And here is July 1st:
This week we were jam-packed with lessons. We didn´t have time to contact, even in between lessons, because we were running all over the place going from one appointment to the next. And from the looks of it, this next week is going to be even more crazy.
Today we´re all going to have a picnic/water fight/I don´t know what in the Parque de Retiro for the 4th of July. It should be super fun. Then on Wednesday we have exchanges, and I have to leave Torrejon to go to Alcala for the day. My companion is planning on heading to Campo Real. And Thursday we have Zone Conference in Pavones, which is where the temple is. That should be really fun. Friday is my companion´s birthday! And we´ll be in Paracuellos with one of my favorite families in the ward. Paracuellos is even further than Campo Real, so we´ll probably spend more or less the whole day there. Aah we´re going to be busy!
Andrei finally came to church yesterday, after 2 weeks without seeing anything of him. He found a job, which is good for him, but now he works all day every day, and it´s hard for him to even get away to go to church. He said he´s still been reading the Book of Mormon, though, which is good.
We saw Luz on Friday and she said she´s going to try to get her schedule changed to be able to come to church. She has to come at least twice before she can get baptized, and so we hope she can come so she can still get baptized on her date, which is the 21 of July. She has a lot of faith, so I think this should be able to work for her. We´ll see her again today, and I´m excited to hear her news about her schedules.
Teresa is still progressing really well. She´s reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it, and we´re currently teaching her nephew, Joel, along with her. They came to a Family Home Evening that we did in the chapel (and 22 people came! 3 of them were our investigators!) and Joel came to our English class on Wednesday and to play soccer and basketball with the ward on Friday. He is 9, and he has an incredible enthusiasm to come to activities and to listen to us and to read the scriptures. He always requests scriptures to read and study, and he has marking pencils and everything. He's awesome. We still haven´t gotten a date for Teresa, but we´re not sure we want to set one yet because our recent convert Alejandro used to be good friends with her and he told us of a stumbling block with her that we have to watch out for. We´re going to talk with her and make sure things are still that way, but if they are, we´re going to have to work with her for a good while before she can get baptized. So keep her especially in your prayers.
We have new investigator named Hazzell (just say Hazel) who is Nicaraguan, and she lives in the same piso with one of the elders´ investigators. It´s crazy because we got her reference from elders from a different area who contacted her in the metro. I guess there´s something special with that piso. She has good potential, but the problem with her is that she lives in Coslada, which is 30-40 minutes from Torrejon, so we can´t visit her very often because we rarely have time to go to Coslada and back. So hopefully she will keep doing well and will be able to come to church and activities.
This past week we had a zone meeting that was really powerful. President and Sister Jackson were there, and our zone leaders talked about faith, hope, and charity, and how we can use these to be better missionaries. They told us that they had been challenged in a leadership meeting on Tuesday to challenge someone to be baptized last Saturday. And they did it, and the person got a testimony that the gospel is true and she´s going to get baptized this Saturday. Our sister leaders also did this, but their baptism worked out for last Saturday. They, in turn, challenged us to do the same thing for this coming Saturday. And we´re going to do it! We have 3 candidates.
The first 2 are a mother and daughter named Clelia and Andrea. Clelia is married to an active member and has been investigating the church for years and comes every week and has a testimony that it is true, but she´s stubborn and wants to feel specifically in her heart some magical feeling that she needs to get baptized. We have been praying and fasting for her to be able to know that she needs to do it, and we want her to do it this week. Her daughter also comes to church, and if her mother gets baptized, most likely she will follow. She´s 9.
The other candidate (our backup plan) is Miguel, the husband of an active member. He also has been investigating for years and he comes to church but he never progressed with the missionaries. He just got back last week from 2 or 3 months working in the Dominican Republic and he told us that he´s changed a lot. He´s stopped looking for happiness in the things of the world, because he´s realized that his family is the most important. And what more can you do to bless your family than be baptized and hold the priesthood. His wife got her patriarchal blessing on Saturday and he went with her. I wouldn´t be surprised if there was a promise to her that she will have an eternal family sealed in the temple, and I´m sure that if that was in there, it must have touched him deeply.
So I solicit your prayers most of all this week for Clelia, Andrea, and Miguel. One or two or maybe all of them are going to get baptized this weekend! I know they are ready and I know the Lord loves them and wants them to do this, and I have the faith that it is 100% possible. And not only is it completely possible, but it´s going to happen!
Wow that was a really long email. Sorry.
I love you all and I´m praying for you! Have a wonderful week!
con un monton de fe, amor, y esperanza,
Hermana Lara Schaumann
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