Great Week working with Retention

Hello Family,

This week was great Family! Nothing HUGE happened but I'm excited for what we did and the things that we are going to do this week.

I went on divisions with a DL in my zone (Elder Quintanar) and I tried to help him just by working hard and motivating him. We went to a less active's house and he had left the assignment from the last visit they had to read 3 Nephi 18. She had read it and loved it a lot. I asked her why she liked it and she said because she liked the part about the sacrament. So I asked her straight up, "What impedes you from taking the sacrament with us this week in church?" And she started crying in her hands and told us about a relationship that she had with a guy while being married with her husband. She told us how scared she was to tell anyone and especially her husband and the president of the branch. Before we left she thanked us for coming and said that she felt a lot better and had a lot more courage to do what's right. So I talked to Elder Quintanar about how she was doing and he said that she's talked to the Branch President and with her husband and that everything is still intact with the relationship with her husband and that she's making it back to the right path and has repented of what she's done. When I heard that, I was super happy!!! :D Her name was 'E' and she's an awesome lady. I'm super glad that she's doing so much better now and I bet she's much happier now than she was before. There's something about repentance that brings confidence, peace and comfort to our souls. That something is our Savior's love and mercy. I love the words in the hymn, "Amazing Grace" when thinking about the Atonement.

I wrote this in my journal this week and I wanted to share it with you guys: Love people for who they are. Love, because if you don't then you will hate. We can never stand still. I've tried to stand still and not change and it's not possible. we will always be changing and moving, but we choose if we will change for the good or the bad. So choose to love so that you don't start to hate.

We went to President Oscar Flores' house this week. It started to rain super hard and there was lots of lightning. In fact, lightning struck the roof of his neighbor's house!!! That was a freaky moment! I almost fell out of my chair! But everything was alright. President Oscar is really happy with what we are doing in the branch. We taught him our plan that we are adapting to every family and we are seeing great results. This week we had about 15 more people in church! 51 PEOPLES! :D We are (I'm) hoping to have 100 in church by Christmas.

Last Sunday, we gave a blessing to little Olvin (son of a member in the branch) because he was having stomach problems. I asked him, "Olvin, do you have faith?" and he said he did. So we gave him a blessing and he left that room healed. They didn't buy medicine or give him any remedies. This last Thursday, we talked to his mom (we didn't know he had been healed) and she told us the good news. Olvin's faith healed him. I just connected two things as well: our faith heals us physically and erases our sins like in the story of Enos. Faith is the action we take to follow Christ and if we follow him, he heals us. All the pain, sorrow, sickness, and trials can be healed and attended to through the process of faith and repentance. "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him." Moroni 10

Dad, in the conference with President Nelson, we also were told to testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that President Monson has been called of God in the modern days. "Testify of God's work and you will be a happy missionary."

We were also told to study the following topics:
Abrahamic Covenant
Tree of Life
Fall of Adam and Eve
Covenant and Pact
Tithing
Atonement
Endowment
Jesus Christ (his example)
Commandments
Prophet
Sacrifice
Anointing
Life Eternal

At the end President Nelson gave us two pieces of advice: 1. Hebrews 13:7 (embrace the faith of your leaders); 2. Tell president Bowler when your converts and their kids and grandkids go to the temple.

Got to go! Thanks for the fotos! I'm sending some to the family as well! :D Hope you like them.

Elder Tuft
Hurrah por Israel!