Elder Isaac Blake: Back to the Valley

Hey fam,

Surprise!! (He's writing on Saturday - his new preparation day)

Happy Conference Morning!

Hahah I got transferred O.o, back to the good old city of Salta, where it all began! My new area is called Mitre 1 and my comps are Elder Slighting from Utah (went to Lone Peak) and Elder Tello from Peru. I'm super pumped to be back, love the mountains, the clouds, and the people!

This week has been interesting, kinda tough and not so ordinary, but I've been down in the trenches learning a lot. The only 2 days E Edwards and I were able to work in our area were Mon and Tues - We got after it. Monday night was highlighted by a Family Home Evening with our number one fam the Alagastins. They made a ton (maybe a little too much) food and we watched the 20 min video "The Restoration." E Edwards and his new comp are gonna have a great time teaching them as they prepare to get married and baptized! Marcelo said he got goosebumps and Camila (9) said that the Book of Mormon and the missionaries and the church have changed her life... hahahah wow, what a blessing! Fernanda is still a few steps behind in terms of enthusiasm, but she'll come along as they keep seeing the happiness and the blessings in their lives!

Tuesday was a fairly normal work day in the area and Wednesday we had District Meetings and then took off for Frias, a small city about 3 hours from Santiago where we have 2 Elders. Had a good bus ride and spent the afternoon finding and teaching with Elder Lemus from El Salvador. Around 8:30 (we have to be home at 10) we didn't have any more appointments and the plans they'd made fell through. I decided to try a good old tactic that seemed to work ok with Elder Miño in Jujuy - we stood under a tree and I offered a prayer, asking that God guide us to a family that needed help and wanted to get closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We felt we should walk down a certain path and about the 4th house we approached there was a young couple eating "dinner." We contacted the woman and it turns out she has a member friend that had invited her to church many times, but never went. They were really open and we had a good first lesson with them. They accepted a baptismal invite and should progress there! I love being and instrument in His hands to help His children.

Thursday we did weekly planning with the elders, and headed out from Santiago. Around 5 I was studying when Pres called me and told me to get on a bus for Salta. Yesterday I got here around 10 AM and as the bus pulled into Salta, I was making a list of all the people in Limache that I wanna go back and visit. The 1st person on the list = Hno Correa and family. Well, who but Hno. Correa just happens to be in the bus terminal with his fam! Hahaha it was a miracle. I love him and his fam and will be trying to get over to their house on P-Day to visit and keep teaching them. I was very pleasantly informed by him that he made it to the Temple in Paraguay in Feb and was endowed. He got baptized 3 years ago and kicked a ferocious alcohol addiction.

Well, gotta get ready for conference. I'll keep praying for all you if you pray for me! And pray for me that I can be safe behind the wheel of a manual truck! It's gonna be a stressful weekend heading into the next week (transfers), and I'm gonna be working on staying focused these last 4 months!

Love ya'll

Elder Blake