La Familia Irtuve and el bautismo de Braulio

Contacting, another possible wedding and a baptism!

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Glynis here: This has been a great week with Jacob! First of all, we got a call on Mother's Day and it was wonderful to see him and hear him. His testimony is so strong! We also got to meet all the other Elders that work in the office. He is enjoying his work with Presidente Li, and is learning so much about what it takes to run the mission. He is also happy that he gets to continue proselyting and talking to people about the Gospel. We got a second call from Jacob this past Saturday, and he started telling us stories about Iquitos and other things. Some of them were really interesting, and he wanted me to put them in his blog. I will add those stories at the end of his letter. Lucky us, he sent us a couple of pictures of him and his companion modeling their favorite T-shirts. I'm happy to report that Jacob is not the shortest missionary! Enjoy his letter!

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Hello everyone!

This week was really good! It was challenging, like a mission should be, but very, very good! The best part was that it started off with Mother's Day! I got to talk to my family which was awesome! The internet was absolutely terrible during the call, but I still got to talk to my mom and thank her for being amazing. Love ya, mom!

This week, while we were out contacting, we walked past a certain door. We both felt like we should go back and talk to them. So, we turned around, knocked on the door, and when it opened, there was a man there. He said, "Elderes!" He was super excited to see us. It turns out he is an inactive member. his name is Daniel and when he was my age, he was getting ready to go on a mission, but due to other circumstances, he wasn't ever able to serve a mission. He invited us in and introduced us to his partner/significant other, Sintia. She isn't a member. They aren't married, but they let us in and we decided to do something different with teaching them. Instead of just starting out with the Restoration, we decided to share The Family, A Proclamation to the World with them. When we talked about marriage, and how it is ordained of god, they had some great questions. We testified to them that if they get married they can be together as a family for all eternity. Hermana Sintia got super excited. She so many good questions. She asked when we could come back and keep teaching her. Keep them in your prayers to they can make the right decision. They are the Irtuve family.

This week we are also having a baptism! Remember that teenager I mentioned, Braulio? he was a reference from my convert in Mi Peru named Octavio. Braulio's interview is today, after our P-day, and his baptism will be next week. I'm so excited for him! We've been trying to teach his Grandma and Grandpa, too, but they are pretty Catholic. They are, however, interested in what's best for their grandson, and they understand that the Church teaches great standards for youth that will help to keep them away from the bad things that are all around, especially in Iquitos.

After teaching Braulio one day, we were waking, and wouldn't you know it? We bumped into Octavio! We told him how Hermano Braulio is going to be baptized soon and thanked him for the reference. It was actually the first time I had seen Octavio since I left for Moyobamba, so it was really good to see him again.

Anyway, it's been a great week. We have a Family Home Evening with the bishop tonight. The Irtuve family are going to be there today, and we are going to try to set a wedding date with them, so we'll see how this goes. Wish us luck!

I hope you all have a good week. I know that this is God's kingdom, and that the Book of Mormon is true. I love you guys so much!

Cuidense Mucho!! (Take care!)

-Elder Neves

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And now for the stories I promised you:

Jacob told us that there used to be 5 stakes in Iquitos. Quite a number of years ago, Dieter F. Uchtdorf visited and told the people that if they were faithful, and paid their tithing there would be a temple in Iquitos. The people were very excited about that, however, as time passed, many members in prominent positions were tempted by the tithing and fast offerings, and they took the money. Many people were excommunicated, and the number of stakes went down to 4. Jacob says that there are many times when they will be out knocking on doors, and people will say, "Come in, Elders, we used to belong to the church." They are getting a lot of contacts of these people who are ready to start the repentance process and come back to the church.

Another story he told us came about when we asked if there was something small we could send him to give the children who follow them around. He got a bit panicked, and said that we shouldn't ever send anything like that! He told us that about 50 years ago a bunch of "bad gringos" kidnapped a bunch of the people from Iquitos and took them into the jungle. There they were killed and their faces were skinned off. When mothers see their children talking to the Gringo Elders, they run out and pull their kids away from them, warning them to stay away from the "face peelers." Jacob says it's not so bad when they are dressed like missionaries, but when they are in their P-day clothes, carrying their machetes off to do service, mother's get frightened.