Elder Ethan Crisp

Wow, another week, and another transfer that is going to come to an end, this being the last week of the transfer, with the changes to arrive Sat. It is absolutely ridiculous how fast time flies. This week was great. We had talked with Ramon on Monday, and he told us that he wouldn{t be baptized this week, and that he didnt know when. We left thinking that we would have to leave him behind and search for more, but we felt that we should go ahead and have the baptismal interview with the district leader. So Thursday we went (i was in divisions to do another interview) and Elder Hernandez talked with Ramon, and he came out with all his doubts--that his sister was super catholic and that he was afraid of what she wouold say. But in that moment, he felt that he should be baptized. So this Sat, he{s gonna follow his wife and his kids and hes gonna get baptized. I was so excited when i got back and heard the news because the truth is i wasnt expecting it. So that is our little miracle of the month. We had a bunch of baptisms this week and we{ll have a bunch next week. We had 5 this week: in area Jardines: Silverio. in Bachigualato: Judith, Frida, and Jorge. and in Nuevo Culiacan (the sister missionaries who just go out and do work) : Alberto. And this week we have 5 baptisms for sure with 2 more probables: in Villa Verde (us :)): Ramon. in Cañadas: Jose Ramon, Fernando, and Gilberto. and in Bachigualato: Itzel. If we have 6 this week, well have 15 this month, which was the goal. Woohoo! I now have 7 months in this zone, counting the time in Aquiles Serdan and we NEVER baptized more than 6 until last month (and looking at the records of the past couple years, almost never) and this is the first time that we{ll go over 10. That is progress, baby. There we go little by little in the area too--we found some nice people.

I have been reading in the past few weeks in Alma (Alma is one of my favorites) and read this week in chap 49. I will leave the references, but share the insight that i got from this chap. I have stumbled upon some people who dont like the BofM because they say its all wars (son puras guerras) but there is so much that we can learn--like the parables of Christ, if we have ears to hear and eyes to see, we can learn what Mormon thought we could learn from this chapters, This chapter is like a symbol of how Satan works with us and what we can do to shut him down. Ill leave you the verses and the symbols that i thought of, but you all can study it and get your own insights. Read the whole thing but pay attention to verses 3-8, 12-14, 19-21, with all of it summed up with 23: "Thus the Nephites had all power over their enemies." My symbols: The lamanites are the forces of Satan, him and his angels. Moroni: the prophet or any other good leader. From there it is understood. Have fun reading! I felt the spirit alot and learned alot about how to resist temptation. Espero que puedan tambien! Oops thats in spanish--I hope you can too!

Its good to hear that Ben left with a better attitude. Hes going to learn alot. I have heard a lot about half dome. I remember when i was 14 they went there too but i went to BYU baseball camp instead. Oh well. The activity went really well and the youth (though few) really did awesome. I have a story about a reference that we got but ill share it when i have more time and when we see the fruits of it :). (Worldly Alert): the dodgers always suck against the angels. But it turns out well cause they usually always finish better than them. I just remembered that the Angels have Pujols now huh? Good for Arizona. Ill keep them in my prayers haha. oh and ben and stephen too :) Dad....this is the model of my camera: Kodak mini M200 10MP. Cheap right? The good news is that it is all charged cause it finally charged with my comp{s charger. But who knows if i will be here after this week and with who i will be, so if you could get me a new one that would be awesome.....i was thinking about Aunt Tina the other day and remembered an awesome movie that is on the DVD of church history movies; its called "Only a Stonecutter." I{m sure its on youtube its only like 15 minutes long. The story is really inspiring and relates ALOT to her situation. YOu could look for it and then send her the link. Its talks of enduring to the end in spite of trials, including a trial that shell probaly have to go through. Its an awesome story.

Well once again who knows how the changes will go. The zone leaders dont usually stay in their areas more than 2 transfers. The truth is i dont expect to stay as zone leader--i expect to be lowered as district leader (cause i didnt really get to be one i kinda hope) but well see. Being zone leader is a lot of work but ill do what the Lord wants me to do and be what he wants me to be (like the hymn). I hope you all have an awesome week and say hi to the boys for me when they get back. ¡Que tengan buena semana!

--Elder Crisp ;)