They wear so many faces

email 1/26/09
Another week with Elder Chapman in my same ward of Cerro 16. It is strange to me to think that I have been in this ward for almost 6 months. It doesn’t feel nearly as long as those 4 months in Artigas or Tacuarembo seemed to be. This is a good ward and I am assuming that next week the transfers will have me bidding farewell to my sweet ward in Montevideo.

Life has been good. We have a baptism set up for this Saturday: a woman named Graciela, about 45 years old. The whole family was listening, her two sons and daughter-in-law, but they lost interest and she fell in love with the church. I assume the rest of the family will come later, but for now we are baptizing her. The first time she went to church she loved it so much that she exclaimed, "see you next Sunday!!" and I was like "No, we are coming over on Tuesday to teach. See you Tuesday." and she said, "Obviously, but also see you next Sunday because I will be coming to this church every week till I die." She is really good and very sensitive to the spirit. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and she said "I didn’t know it was a commandment! I will stop smoking right now!" And she did. She hasn’t ever smoked again. She is smart and she loves reading the Book of Mormon. The first time we went back after we had given her the Book of Mormon she had already placed her own handmade tabs to be able to flip from Nephi to Alma quickly. Fun convert.

I am very hopeful for transfers next week. I have loved Elder Chapman and learned a lot from him, but... Anyway, I am grateful to have been with him. We have had 2 baptisms together and we have found quite a few promising investigators.

Anyway, there isn’t much new to tell. It has been harder as of late for me to think of things to write home because the tales of Uruguay have been told. I will try to have something clever for next week. Take care! Love y'all!

Andy