September 24, 2012

We have had a great week. On Tuesday we had interviews with President Alvarado. I always love meetings like that becuase we learn a lot. Especially during interviews, because it's always more personal. Anyway, I learned a lot and we've already been able to apply things with our investigators and we're seeing a lot of success.

 

On Wednesday we went and taught Anibal. We had talked about prophets and left him Mosiah 2 to read, so he could see an example of what a prophet is. When we went to his house on Wednesday he told us he had read and he felt something special. Then he prayed about it and he felt the witness of the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon was true! That was so cool to hear. He said, "I know King Benjamin was really a prophet of God" we talked about baptism and he still has a few doubts, but we're going to teach him about the plan of salvation this Wednesday and set a baptismal date. We had a great lesson with Alexis Vicil's mom too. She told us she really wants to recieve an answer that the Church is true. It was a powerful lesson.

 

And the best thing that happened this week was Jairo's baptism! It went perfectly. We finished teaching the commandments and he had his interview and the baptism went perfectly. I could see a difference in him after and he was so excited. His 12 year old brother who hadn't been there for the lessons told us that he wants to be baptized next month, so we'll be working with him now too. Anyway it has been great. Arroyo is progressing really well. I'll try to get some photos of the baptism sent.

 

Elder Duclos

September 17, 2012

Well this week has been great. Yesterday we had stake conference. I've been in the same stake my whole mission, in three different wards, units I guess. But it was good to see all the ward members I've worked with my whole mission. I love the Caguas stake, the stake President, President Santos is awesome. He is one of the most humble leaders I've ever seen. He makes frequent trips to the temple in the Dominican Republic. Things like that strengthen my testimony that the priesthood really has been restored to the earth. I also got to see Edgardo Mercado, and his family. He was sustained in the conference to recieve the Melchizedek priesthood! It was really exciting. More Melchizedek priesthood holders in the stake!

Things have been going really well with our investigators too. Jairo is going to be baptized on Saturday. It was so cool because the stake conference was focused on the family and teaching children. I thought of how Jairo is learning the same gospel he'll be teaching some day as a missionary and as a father. It was a cool thought. He's learning the basic principles now that will become even more meaningful later in his life. He's really excited. We're working with some other investigators too. Tomorrow we're going up to the office for interviews with President Avarado. Those meetings are always good. 

We're riding bikes a lot. I spend an hour a day on the bike just going to and from my area. It's great though, the views are good, especially going to Patillas. It is hot but no hotter than it's always been. Anyway, the Church is true. 

Elder Duclos

September 10, 2012

Well this has been one interesting week. On Wednesday we biked all the way from our house in Guayama to Patillas, two cities over. It took about an hour. We were there contacting for about ten minutes when Elder Bryant called and said that I had to go to the office with his companion Elder Isaksen (who is from Norway) he said that Elder Isaksen was going to work on making a DVD for President Alvarado and that President had some problems with his iPhone and iPad that he wanted me to fix. (Somebody told them that I knew how to use Apple stuff so they always ask me to fix things for them). Anyway they said that I'd need to bring enough things to stay the night. We got to the office and started working together on the DVD, we only had about half the videos President wanted on there but he said, "Just get it done" so we had to be creative. It ended up that we were there from Wednesday morning to Friday night working on all the projects they had for us. We fixed one of his computers, we made the DVD, we fixed the calendar syncing on his iPad and iPhone and all kinds of stuff. So that was pretty different. Elder Bryant and Elder Arteaga stayed in Guayama and Arroyo and worked in both areas for those three days.

 

We have been doing really well in Arroyo. We're teaching Jairo, who is the nine year old grandson of a member of the branch. It's really fun to teach him because we use a lot of examples and everything. He is a really cool kid and it's cool to think about how he'll be able to receive the priesthood and go on a mission, and that the things he's learning now with us will be the base for everything he does later in his life. We weren't able to teach Daniel, our investigator with a baptismal date, last week but we have an appointment with him this week. We have been working really hard at finding new investigators and helping the ones we have now. I think I mentioned this in the last email but we are working a lot with Eugenia, the mother of Alexis Vicil who was a missionary in the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission not too long ago. She has been taking the missionary lessons for about 7 years now but we really believe she can be baptized. We have been praying so much to be guided to what it is that she needs to understand so she can be baptized. It's been amazing how much I've been able to learn about helping others to come unto Christ. It is the most rewarding work I have ever done. It is so special to feel like somebody has learned more about Heavenly Father and gone further in their eternal progression because of something you've taught them.

 

Well, that's how this week has been. I wish I could write everything about that has happened in this week, but I'd be here all day. But I know this is the Lord's work. I know this is His gospel and His Church. There is no way these things are not true.

 

Elder Duclos

September 3, 2012

Well they finally took me out of Juncos. It was a lot of fun there and I loved that area but I'm excited for what's ahead now. On Wednesday night they called and told me I was going to Arroyo. It's still in the Caguas stake so I'm in the same zone but it's about as far from Caguas as the stake gets. It's in the southeast corner of Puerto Rico and our area covers Arroyo, Patillas and Maunabo. We live in Guayama and we don't have a car so we have to bike about half an hour every day to get to our area and another half hour the days we go to Patillas. But it has been great so far. My companion is Elder Arteaga from Bolivia and he got here at the same time as Elder Raymundo.

Arroyo is awesome, it's a branch that just opened up in the past few months - it used to be part of the Guayama ward, so it's small but really great. One of the members here was an AP in the Puerto Rico San Juan mission that just finished one transfer ago. He's the first counselor in the branch presidency and the ward mission leader so we've been working a lot with him. His mom isn't a member and has been taking the lessons for about 7 years. Yesterday we went over and had a really good lesson about reading the Book of Mormon with real intent. We explained that when somebody wants to know if the Book of Mormon is true, they need to read it really seeking that revelation from Heavenly Father. It was so cool to be able to help somebody use the Book of Mormon to find guidance for their lives, especially something so significant as finding the restored church. During that lesson, I think I learned more from what was said than I ever have in a lesson. 

We also taught the boyfriend of a recently reactivated member in Patillas. His name is Daniel and the missionaries have been teaching him for about a month. He always had problems with coming to church and they couldn't ever get him to come. On Friday we went by and had a really powerful lesson about the sabbath day and baptism and invited him to come to church he came on Sunday. and he accepted the 23rd of September as a baptismal date! It was awesome and we are really excited for the 23rd. 

Well, I am as happy as ever. I like the new area and I am excited to see some real growth here. 

