"Every prayer makes a difference"

September 13, 2010 -
Hey Family,
Oh if I could put into words what a wonderful weekend it has been. We had the greatest time this weekend. All week long we were trying to get together all the papers we needed for two couples to get married so that the wives could get baptized. Starting with the first couple… Carmen Mejia. She has been waiting for three years to get baptized. The problem was that her husband, Marco, never wanted to talk with the Missionaries and would never leave his room if they happened to find him in the house. We went last Monday night to visit Carmen and see how she was doing and if she had talked with her husband about the Wedding. Her husband was there that night. We knew that he had never come out to meet the Missionaries before, and I was just praying and praying that he would come out and just talk for a sec… And guess what??? He came out. I honestly couldn’t believe it and was so nervous to talk with him. We stood up when he entered the room and then I just had to sweet-talk him. He is a really nice guy. I talked to him for about ten minutes and asked him to get married to his wife just so she could get baptized. We sat in silence for about five minutes, almost laughing and smirking and smiling, because there was a Spirit that was telling all of us that he was going to say “yes”… And he accepted. He said that he would get married only so his wife could get baptized, but that he didn’t want to be obligated in any Church things… That was the first couple…Carmen and Marco
The second couple has a completely different story. The husband Henry is a Returned Missionary, but has been going through many problems in his life. He and his sweet wife, Yizza, live in a one-room rented house where they have to share a bathroom with other people and their bed, table, kitchen, and chairs are all in the same room, the size of the room I lived in at our house in Riverton. They are so humble and have been going through so many problems. At first, before I knew her, Yizza didn’t want anything to do with the Church, but she came to love it and wanted to get baptized. But she needed to get married first. We had to help them baby step by baby step to get the papers ready. The Wedding was on Saturday and they handed us the last bit of papers at Midnight on Friday night, just after I had made a batch of rice crispies, but that is besides the point. But everything worked out. This is the second couple…Yizza and Henry.
Saturday afternoon, we headed early to the Wedding and guess who else was getting couples married…ELDER STEED!!! It was so good to see him. I don’t know if I’ll see him again until we are both in Utah because he goes home in a week… The couples both got there and the Wedding went just fine. Everyone was so happy that they got married and we couldn’t wipe the smiles off of our faces. With me, my Companion, the two couples, their witnesses, and the couples’ families, there were 26 people who went to the Wedding from our Ward. So to come home we just called a bus from the street, kicked everyone else off the bus and told it to take us to Comas. The 26 of us all piled into the small bus and had the funnest hour-and-a-half bus ride ever going to the Chapel for the Wedding Reception. I think I was laughing the whole ride home. (The Peruvians have a really good sense of humor.) We didn’t get to stay long for the Reception because it was already late, but I left my camera with the Bishop so he could take pictures. It was a special night… Weddings are always great!!!
Then yesterday was the Baptism. We have also been teaching a Young Woman named Yosselin and her Baptism was yesterday as well. I baptized all three of them…Yosselin, Yizza, and then Carmen, and what an experience that was. The water was freezing and my hand was shaking in the air as a said each Baptismal prayer, but each one was perfectly fine and even though they were cold, they went under the water and came out fine. Carmen is 44-years-old and has had some health problems and felt so cold, but knew that she had to fulfill the Commandment after three years of waiting… I have never seen Henry, or Yizza, or Carmen, or their families smile so much as they did this weekend. Honestly, it was one of the best experiences that I have had in my Mission. I started off the week by having my wallet stolen, but that didn’t matter. The week ended so perfect that I can’t even start to thank Heavenly Father for letting me be a part of these events in these families’ lives. So I just want you guys to know that everything is going great. I honestly love the Mission and it is so true that I am starting to get sad that I am going to have to leave it all behind for a while, but every Missionary has to start and end his Mission. And of course, there is always the happiness and joy that come from knowing that we (you, my family) are not that far away from seeing each other. Just know that I am enjoying the Mission. I absolutely love it and wouldn’t change anything for it. It is one of the best decisions I have made in my life and just look at how much we have been blessed. I will just keep working until the end. Keep praying for me, for my companion, for the Missionaries in my Zone, for my investigators, for my converts, and for all of the friends that I have made. Every prayer makes a difference. Thanks family for being my support and my inspiration. See ya soon…
Love, Coco

"I'M 21 - YEARS - OLD!!!"

September 6, 2010 -
My Beautiful Family!!!
How’s everything going??? Everything is going great down here. I’M 21-YEARS-OLD!!! Can you believe it? I feel so old…just kidding. I still feel like a little kid, and I love it. What did I do for my Birthday??? Hmmmm… The whole Zone came over in the morning to our house to pick up their clean clothes and they sang “Happy Birthday” to me, and I was surprised by getting egged as well… By egged, I mean get hugged by some of the Missionaries to distract me and then getting raw eggs crushed on my head. It was an experience. My shirt, my tie, my shoes, my pants were covered in goop from raw eggs. It was kind of gross, but at the same time, a fun experience. It is a Peruvian tradition that when someone has a Birthday, they get egged. The Saucedo Toledo Family (the two twin girls, their older brother, and their mom) threw me a small Birthday Party at their house in the early afternoon. It was a sweet moment to be with them. They are such a humble family. And of course, I had to eat pizza for my Birthday so we all ate Papa John’s Pizza as a Zone. It was delectable!!! I would say that it was a pretty good day. I sure hope we are going to celebrate it when I get home… Oh, I almost forgot the best part of the day…I got my package!!!...on my Birthday… It worked out perfect. Going to pick up the pizza, we passed by the Offices and my package was there… Today in the morning, I made Rice Crispie treats to share with the Zone… They are delicious. Thanks for thinking of me… Thanks for the box of treats… What a good idea: Starbursts and Skittles… I love them… And I love the music. It is so great to finally have my music back… Thanks for always taking care of me. Thanks for the special Birthday package. I really loved the fun hand-written letters… They made me laugh… I had a pretty good 21st Birthday!!!
We had two special Baptisms this weekend: My companion baptized Lady Brillith Canaza Cueva. She is a fifteen-year-old girl whose family has been less-active for a while. Her Grandma is the only active member and recently went to the Temple to take her Endowments out. We hope that Lady’s Baptism will activate her mom and family. Yesterday, I had the cool opportunity to baptize Giancarlo Miguel Begazo Navarro. He is such a cool kid. He is 19-years-old and actually was born in the Church to parents sealed in the Temple. He even received his baby blessing, but for trials that happened in his parents’ life he wasn’t active in the Church and never got baptized. His dad and sister attended his baptism. It was a really spiritual experience…
I love you family and will be talking to you next week. HAPPY BYU SEASON!!! I LOVE IT!!! GO COUGARS!!! Go have fun and be safe…
Love, Coco