came home.

So, that was it. Congratulations to everyone in the play, and to Chris for the engagement, and to Will and Trish for the new baby. Sounds like things are going pretty well up there. This week is change week, so weÕll see what happens. ThatÕs it from here. Oh yeah, before I forget, I now know for sure this time, that IÕm leaving here the 20¡ of June and getting there the 21¡. And I told them about going to Utah, but I still have to find out about the getting released thing. So, yeah. IÕll do that. Thanks everybody for everything!

I Love You Guys!!!

Love,
Josh