Elder Duclos

August 27, 2012

Wow, this week has been eventful! We heard about the hurricane at the beginning of the week, everyone we contacted was telling us that a hurricane was coming, some people said Wednesday, some people said Thursday. Even the ward members called us to ask if we had enough water stored up. But nothing happened; all we got was a lot of rain, not even enough to stop us from going out. It was good that we didn't lose any time working but it was almost impossible to talk to people during those days. Almost everyone told us to go home because Isaac was coming. But I survived, so no worries.

 

We saw another miracle this week. So on Wednesday we were riding our bikes in Juncos to go make contact with some old investigators that we had lost contact with. While we were riding we saw a couple walking, and we stopped to talk to them. Their names are Luis and Dorca, and they told us they were walking all the way to their house in Las Piedras because he had a job interview in Juncos that he'd just finished. Then, a member, of the Church that lives in Juncos pulled up in her car. She asked if everything was all right because she thought maybe something had happened. We told her everything was okay and that we were just talking to the family, and she bore her testimony about how she found the church and asked where they were going. They told her they were walking all the way to Las Piedras and she said, "I'm going that way, get in" so we set an appointment and they drove off. Anyway on Friday we did a trade off, and I was in Humacao, Elder Raymundo, and Elder Lopez from Humacao went to the appointment with the ward mission leader and had an awesome lesson. They told us about how they moved recently and have gone through some hard times and they had been praying to find someone that could help them spiritually. They were both pastors but had some really negative experiences. They said they'd been praying and we were the first people who stopped to talk to them. They came to church yesterday and loved it. All the members welcomed them and they felt really comfortable. It was so cool. We've been fasting and praying so much recently for a miracle to happen in Juncos, and they've been praying too.  So it's been great. We're going to go over there this week to teach them more about the restoration and help them to know for themselves that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that our Heavenly Father has sent prophets to the earth again with the fulness of the gospel. I love the mission.

 

So everything has been going very well here. I'm happy and we didn't even see the hurricane. I hope everything is going well at home.

 

Elder Duclos

August 20, 2012

The meeting we had with Elder Zivick was great! We were there with another zone. He talked a lot about the goal we have as a mission to have one baptism per companionship per month, and he talked about how we need to break old mindsets and do new things and that when we do that, we'll be able to have the success we need. It was really inspiring, and I've been able to see how I can improve and grow to be a better missionary. Every time we have a meeting like that it seems like exactly what I needed, especially because President invited us to fast every week to prepare for Elder Zivick's visit. I was able to prepare spiritually for the meeting and go with the right questions in mind to be able to recieve guidance. It's awesome how that works.

 

We had another good lesson with Francisco, we finished teaching the Plan of Salvation, we explained about what happens after this life. He's been doing well, but says he doesn't want to commit to any church, but he's been reading and praying and waiting for an answer, we trust that will be powerful enough to help him overcome anything that's holding him back.

 

Anyway, things have been pretty busy here, we've got a lot of people we're working with and a lot to do every day. I love being out here serving Heavenly Father and helping His work move forward.

 

Elder Duclos

August 13, 2012

We've been doing a lot of preparation this week for the visit from Elder Zivick. He'll be speaking to our zone and the Ponce zone tomorrow. It's going to be pretty awesome, I'm not quite sure what to expect but I do know it'll be a great opportunity to learn and improve. 

We had an awesome lesson with Fransisco this week. He is the investigator that we found awhile ago but was gone on vacation for a few weeks. Anyway, we went over again and taught the plan of salvation. It was a really cool lesson and he had a lot of questions about agency. It was so great to be able to explain the Atonement and how central it is in everything Heavenly Father has prepared, and also to show what our potential is as sons and daughters of God. We prepare a lot for every lesson but usually when we get there and start to teach, it's something we hadn't expected. It's also amazing how much the Spirit teaches me every time we teach. There's nothing that builds a testimony more than testifying of something and feeling the Spirit testifying that what you are saying is true. I love it. I know this gospel is true and I know Heavenly Father's plan is perfect. 

We had another cool lesson with the Fernandez family. I wasn't there for the first lesson, because we were on splits that day. When we went over for the second lesson, the wife wasn't there and they asked if we could come back later that day. We had planned to teach them the plan of salvation but when we went over at 8 o'clock, the wife was just getting home from work, and seemed a little bit stressed out. They told us they hadn't had time to read the Book of Mormon so we decided to read the chapter with them. We read 3 Nephi 11 and the Spirit was strong. The words of the savior in the Book of Mormon changed the mood so much and everything was calm. We could tell the wife was more interested after because she was asking about our beliefs in the Bible and everything and they both recommitted to reading the Book of Mormon. That book is true. 

So anyway, everything is going really well here, and we are really excited about how well the work is going. The Church is true.

Elder Duclos

August 6, 2012

Cool story about a senior sister missionary here that was sick and needed platelets. I was one of the missionaries that got to donate.

August 5, 2012

Dear Elders and Sisters;

We want you to know that you have taken part in one of the greatest miracles that we have ever seen.  A week ago Saturday, Sister Whitaker, called to ask about the red spots that she had all over her body, and the blood blisters that she had in her mouth.  She was obviously having bleeding issues. Sister Alvarado and I rushed her to a lab not far from her apartment and waited for the results of the platelet count.  Platelets are the particles in the blood that stick to the wall of a vessel and to each other to make a plug if there is a tear in the vessel.  Small tears happen daily. Normal range is 140 – 440.  We were told to bring anyone to the emergency room if their count was below 80 to receive platelets as we treated Dengue patients.  Below 20 is life threatening and below 10 usually results in spontaneous bleeding into the body cavities and death and her count was “1”.  Sister Alvarado took her to an emergency room and they verified the first test.  They then said that they did not have the ability to treat her and sent us by ambulance to Centro Medico. Her status moved her to the top of the emergency waiting line and they began more tests.   We knew when we left the ER at 2:00 AM Sunday morning that only our Father in Heaven could save her.  We prayed with all the energy of our souls that He would wrap His arms around her and keep her safe.  Our prayer was joined by Elder and Sister Whitakers’ and others as they learned the emergency.  By Sunday morning a fast was in place and a call to pray was organized mission wide to take place at designated times.  The whole mission knelt together at the same time to pray for her, and our prayers were answered. She was still alive and appeared to have no active internal bleeding.  She made her way to the top internal medicine doctor in the teaching hospital.  When we talked with him on Tuesday, he said that in his career, or the history of the hospital, or in all of Puerto Rico had there ever been a platelet count so low. Every time they stuck her with a needle to get blood, she would bleed under the skin and her arm was totally black and blue.  She began receiving donor platelets and her count went to 3 then to 9 then back to 3. Her body was destroying them as fast as they were put in.  The doctor said that that many platelets were hard to come by and President Alvarado got permission from Salt Lake to ask the missionaries to donate platelets. What a response! Everyone wanted to give.  Most were not eligible because of the stringent rules in the blood bank, but all hearts were willing.  Sister Whitaker said that she could tell when she got a bag of platelets that was given by a missionary.  There was an overwhelming feel of strength and love when they were going in.  She could feel the love in every drop.  She was given prednisone to slow down the immune response.  They did every test possible to determine if there was internal bleeding.  She had a brain scan, abdominal scan, spleen ultrasound, lung x-rays.  All said that there was no internal bleeding.  She was still being wrapped in her Father’s Arms.  Then the blood tests began to fail.  After the blood was drawn but before the count could take place the platelets clumped together.  They had to run the tests a different way.  Finally Friday afternoon we had a count again. It was 24!!!!  Saturday it was 35 and there had been no donor platelets given which meant that she was making her own platelets.  This morning, Sunday, the count was 64 and still she was making them all on her own.

