This week was really full! On Monday, we
Skyped Alejandra and invited her to come to church. Because of her
difficult situation being super far from the church and getting really
sick, President Franco, the Mission president told us he would pay for
the bus tickets. Alejandra was so excited. Right after the call, we
talked to President Franco about our plan, and he told us that if it was
possible, we should baptize her this Saturday, even though she hadn't gone to church. We couldn't wait to tell her!
On Tuesday,
I went to Corrientes to get my DNE, my Argentine ID card that will make
me legal for the next two years. It´s going to arrive in about a month.
Wednesday, the 25th,
is Argentine Independence day. Traditionally, everyone makes big pots
of locro, a type of soup with a corn and meat base. The branch had a
huge activity and cooked a bunch for everyone. I got to try a little
bit and I really like it. Most people don´t because it contains
mondongo, or cow stomach. It has a weird chewy taste to it. We only
received permission to eat a little, because it makes some people sick.
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| My district at the locro. |
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| The cooks at the locro activity. |
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| Locro! |
That
same day, we Skyped Alejandra again and introduced her to everyone that
was still at the activity. We invited them to be baptized this Saturday, and they said yes! Milagros was really nervous, especially because she is really shy and doesn't like to talk very much.
Saturday
was a huge day. Five people had their baptisms scheduled and we were
all really exited! It felt like three days put in one. As almost always
happens with baptisms, there were a lot of problems to solve. Alejandra
planned to stay with her sister who lives close to the church, but then
her sister told her she´d be busy that day. Alejandra told us she would
sleep in the terminal if she had to, she was that excited to be
baptized. After scrambling to find a place for her to stay, and finding
none, President Franco told us we could rent out a Hotel room.
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| On the baptism day. |
We
ended up having three baptismal services. Antonio, who asked me to baptize him, couldn't come when everyone else had their baptisms, so his
service was at 2:30.
Then Luz, the young girl that would be baptized told us that she was
sick and she would have to come sooner so she wouldn´t be out in the
cold. She was baptized at 4:00. Finally, Juan, Alegandra, and Milagros were baptized at 6:00.
We were so happy for them! Not very many people came, but the services
were each very special. My companion, two other Elders, and I sang a
special musical number "Savior may I learn to Love Thee" and I directed
the music.
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| Antonio, who asked me to baptize him. |
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| Antonio after his baptism. |
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| Alejandra and Milagros right after their baptisms. They were so happy! |
All five of them were confirmed members of the church on Sunday and received the Holy Ghost. I am so happy for all of them and that I could be a part of their decisions to be baptized!
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| All of the five new converts and missionaries. |
Elder Cloward
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