What a week of hard work! Elder Sevilla and I don't waste a minute and you better believe it. The summer is so hot here and the only time I can remember having sweat this much was while I was working as a pest control technician in the blisteringly hot summer of North Carolina! But it was worth it, because we have started teaching a TON of people. Make no mistake: I spend at least seven hours every day teaching or tracting (proselyting). Elder Sevilla has taught me so much and my Spanish is always improving.
We started teaching a family by the name of the Wilsons (sounds real Latino, right?). They just invited us in without hesitation and invited us back to teach them. When we returned, they had so many questions for us! "there are so many churches. Which one is correct? How can we find out?" Seriously, those are such answerable questions! We find so many people out here with a ton of potential. Most of them, after our first visit, don't really wan't us to return. The adversary is working hard on the other side to prevent this work from moving forward. But I have faith that our work is always progressing the faith of the inhabitants of San Carlos, Maldonado.
Yesterday was Fast and Testimony meeting and it was super powerful. I didn't know this before my mission, but Sundays are a waiting game for missionaries. We wait to see if those whom we invited will show up. It can be kind of antsy, and even though not everyone showed up, a less-active family that we have been teaching (the Herreras) showed! We started teaching them this week, too. They're progressing so well! And a little old lady, named Hermana Violeta, about eighty-five years old, who has a million problems with her back and spine and legs, walked about three-quarters of a mile, up hill, to make it to all three meetings of church because she hadn't been in a while. She was so dedicated!
During fast and testimony meeting, a man who was about ninety years old rolled his wheelchair all the way up to the pulpit, pulled himself up to the microphone and, while leaning on the stand and both of his non-functional legs, through a mumbling mouth bore one of the most powerful testimonies of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that I have ever heard. What a privilege it was to witness.
If you haven't been able to tell, most of my ward is a bunch of old people. But they're amazing. The members of this ward are extraordinary. We're just trying to get them involved in the missionary work more. And you may not know this, but there are a lot of pet roosters in Uruguay. When I was growing up, the only thing I really knew about roosters was that they don't lay eggs and that they cock one time in the morning. It's not just one time. And it's not just in the morning. It's, like, every twenty seconds. And it's all day until evening. Now every time we go to the store, Elder Sevilla asks me what I need to buy and I reply with my list, and it always ends in "¡alguna cosa para matar esas gallinas!" (Something to kill those roosters.)
This week was amazing and totally hard. It alwasy gets harder, but I also keep learning how to rely on the Savior more for support. These weeks just blaze by. I'm trying to enjoy every second! I love you and and thank you for your prayers! But in all seriousness, you should write me more letters! Because missionaries LOVE MAIL! I must now go and serve the beloved children of God.
LOVE,
Elder Plautz
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