If the law of justice was in full force, she would have died last week-end.  Because she is one of the Savior’s own and those who fasted and prayed for her are His sheep, He could use the Atonement to fulfill the demands of justice and wrap her in a safe blanket until she is physically ready to function on her own.  We are so thankful that the mercies of the Atonement are available to His sons and daughters.

Sister Whitaker sends her love and tears with thanks for all of you that have given so much from your hearts.  This miracle would not have happened without everyone in the mission doing their part.  Prayer Power is Awesome!!!

Now, we are not out of the woods. As Sister Whitaker is recovering, we have our next missionary down with Dengue.  Please continue to pray for those that are sick that they might recover quickly.  Pray that this Dengue stumbling block might be taken from us that we might be more about our Father’s work if it is His will.

We love you all,

Sister Alvarado, Sister Visker

July 30, 2012

Hey! This has been a great week. Elder Raymundo and I have been finding a lot of families, and next week we have a lot of appointments that we're really excited about. It's been really good because it has been hard recently to find anyone that has stuck around but things are starting to pick up now. But other than that things have been pretty normal around here. The mission is preparing for a mission tour from Elder Claudio Zivick of the Seventy. He is the new counselor in the Caribbean area presidency, and he'll be acting under the direction of President Packer. A mission tour means that he'll be authorized to make any change in the mission that he needs to, he's coming on August 13 and we've been doing a lot to prepare. It's pretty exciting! They've asked us to fast every Sunday until he comes so we can prepare, because it'll be a really good opportunity to reflect on the things we can change and improve. It'll be great. 

A priest from our ward just got back from a mini mission, where he went out for two weeks with the missionaries in a different area. He came back super excited to help with missionary work and it's been pretty contagious with the whole ward. He's even coming out with us on bikes on Saturday. We found a new investigator next week named Reynaldo. He was in the military and was injured so now he's retired. He investigated the church with his family when he was about 15 but doesn't remember a lot. The first time we went we taught the Restoration and showed the video of the first vision and when we went back the other day he had been reading the Book of Mormon. He has a lot of free time and as a hobby he makes little sculptures out of aluminum foil. He has an entertainment center in his family room with hundreds of them, he makes anything that you can imagine, and they're pretty cool. He even gave one each to Elder Raymundo and me when we first contacted him. 

But everything has been going really well. I love it here and it is so awesome to be able to spend all day helping people receive the restored gospel. I hope next week I'll have a lot of good news about our investigators and how they're doing. I love you and I know this gospel is true. I know my Savior lives. 

Elder Duclos

July 23, 2012

It has been a great week. We got a new ward mission leader, Brother Vasquez, and he is excited to work. Things have been going really well. We had to go to Caguas today to email, so we don't have a lot of time but I sent some pictures of things that have been happening around here. 

July 16, 2012

Things have been going great this week. I still like Elder Raymundo. Last P day while we were emailing, he showed me his screen, he was telling his family that he was companions with Harry Potter. He is really funny. He really wants to learn English, and sometimes when I say something to him in Spanish, he looks at me and says "no speak Spanish, man" acting like he doesn't understand what I'm saying. It's been great and he's learning fast. 

We've been teaching a really cool guy named Francisco, he lives right next to the church in Juncos and was really interested when we taught the first lesson. When we went by the next time he told us he had been reading in the Book of Mormon, and that he noticed something different. He accepted a baptismal invitation that when he knew these things were true he'd be baptized. Then, at the end of the lesson, he said the prayer and he asked for guidance and asked that after he knew these things were true, that Heavenly Father would help him share them with his family. He's already excited for missionary work. The problem is that he's leaving for Connecticut on Friday, but we're going to teach him about the importance of reading and praying every day so he'll be able to keep it up during his trip. We also contacted the son of one of the members of the ward. She is the only member in her family but her grandkids have been going to church for awhile. Anyway the other day we saw the son outside and he said we could come by today. His name is Juan Carlos, and he seemed really interested, and Sister Martinez, his mom, mentioned that his wife has had some questions recently about the Church and everything so we're excited about that. We've had a lot more cooperation from the ward recently. The bishop just called two new counselors and the new bishopric has been excited about missionary work. They also called a new ward mission leader to replace the one who left on his mission, and we've been receiving more referrals from the ward members. It has been exciting to see. Yesterday I hit 6 months in Juncos, and I've never seen the members so excited about doing missionary work. That is what will really make a difference.

Anyway, it's great over here. That's too bad about the tree. I hope nobody was under there. Anyway, I will write next week. 

Elder Duclos

July 9, 2012

It's been great! Elder Raymundo is a really good elder, and he's learning really fast. The mission is focusing a lot on having the Latino elders learn English and we've been practicing a lot - he's already memorized the missionary purpose. The 12 week program has helped a lot in the training, it's the study program that prepares a missionary to be a trainer in 12 weeks, but President Alvarado has asked that we finish it in 8 weeks. It's all focused on the application, it lists things the new missionary should be able to lead out on each week (like teaching each lesson, teaching about the Book of Mormon, things like that), then it gives the parts of preach my gospel to study to prepare him to be able to do it. So I can see what he needs to know and we study that part of Preach my Gospel so he can take the lead that week. It has been a lot of fun to be able to do it and it's helped me a lot to go back to the basics and see things that I can improve. The mission is focusing a lot on training, and on using the 12 week program because there are going to be a lot of changes. At the end of this transfer, two groups of missionaries are going home and President Alvarado finishes his mission in a year so the mission will be really young.

