Well, this week was actually kind of slow. It seemed a lot longer. I guess that´s a good thing, right? Not really, because I think the reason it was so long was because of the elbow therapy every morning. But my elbow is feeling a little better, so this week should finish it up.

Things are going great here. Eduardo didn´t get baptized yesterday, but he will, don´t worry. He really wants to get baptized, but he´s not quite ready yet. He still has to stop smoking. Also, here in Chile there´s a type of music called Reggaeton, and the way to dance to it is not appropriate. And he likes to do it. Yesterday he told us that he thinks that it´s to do with this age (he´s 15) and that with time he´ll get bored with it. We read in Joshua 24:15 where it says to choose today whom ye will serve, and also Matthew 6:24 that says "No man can serve two masters..." We explained that he has to choose, and only he can do it. He has the power to change, and time won´t affect that. Time really has little to do with it. If he wants he can change tomorrow or in five years. I shared with him the example of writing in my journal saying that I´m busy, but later my activities will end and I´ll have more time to do it. Then the time passes, I have time, and I still don´t do it. The scripture in Joshua says "Choose ye THIS DAY.." He thought for a while and said that we´re right. So he´s hopefully going to work a little harder to make the necessary changes in his life. He really right now is in a tough situation. We´ve taught him everything, and he knows so much that if he doesn´t change, he´ll be condemned according to John 3:5. But if he does get baptized and continues with the same life, condemned. We´re doing all we can to help him realize this and change. He does want to get baptized, but it will probably be in November.

There is a Sister in the ward who works in a health center as a psychologist and thus knows a lot of people. The other day we visited her and she gave us a ton of referrals. Four of them are a family from Peru. They are really humble, as are the majority of the Peruvians here. The family consists of the grandma, Marley, her daughter, Yasmina, her daughter, Cielo (15), and Yasmina´s niece Briza (8). (Cielo is Spanish for heaven, or sky, and Briza is breeze. Pretty cool.) They are really great. They´re Catholics but, because of tradition--like most of Chile, they are really willing to learn and accept everything we teach. Yasmina has prayed about Joseph Smith and received an answer and believes he was a prophet, but she fears that she lacks the faith to follow the answer. We left her a scripture in the Book of Mormon to help with that. They’re a great family, and they can be baptized. Maybe on the 31st or in November.

We had another miracle yesterday. A little more than a month ago we were knocking an apartment building and talked with a woman named Patricia. She was really interested and told us to come back another day. But then she was never home and after several times of passing by and not finding her, we stopped going. Yesterday, about a month later, she showed up to church with her husband, Renzo, and son, Paolo. Turns out she and Renzo are inactive members, and Paolo isn´t baptized yet. We visited them after church and talked about baptism. Paolo wants to get baptized, and his parents also want him to. That right there is great, because if they didn´t, it would be harder. But they will be there to help him. He´s a great kid and will be baptized the 31st.

Last night we visited Gustavo and the family and they told us a great story that happened to them. Like I´ve said, he works in a mine. He´s not actually in the mine, rather drives trucks to different parts. BIG trucks. The other week they were short of trucks, so some workers got vacations and others, including Gustavo, would keep working, going home at night and back to work the next day. Which is different because he´s usually up there every day for a week, then home for a week. Then one day the boss came to him and said, "You´re going to be in the truck with me." A couple days later the boss invited Gustavo and the family over for dinner. When they got there they had a present for Gustavo´s son, Jeremias, (who got baptized a couple months ago) even though it was his second time even seeing the boss. It was a new computer, a really nice one that has the computer and monitor combined in one. Wow! Then more happened. Gustavo used to sing in a heavy metal band that later ended. In April, they did a gig that he never got paid for. Last week they paid him. They´re suddenly receiving so many blessings. And the best part: they give the credit to Gustavo´s baptism. They have a lot of faith and are great.

Well, that´s it for this week.

Elder Murdoch