Sunday will come.

Family and friends,

After reading your emails this week, I honestly don't know what I want to say. Some bad news, but reasons to be optistic. With that said, "come what may, and love it."

I listened to 8 or so Joseph B Wirthlin talks this week during my exercise/shower time. That quote was one of his great talks, as well as another that I loved, "Sunday Will Come."

It honestly seems to me that for a lot of us, the last 2 weeks, or couple of months, have kinda stunk. Full of much happiness, but for sure balanced by disappointments and challenges. Such days are a lot like (yet not even close to) the Friday in which Christ was crucified. Fridays are dark, lonely, and suffocating. I'll let him take over:

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

Brig - Sunday will come. Mack - Sunday will come. Mom and Dad - Sunday will come. Everyone else that reads this letter - Sunday will come.

Sundays are freakin' awesome. The Sabbath Day. Translation from Spanish - "The Day of Rest." Haahahah although "rest" is literally the opposite of how we spend Sundays here in the mission, for the rest of you, it's fantastic. I can't even imagine being able to spend a whole day drinking the water of life, reading the scrips, napping, and just straight chillin' with the Blake Zoo. I won't get into doctrine, but the active "rest" we enjoy, doing things differently on Sundays, is a tremendous blessing, a time to wind down and recharge. I've gained much appreciation for the cleansing power of the Sacrament in my 6 months here, and anticipate (though not too much) the time in which I'll be able to rest from my labors. 

Our week was pretty good. I don't really remember much (feels like we just finished last p-day, the days are flying so fast), but for sure it was better than last week. Right now, our 3 main investigators are doing pretty good. I'd love if you would all pray for these 3 - that they can abandon their sins and embrace the Gospel. 1: Lila. She's 69, and progressing slowly after she said she wouldn't live the Law of Chastity. We'll see with her. 2: Aldana. She came to church again which is rare for Limache (2 weeks in a row) and liked it. However, came to another ward's baptism Sat and said she didn't like the whole immersion thing because she's scared she'll drown. She has a ton of doubts, but said firmly: "If I feel the church is true, I'll get baptized." Finally, we're now teaching a 20 year old, Rocio, who lives with her member family, the Correas. Hno. Correa is a legend - I'll attach another pic. He gave up a strong addiction to booze about 2 years ago and has literally turned his life around since his baptism. He has like 12 daughters, a mix of active, less active, or nonmembers. Rocio wants to quit smoking, and approached us to do so. She has a date for the 15th. 

Hermansen and I talk alot about what it means to be successful and really what we want out of our missions. The truth is, this mission baptizes a lot. The standard of excellence is 2 per month, but the adage is "bautizar CADA SEMANA" (every week). Many missionaries kill themselves for numbers, and as a result, there are a lot of kids between 9 and 16 baptized, only to be abandoned when they have no family support to get to church. Personally, I'm just trying my very best to open my freakin' mouth and find the FAMILIES that are looking for the truth. The attendance in the stake is at 25%, meaning that 75% of the members in West Salta are inactive. Not sure how it is in the States, but sounds pathetic to me. Forget working for numbers, I'm here to change lives. While I certainly won't ever loosen up in my work ethic, I won't conform to sacrifice quality of conversion for a "pat on the back" from the ZLs (Zone Leaders). The Gospel serves to "make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature." I've seen this power a handful of times, and it's incredible. 

Well, this letter's been all over the place. I'm feeling kinda weird today, but nothing a little evening preaching can't fix. 

Lastly, I wanna throw a huge shout out to Drew Kelton. I got your 2 packages Tuesday. Luckily for us all, it's actually kinda cold sometimes, so I throw on the 2013 sweatshirt. The new ties are sweet. However, words don't do my gratitude justice. Thanks for your love. 

Also, thank you to David and Stephanie who certainly know a good missionary care package, as well as the YAG (Young Adult Group at Church) for the package. Thank you all for the letters, emails, and packages.

Love ya'll, 

Elder Blake