 

Things have been going well with the work too. They took away our car because other missionaries needed it, but we hardly used it anyway. Elder Raymundo was in Caguas the first three weeks he was here, where there are hardly any hills but he's getting used to it here. On Thursday we rode our bikes all the way from Juncos to Las Piedras, the city next to us. It's been great. We have been working really hard to find new investigators and to help our investigators progress. We have one new family whose names are Margarita and Junior (his name is actually Raymundo) who have been reading in the Book of Mormon so we're excited about that.

 

Anyway, everything has been awesome. It's been cool to see a new missionary just starting out, and to think of what he has ahead. It's made me think a lot about the reason I'm out here, to remind Heavenly Father's children of what they once knew. To remind them of the plan that was taught to them before they were born and show them how to follow it. I love this gospel and I know it's true. I know our Heavenly Father loves us and His plan is perfect.

 

Elder Duclos

July 2, 2012

Today they made some changes in the Caguas zone. I'm still in Juncos but I have a new companion, Elder Raymundo from Guatemala. He just got here this transfer (about 4 weeks ago) so I'll be continuing his training. I picked him up a few hours ago so I still don't know a lot about him but he seems really cool. Elder Bryant is going to be working in Humacao, so he'll still be close. I'm really excited, and I'm glad I'm still in Juncos. I really love it here, and the ward is really starting to work well with us. A few days ago our ward mission leader left on his mission to the Dominican Republic, and we still don't have a new one, but we have been working through the first counselor in the bishopric, and he has been awesome. 

The day before yesterday we went over to Osiris' house because an appointment had fallen and we hadn't been able to make contact for a long time. He said he'd been having health problems, and he'd been in the hospital for awhile and that's why we hadn't been able to meet with him. He set two appointments for the coming week though, to "catch up" he said. So we're really excited about that, that he'll be able to start progressing again. I have been surprised at the trials people go through as soon as they start to progress. As soon as they start to feel that these things are true and gain a testimony of the Restoration, things go bad, and that has been hard on a lot of investigators that we've had. There are definitely two influences that are constantly acting on all of Heavenly Father's children. We're just trying to improve more and more every day so we can be more effective, and do everything we can to give them enough light to make a correct decision. 

But anyway, I'm pretty excited about having a new companion. I'll try to send some pictures sometime, I can't send any from the computers in the Juncos library, but I'll try to get some sent sometime. 

Elder Duclos

June 25, 2012

It has been really hot this week. We've had about two days of rain in the past few months, and we're sweating like crazy every day. But it's great.

This week was good, but we had some challenges. The baptismal date we set with Osiris was really fast, June 30 was only 2 weeks away and he hadn't come to church once yet but we knew he'd be able to be ready if he did his part. The problem has been that a lot of things have been happening and he has stopped progressing as fast as he needs to, so we're going to have to change the date. He couldn't come to church last week because it was Father's day and this week because he had something the night before that he'd get home late. We're not sure what changed that made him less excited about progressing and preparing for baptism, but we're going to find out this week. We've had a lot of appointments fall through like that this week but we've had a lot of time to go out and find too, and we've had success there. We found somebody named Howard that told us about his father who joined the church after he'd already grown up and left home. He said he noticed the difference in his dad's life and he was really impressed by that. It was a really spiritual lesson to hear him talk about that and to be able to testify that that change came from the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and that it was something that each of God's children could experience. He also had a friend there that was interested too that we're going to start teaching.

The other day we took the bikes pretty far out, away from the city, almost to the edge of Juncos. That was really cool, Puerto Rico is beautiful. We found one family who invited us in to eat lunch. They gave us breadfruit, which is really good, it grows on a tree but it's similar to potato, and parcha, which is passionfruit. There is a lot of passionfruit flavored juices and things here but that was the first time I'd had a fresh one and they are so good. The fruit here is great. The other day the elders who work in Humacao (who live with us in Juncos) brought home the biggest mango I've ever seen. It was almost the size of a football. I took pictures but I can't upload them on the computer here. It was giant. They also brought home mangos that were crossed with pineapples. So good.

This week we also had interviews with President. We had a whole meeting with the zone and they had us make profiles on mormon.org. I didn't finish mine because we didn't have a lot of time but it's a really cool website, they have been showing us how we can use it more to share with investigators and show them what members of the church are like.

Anyway, it has been great this week, and we're working hard in the sun.

Elder Duclos

July 18, 2012

Well it has been another great week. Osiris accepted a baptismal date for the 30th of June. We're really excited and so is he. We're working on getting him more integrated into the ward and we have all the commandments to teach but we're going over there twice a week now. We keep being blessed with new people to teach, this week we found a couple named Jose and Damaris. We found them when we were biking up the hills we were next to what looked like an abandoned house and there was a huge hill in front of us. We were trying to decide whether or not it would be worth going up the hill when we heard somebody working in the house so we thought we'd go see if somebody was there. We went up and it was Jose and Damaris, and they were actually building the house. They invited us in and we helped them with some of the work. They were really interested in the Church, they have friends who are members (they even asked us why their friends had so much food saved up in their house). We talked a lot about things we understand because we have the fulness of the gospel, including things like self-reliance. They were really interested in that and we have an appointment with them this week.

 

It's been great, we have had a lot of success, and we're really excited. Yesterday it rained for the first time in a really long time and we got soaked. But it was a nice break from the heat. Anyway, those are kind of the highlights of the week, a lot has happened and I wish I could fit it all in. I know the church is true. I know this is the gospel of Jesus Christ and I know our Heavenly Father loves His children.

 

Elder Duclos

June 11, 2012

Transfers were on Wednesday, we got a call on Monday saying we were going to have a transfer meeting, and that our house had to be spotless so we cleaned like crazy last P day, and packed everything up. I didn't get transferred though, and I'm still with Elder Bryant. I'm excited to stay because we've been seeing a lot of success. Two weeks ago we had an awesome week and found a lot of new investigators. They're all doing really well. It makes such a difference when members are out with us. We weren't able to get as many members with us this week, and we lost a few days because of the transfer meeting but it's been great. We have one investigator named Osiris who I don't think I've mentioned. He was a referral from a nonmember that we contacted. The guy said he'd taken the missionary lessons, and he had a friend that might be interested. We went by the first time and he loved it. He has an iPad and so did the member who went with us, so he showed him all the church's applications and everything so he's got it all on there. He is really great and he really wants to be able to make changes in his life to follow Jesus Christ, he's really humble too. He told us he's been reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, but hasn't felt anything yet, but that when he said the closing prayer at the end of the first lesson, he did feel something. He wasn't sure what it was that he felt but we told him it was the Spirit, and that those are the experiences that bring us closer to our Father in Heaven. We've had a lot of good experiences and this area is growing a lot. We're going to see baptisms soon.

