6 Months Down!!!

April 27, 2009 - "Well, here we are at the 6-month mark... Can you believe it? I am still in awe every morning when I wake up... Everyday, when I leave the house, I still can't believe that I am in Peru, that I am in the jungle, or that I am on a mission... It really is a dream that Elder Quinn is living... The time really is passing, but there's still more to go. But I do know that the time will come when I will have to remove the nametag, and I don't think I'll be ready for it... We had an awesome baptism this weekend. We baptized the Hermana Rosa Hidalgo. She was baptized by her nephew José who will be leaving on his mission this year... Rosa is a single mom of two little kids. She lives with the family of José. José's family is just like ours... Dad, mom, and 3 boys... Leo, Leti, José, Andre, and Sebastian... I have become really good friends with them, and I definitely have to visit them when we return to Peru... Mom, Leti is just like you...only she is Latina, and doesn't speak English at all... I think this is why I love their family so much because I see so much of you in this mother... This family has become my Peruvian mom and dad and brothers. They always serve us treats and drinks when we pass by, and I love being in the comfort of their home. Tonight, we are going to have an awesome Family Home Evening with their family and I cannot wait... Back to the baptism. It was perfect. Everything went great. When Rosa was in the baptismal font, the spirit was so strong, and when she went under the water, everyone started to cry, including me... It was the most spiritually overwhelmed I have felt during a baptism... After they changed clothes and dried off, I had the opportunity to sing "Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide" and I sang one verse in English... It went great and I was floating on a cloud... Then Leti gave her testimony, and like I said, she reminds me of you mom, she started crying and I started crying. She said that she feels so sad for me because I am so far away from home, all alone, without my family. She also talked about how much she is going to miss her son when he leaves on his mission... She couldn't even finish her testimony because she was so overwhelmed with tears... Yes, I did cry... But not because I was sad. It was because I was overwhelmed with joy for this family, and especially Hermana Rosa... I know I am far away from home, all alone, but I know that I'm not actually alone. I know that the Lord is with me and I feel the love of you guys everyday... It was an awesome baptism...I love you guys so much and I thank Heavenly Father everyday for the amazingly close family that He blessed me with. I will never be able to pay Him back... I love you guys so much, still cannot wait to see you, and miss you like crazy... I love you. Take care til next week... Love, Coco..."