 

At the beginning of companionship study we always sing a hymn and pray as an apartment then split into companionships to do studies. Yesterday, we stopped by the house in the middle of the day to get something and we started talking to our next door neighbors. We'd talked to them before, but just in passing, we've never really talked a lot to them but they said they noticed that every day at 9 oclock sharp we sing, and sometimes they stop to listen. I had to apologize that we didn't sing very well. But we did set up an appointment to come over some time to teach them. They've lived next to the missionaries for a long time and they've taken the lessons before, when the sister missionaries lived there.

 

Anyway, everything is going great here. It's been really hot and sunny all week. Really for the past two weeks. But there hasn't been any rain, so at least we've got that going for us. I'm doing really well and I wish I had enough time to tell you about everything but this will have to do.

 

Elder Duclos

JUNE 5, 2012 Cory's bday

That is really cool that you got to practice teaching the second lesson. I remember well that time when we practiced at the Busby's house. I remember that has become a part of my testimony too, that every time I testify of the Book of Mormon, the Spirit is there. There are a lot of people here that belong to the Pentecostal church and a lot of them don't listen to anything we say, and it seems like almost nobody can accept that there's another book of scripture, but I can always feel the Spirit bear witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. That has been one of the biggest things I've learned, to rely on the Spirit, not just use in a supporting role in the lesson. It sounds like our ward is going to have some prepared missionaries! That is so exciting. There are two missionaries leaving from Juncos. One just got his call to Arizona and leaves next week and one is waiting for his call. Those two went on splits with us last week and it was an awesome experience. I love seeing the missionaries who are leaving because I know what they're in for and that they have no way of knowing how much they'll learn and grow from their missions. I know I didn't understand it.

The thought hadn't even crossed my mind that I went to the temple a year ago today. I have grown to appreciate the temple so much more out here, especially learning about and teaching the Plan of Salvation, I've seen how important the temple covenants are. I especially like in Doctrine and Covenants section 84 about the oath and covenant of the priesthood and about how through the ordinances of the priesthood, the power of godliness is manifest. I was studying that today in my personal study, actually. I was in 3 Nephi when Jesus is teaching the discourse like the Sermon on the Mount and he says the pure in heart will see God, and I've made the connection recently between the priesthood ordinances of the temple and the privilege of seeing God. (there's a Topical Guide section called God, Privilege of seeing that helped me see that) anyway, I love this! I feel like every day I'm instructed from on high and I'm growing in a way I never could if I was sitting at home. Thanks for always helping me prepare for the mission. I've seen the blessings for that preparation.

Well I love you both, I'll talk more about the week in the other letter

Elder Duclos

May 28, 2012

We've been really busy this week. Last week we found quite a few new investigators so we've had a lot of appointments to go to. A lot has been happening in our area. Saturday was great, we had a lesson with Manuel and Keila in the morning with the bishop there. We talked about some of the parts of the Plan of Salvation, mostly just focusing on the fall, the Atonement and how through baptism we can access the blessings of the Atonement. We extended a baptismal date for the 9th of June. They told us they had to pray about it but we're really hoping they'll be able to make that decision. Saturday night was the baptism of Edgardo and Givendolee in Humacao and it was so awesome. They have made so many changes in their lives and you can see the difference. I was so glad I got to be there to see it. We found them in January, and because of the move and everything it took until now for them to get baptized but they are converted. I'm so excited for them.

On Sunday I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting because the person that was going to speak couldn't come. I spoke on the talk Elder Anderson gave called What thinks the Christ of me? It went pretty well but for some reason, after the talk, members kept coming up to me, asking if I was finishing my mission. I couldn't figure out why they would have thought that, but then I remembered that the closing hymn was God be with you till we meet again.

Well everything is going great, and we're keeping really busy. The Church is true and I love the Gospel.

Elder Duclos

May 21, 2012

It has been a great week, and we've seen some of the fruits of our labors. First, on Saturday, Edgardo and Givendolee were married. They're the couple Elder Visker and I found in Juncos that moved to Humacao. It was great, the Humacao ward really helped out with the wedding and it turned out great. They'll be baptized this Saturday! We also found Manuel and Keila again, our most promising investigators that we'd lost contact with for a long time. We finally found them in their house and they told us they wanted to make time again for us to come over because they noticed a change since we'd lost contact. I'm not sure what changed but they were more excited than ever.

We have also found a lot of new investigators this past week, and we have a lot of teaching appointments set for this week. We're seeing a change in Juncos and we're seeing our hard work pay off. It's really exciting to see the area progress. We've had a lot of fun this week. We have started to talk more to all the people selling food on the streets and we've gotten a lot of free food. They sell these things called pinchos here. They're chicken kababs with a piece of bread at the end and they're really good. There are stands everywhere that sell them. One time right after we'd eaten lunch we stopped to talk to a guy at a pincho stand, just to talk to him. He couldn't hear us very well with all the traffic, and he thought we were buying pinchos so we ended up accidentally buying two.

Anyway Puerto Rico is great. It's really hot but the work is going well and I'm enjoying it.

Elder Duclos

May 14, 2012

It seems like just yesterday I was talking on the phone to you guys. It was good to hear from everyone and I'm glad you're all doing well. Sounds like things are going to be a lot different by the time I get back. So not much has changed since we talked. We're working hard and doing well. Somebody was talking to us here in the library so we got cut short but I hope everything is okay with everyone.

The Church is true.

Elder Duclos

May 7, 2012

Hey,

It has been raining like crazy the past few days. The rain is nice because it means there's no sun, but it just makes it hotter because it gets humid. For some reason people here are really afraid of the rain, and everyone who sees us outside in the rain says we're going to get sick, but we've stayed healthy. We're still on bikes a lot whenever we're in Juncos but if we go to Las Piedras or San Lorenzo or Gurabo, we go in the car with the bikes mounted and ride the bikes when we get there. Two days ago there was a huge rainstorm and a lot of the streets were flooded, it was pretty crazy but we were in the car, and on our way up into the mountains so we didn't get washed away.

Dad asked about what we eat here. We eat a lot of beans and rice. Whenever we eat with anyone else, that's what we have. They eat a lot of pork chops too and a lot of plantains. One of my favorite Puerto Rican foods are tostones, they're the fried plantains and they're so good. We buy them frozen and make them at home a lot, and we even made some from fresh plantains the other day. When we cook at home we eat a lot of rice and beans too, a member in Caguas told me how to make them together and it works out pretty well. Sometimes we make rice and gandules too. I never saw gandules before I got here but I think they're called pigeon peas in english. I didn't like them a lot at first but I love them now. We make tacos a lot too, with taco seasoning, it's not very Puerto Rican but it's easy and good.

But things have been going really well. We have been working a lot with the ward and trying to get the members excited about helping out in the missionary work. We have been doing great and I am really excited about how things are going. 

Elder Duclos

April 30, 2012

Transfers

My new companion's name is Elder Bryant. He came to Puerto Rico at the same time as I did and he's from Las Vegas, so we've got a pretty young companionship. We've only been together since Wednesday but things have been going well. We've been out on the bikes a lot more and having a lot of fun. I'm excited for this companionship. On the first or second night we had together, we were out contacting at about 8:30, just until 9 when it was time to go home. between 8:30 and 9 we found three people who were all really interested. We gave the Book of Mormon to two of them and since then we've followed up and they've both started to read. So we've got some good investigators coming.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier but we had investigators that Elder Visker and I found and worked with for a long time named Edgardo and Givendolee. Anyway, they moved to Humacao and we didn't really have a way of contacting them. We weren't sure where they moved and they don't have a phone. Anyway they called us one day and told us their address and we sent the Humacao elders over there. They found them and they've been teaching them. They have a wedding/baptism planned for the 19th of May. It's really exciting that they'll be baptized. We were really worried that they'd get lost, or that it wouldn't work to change missionaries, but in Humacao their situation is a lot more stable and they've been able to progress really well. and, Humacao is close, in our district so I'll be able to see them get married and baptized! We worked a lot with them, they always wanted to learn but it was so hard to meet with them, so it's exciting to see them in a better situation now.

Well, everything is going really well. It's starting to get really hot, but Juncos is in one of the colder areas of Puerto Rico, so I'm lucky. Anyway, I'll talk to you later,

Elder Duclos

April 23, 2012

One for the folks,

I'm sorry I haven't taken much time to write more personal letters/emails. When we changed P day to Monday, we also put district meeting and weekly planning on P day so it's sometimes a little rushed.

You should know that I'm happier than I ever have been before. I love the mission and I haven't ever been more sure that I was in the right place. I've been studying a lot about success and what makes a successful missionary because I haven't really seen any investigators baptized but what I have seen is that I really am doing the will of the Lord and I can recognize that I've been successful on my mission, and that has been the most fulfilling thing I've ever experienced. I wondered before if there were no baptisms because I wasn't doing things well enough but now I realize that that's not it. I'm doing my part and Heavenly Father is pleased with that.

As far as companions, Elder Visker took a little bit of getting used to but I have realized how much I've grown with him, and I've really learned to love him. Transfers are this week, and we haven't gotten the official word but President basically said that Elder Visker was leaving the zone (he's only spent 2 transfers outside of the Caguas zone his whole mission). I have really appreciated him and everything he's done for me. It's been good to be his companion. With him leaving, I'll bee the one that knows the area. I'm still not sure at all who my companion will be but I'm excited for the chance to really take the lead. I can see how it'll help me grow and put me into the position to act even more. Not that he ever dominated or anything, but it'll be a good experience for me.

I love you both and I can see how much good you've done for me in my life. Yesterday I changed a tire for the other missionaries that live with us and I pretty much do all the cooking whenever we cook. I'm glad I have parents that taught me, and most of all taught me how to get my own testimony. That's what I've relied on more than anything and it was you that gave me that chance.

So I am doing very well. I'm sorry again for not taking the time to be more personal. Tell the brothers I've been working on letters for them, but it's just a slow process. I love the mission and Puerto Rico, and my goal is to make my parents proud. Earthly and heavenly.

I love you,

Brock

April 16, 2012

It seems like forever ago that I was emailing last P day but it's been a great week.

We had a mission Easter conference on Tuesday and went to Old San Juan. We went to a place called the San Cristóbol fort. It's a fortress they built forever ago that's right on the coast. It was the first time I'd seen the ocean on my mission. They had a cultural presentation there where they showed some of the typical dances from different parts of Puerto Rico. That was a lot of fun, especially seeing all the elders I was with in Caguas that have all gone to different places now. I am one of the only ones in the Caguas zone that was here when I started. I forgot to bring my camera though, but I'm going to get some pictures from the other elders.

Other than that, the week has been pretty normal. The elders in Humacao found Edgardo and Givendolee, and they went to church there. It sounds like they're going to fit in really well with the ward there, and the ward has been volunteering to help them out. They have an apartment but not much else and Edgardo lost his job. So they've already talked to the ward employment specialist and people have volunteered furniture and things that they'll need. I'm really excited about that, I was worried that them moving would hinder their progress but they're doing well. We haven't seen Manuel and Keila since our last lesson on Sunday. We had one scheduled yesterday but it was cancelled. We were going to follow up on their commitment to keep the Sabbath day holy and come to church but they didn't come.

Well, I don't have a lot of time to email today, but I'm going to try to get some pictures to send. I love you, and I'm glad everything is going well. Tell Jim congratulations.

Elder Duclos

April 9, 2012

Well, this week has been really hot and we've been sweating it out on the bikes all week. But it's been great. I got the package on Monday, I went to the post office but it wasn't there. When we got home it was on our doorstep. The mailman had thrown it over our fence to get to the doorstep and it was sitting in the sun for a few hours. The truffles got destroyed and melted all over everything but I saved the rest. The Canadian chocolate is really good and I was really glad to get the photos. We're going to try to get some mangos down from the tree today, I'll be sure to take pictures.

 

It has been a great week, even though it's been hot. After three appointments falling through with Manuel and Keila, we finally got to go by and teach them last night. We taught about keeping the Sabbath day holy, and helped them understand the reasons behind it and the blessings that will come. It seemed like it was something they'd always heard but never lived because they didn't understand all the doctrine behind it but they have committed now that they understand better. Manuel has been taking a lot of initiative in studying. He's reading in Alma now and he watched most of one session of conference. He thought all the sessions were just repeats of the same thing, but he said he thought it was the Saturday afternoon session he saw. That would mean he heard Elder Holland's talk - If you haven't made covenants, make them! We're still working on getting Keila more excited. We really think this lesson helped her resolve doubts about coming to church, and they've committed to come every week now, so that will make a huge difference. I'm really excited about them. They are such a cool family.

 

Anyway, everything is great here. We're working hard and seeing fruits. I love you

 

Elder Duclos

April 2, 2012

It was a really rainy week this week. One of the days we had about two hours between studies and lunch that we planned to use to go contacting. We decided to go to a part of Juncos that's pretty far away and as soon as we got there and parked the car it started dumping rain. We had already driven the whole way out so we got out, got our bikes off the car and went looking for people. It let up a little at the end of the 2 hours but we were soaked, and laughing about how funny we must have looked. I still haven't picked up the package yet. We got the delivery slip in our mailbox on Saturday night so our next stop is the post office to pick that up.

 

Some really good news though. We have an investigator family, Manuel and Keila that we've kind of held back on. We never dropped them completely because they were just busy with school and finals and everything and they seemed like they had a lot of potential. Anyway, we went by on Monday without an appointment and he'd started reading the Book of Mormon on that past Friday, and had already read all of 1 Nephi. He had a few doubts about it, but they were just things he didn't quite understand, and we could explain without problems. We went again on Thursday and he had already read to Mosiah. He told us he knows there's no way Joseph Smith could have written that book and that it had to be true. We told him it was still important to pray about it, he hadn't yet. He was really close to accepting a baptismal date for April 28th but he still wasn't quite sure enough yet but he's tearing through the Book of Mormon so I'm not too worried. His wife isn't quite as excited yet. She's happy to support him and she likes to come talk to us during the lessons, but she hasn't been reading. Her parents were pentecostal pastors, and I think that's been making it hard for her to keep commitments. But I'm really excited. I could see the difference the Book of Mormon made even between the two visits on Monday and Thursday. It's a great book.

 

Conference was awesome. Being out here has made me appreciate even more how amazing it is that we have a prophet. We didn't get any investigators there, Manuel had to work this weekend (he usually doesn't have to work weekends) but we told him he could get it online. We found out that he was already familiar with lds.org because he downloaded the Book of Mormon as a pdf and the audio files so he could listen to it at work. So we're really hoping he's listened. Especially during the Saturday morning session I felt like the talks were perfect for him to hear. We did get to watch it in English, and I was watching for Evan the whole time. I guessed he must not have been able to make it. But I did see my institute teacher and a few people in my student ward during the priesthood session. The talks were so good. Every one was perfect for what I needed to hear. I know this church is led by prophets and apostles. It's true isn't it? Then what else matters?

 

I love you

 

Elder Duclos

March 26, 2012

It's been a rainy week here. We've gotten wet quite a few times but it's been great.

On Thursday we had interviews with President. We drove up to the mission office, where he interviewed everyone in the zone. My interview went really well, he really is an inspired man. While we had interviews, the office elders and Sister Alvarado did apartment inspections. They didn't like the machete, especially because my companion had to go home with a cut tendon. So I'm going to have to have them keep it in the office.

The rest of the week has been really good too. During the interviews, some missionaries from Caguas gave us a reference of somebody they contacted there that lives in Juncos. It's a man that was baptized when he was young and his wife and kids. We stopped by one night, without an appointment and they let us in. He asked if we had the Restoration DVD to watch so we played that. I love that movie. The Spirit is always so strong when it shows Joseph leaving his house in the morning and in the background they start singing Oh how lovely was the morning. We had a pretty good lesson and gave them a Book of Mormon to read and pray about.

We've noticed that in our time here we have found a lot of families that have been willing to learn. We have been really blessed to be able to find them, but it's been a little difficult for most of them to keep progressing, so we have been praying a lot about what we can do with these opportunities we've been given. I really feel like we'll be seeing a lot of success soon, and see these families get baptized. It'll be a huge blessing to the ward here, they haven't seen a baptism in quite awhile. I think too when they see these families coming in, they'll get even more excited and work even more with us. And that's the key.

The house looks great, when I opened up the email with the pictures, I could hardly recognize it, especially the back bedroom. It took awhile for me to figure out what room that was. I'm glad everything is going well at home. We're doing really well here. I know we're doing the Lord's work and working under the direction of inspired priesthood leaders who hold keys. And I love it.

Elder Duclos

March 17, 2012

Elder Visker and I are still together in Juncos. I'm excited because we've found some great people to teach. There's a new elder from Roy Utah in our district now too. I saw Elder Newman's picture up in the mission office a few weeks ago, and I recognized him but I'm not sure where he is now. Tell Evan good luck, and to stay away from all the cougars in Columbia.

This week has been great, and we've found some people with some good potential. Edgardo and Givendolee are progressing really well. We just taught them about the law of chastity using the family proclamation. The promises and declarations in that proclamation are so powerful. It made them really excited, and they committed to getting married. But, they're moving. I don't know if I mentioned this but we found out a little while ago that they're going to be moving to Humacao. It's close to Juncos, and the elders that work there are in our district but they'll be moving any time now. Probably within the next week or so. So now we're working on making sure the transistion goes well for them and they keep going just as strong in Humacao.

We also had a really great lesson yesterday, one of the best of my mission so far. It was with a guy named Edwin that we contacted a few days ago. While we were talking to him he said he believed in God but he didn't believe in the Bible or Jesus Christ. We didn't have time to talk about any more than that but we studied in Preach my Gospel about what it says to do to teach those without a Christian background. He is really sincere and has a lot of faith in God, and a strong relationship with Him. Because of that the principles from the message of the restoration made sense to him, and he could see the truthfulness of the message. During the lesson I could feel the Spirit reminding me of principles I'd read that helped us tesify of the importance of Jesus Christ. One of the things it says to do is to bear testimony about why you have chosen to follow Jesus Christ in your life. There was a perfect opportunity to do that during the lesson and the Spirit was so strong. He really felt it, and he recognized too that what he felt was from God. He was also excited to read the Book of Mormon. He has doubts about scripture because he says his relationship with God has been something really personal and he has a hard time seeing how scripture could apply to his life but he said he was willing to read and pray to ask Heavenly Father if it was true. It was a great lesson and so rewarding. I know this is God's work. I know He prepares His children to hear the gospel and I love being a part of that. The Church is true.

It's been great. Puerto Rico is still hot. It's just always hot, but I'm pretty used to it by now. We're still waiting for the neighbor's mangos to get ripe (that's part of the reason I was excited to stay in Juncos). I love it here. I learn so much every day about how the Spirit works, and how much our Heavenly Father loves all of us.

I love you. I'm glad everything's good back at home.

Elder Duclos

March 12, 2012

Don't worry, I'm not breaking the rules

So our P days are Mondays now. We now have our weekly planning session, district meetings and P days all on Monday. It should leave us with some more time during the week to get work done.

It hasn't been too long since the last email but it's been pretty crazy since then. That P day we went to Caguas because I had to get the brake cable on my bike fixed, and my license changed I don't know if I mentioned it but I realized that when I got my Puerto Rican license gave me a learner's permit. So we got that stuff done on P day and drove back to Juncos. When we got there the zone leaders called and told us Elder Visker had a meeting in Bayamon the next day. So on Thursday I worked with the elders in Caguas while Elder Visker had the meeting. It was cool to be in Caguas again. I was with Elder Hammer, who was also trained by Elder Griffin. The meeting went way longer than they expected and I ended up spending the whole day with them. Then on Friday, we went to the airport. While Elder Visker was at home, President found out that his grandma had served a medical mission and he asked her to come serve here. She landed on Friday night and President let Elder Visker go too to pick her up. So we've been all over the place.

We've also found some good people to teach this week. I was telling dad about this but before we drove up to Caguas, we stopped by a place in the pueblo where we had taken a few pairs of pants to be sewn. We were in a hurry so we were going to just pick them up and go but he still hadn't sewn them. He told us we could wait if we wanted, and talk awhile about the Bible. We ended up talking to him for about an hour. He had questions about what we believed, especially about what we think happens after we die. We passed by again the other day and taught the rest of the plan of salvation. He liked it, especially that it's possible to live together forever as families. It's a different teaching situation than I've ever had, because he only has time during work and people are coming in and out. But that's good too because the customers hear stuff and get involved in the conversation and we give them our number when they leave. We had a lesson yesterday with the guy I contacted in Caguas who is now in our area. His name is Miguel Maldonado and he was really cool and interested. He lives in the same neighborhood as our bishop so we took him with us.

So things are going well. I love you and hope everything's okay at home. 

Elder Duclos

March 6, 2012

Another great week,

It has been pretty hard to get ahold of Edgardo and Givendolee this week. We've had about 3 appointments fall with them, all for different reasons. One day they were stuck in another city because their car broke down at the beach and they don't have a phone so they had to walk around to find somebody to help them fix it. We finally got to go by to teach them on Monday. They're still really excited for their baptism. We had left 2 Nephi 31 for them to read, that talks a lot about baptism. Edgardo especially understood it, and talked about how baptism was the beginning of the path, that it's the door and that they need to keep going after. We still have a lot to teach them, and the 17th might not work because we haven't been able to meet with them as much as we'd hoped, but they are still progressing and doing really well. Manuel and Keila have both been really busy studying for finals. He's got his next week and hers are this week so we haven't been able to go over at all. We've been trying but we've decided to just back off a little until they're done. It's a shame because I know how much it could help them even with their studies. We've still been out trying to find new investigators, and we've met a few people with potential. Yesterday I was looking through my first planner and I found a name and address I'd written down. I remembered that he was the security guard for an apartment complex in Caguas where we were visiting a member, and that he was pretty interested in learning more. We realized later though that he wasn't in our area, so we tried to pass on the reference but somehow it got lost in the mix. Anyway, when I looked at it yesterday I realized he lived in San Lorenzo, and that's actually in our area now. We figured it was worth calling him even though it was months ago that we contacted him. We called and he said we could come by Sunday, so we'll see what happens with that.

My bike broke the other day, the brake cable broke so we're going to Caguas today to get that fixed. It's been great here. I'm pretty used to the heat, and riding around on the bikes. I still get sunburned every once in awhile though. And, we found out some good news. We were at a member's house one day and they showed us their mango tree in their backyard. I didn't know what they looked like and when we got home and went in the backyard I noticed that the neighbor's huge tree that hangs over on our side of the fence is a mango tree, and there's fruit starting to grow. I'm really excited for that, I hope I'm not transferred before they're ripe.

Anyway, everything is going really well. I'm the happiest I ever have been and I am learning so much every day. I know the church is true and I love the gospel.

Elder Duclos

February 22, 2012

Another great week,

It has been pretty hard to get ahold of Edgardo and Givendolee this week. We've had about 3 appointments fall with them, all for different reasons. One day they were stuck in another city because their car broke down at the beach and they don't have a phone so they had to walk around to find somebody to help them fix it. We finally got to go by to teach them on Monday. They're still really excited for their baptism. We had left 2 Nephi 31 for them to read, that talks a lot about baptism. Edgardo especially understood it, and talked about how baptism was the beginning of the path, that it's the door and that they need to keep going after. We still have a lot to teach them, and the 17th might not work because we haven't been able to meet with them as much as we'd hoped, but they are still progressing and doing really well. Manuel and Keila have both been really busy studying for finals. He's got his next week and hers are this week so we haven't been able to go over at all. We've been trying but we've decided to just back off a little until they're done. It's a shame because I know how much it could help them even with their studies. We've still been out trying to find new investigators, and we've met a few people with potential. Yesterday I was looking through my first planner and I found a name and address I'd written down. I remembered that he was the security guard for an apartment complex in Caguas where we were visiting a member, and that he was pretty interested in learning more. We realized later though that he wasn't in our area, so we tried to pass on the reference but somehow it got lost in the mix. Anyway, when I looked at it yesterday I realized he lived in San Lorenzo, and that's actually in our area now. We figured it was worth calling him even though it was months ago that we contacted him. We called and he said we could come by Sunday, so we'll see what happens with that.

My bike broke the other day, the brake cable broke so we're going to Caguas today to get that fixed. It's been great here. I'm pretty used to the heat, and riding around on the bikes. I still get sunburned every once in awhile though. And, we found out some good news. We were at a member's house one day and they showed us their mango tree in their backyard. I didn't know what they looked like and when we got home and went in the backyard I noticed that the neighbor's huge tree that hangs over on our side of the fence is a mango tree, and there's fruit starting to grow. I'm really excited for that, I hope I'm not transferred before they're ripe.

Anyway, everything is going really well. I'm the happiest I ever have been and I am learning so much every day. I know the church is true and I love the gospel.

Elder Duclos