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Dearest Familia,

It was an amazing week. We had the baptism of Maryorie (That's Marjury in English) and a great on at that. Her entire family is inactive but her mother and grandmother and uncle came to the baptism service, and then came to church yesterday. Maryrie's great! A little girl 8 years old…. But she always comes to church and is an example to her family.

You Wont Believe It! Guess where I'm going again? For the third time?! PUEEENNNNTE PIEDDDRAAAA!!!! Que loco. I'm actually really excited. It's a great area, and I'll have a good companion, Elder Moreira (shown at left). He was in one of my anterior (previous) zones before so I know him a little. It`ll be my best change I can already feel it.

This week was a tough one actually in terms of finding new people to teach, or that want to progress. Apart from the investigators we are teaching there aren't tons of people in our minds because we had to leave several that really just weren`t putting in their parts. Alberto is still preparing for his baptism and everything. We`re also teaching his son. Although he didn't come to church I know he'll make it to the waters of baptism soon enough. He's really suffering with his amputated big toe…. It's getting better kind of. Give him another week and he'll be up and walking around.

I'd like to share with you something that the Lord has spoken in this dispensation for all of us through the prophet Joseph Smith:

For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and recievth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned. (D&C 58:26-29)

The word damned is like a dam on a river. These people can't progress or have something slowing them down.

Obedience isn’t just to complete with the minimum and the written rules. God wants us to follow His example and learn to create, work, experience life, love, do things without be told, avoiding laziness.

Bueno, realmente estoy muy agradecido por todos las cartas. (Well, I really am very grateful for all of the letters.) I even got on from Uncle Danny! That was cool. Also I'd like to give a shout out to Kelsey Costello. You rock.

Please keep praying for the mission and the people here that are able to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for every one of you. Thanks for everything. The mission is amazing.
　
Love,

Elder Layton

Nothing Makes You Happier Than Living the Gospel

This week has been great. We didn't have any baptisms this Saturday but we've set up several more for the month of December! Also we have a golden family that's just waiting to get married. So basically we're waiting for a matrimonio and the dad, Alberto, needs his papers, so we've been communicating with other missionaries to get his papers from Iquitos. The missionary work is so amazing. Really there´s nothing that makes you happier than living the Gospel, being obedient, and serving the Lord.

Pucallpa rocks. I'm glad Curtis thinks it's cool there are monkeys here. Because it IS cool. We have a big river in part of our area and there are a bunch of little boats and canoes all over the place. Also I learned that in February and march everything floods and that´s why all the houses are raised up. A ton of our area will be under water so we have to use bridges, and the people use canoes.

The people here are so tight. Everyone's always like GRINGO!!! So it´s a good conversation starter to begin sharing the gospel. Yeah I did English lessons on Saturday. It was great, cause we had two investigators there, and I hear we might have more this Saturday. It´s perfect because they come with members and then we can set up times to meet with them.

I don´t know how much I told you about Gustavo, but he´s a gringo that lives right above us. He teaches English lessons here in Pucallpa. We've only met with him once because of his tight schedule but after the first lesson he was really set. He wants to prepare for baptism, and he knows he needs to change a lot of things in his life. He told us all about his past life, and decisions that have led him to where he is now. Really though, I know when he accepts the gospel in his life his life will only get better.

Here's some info I found on wikipedia about Pucallpa. It provides a technical snapshot on where Elder Layton is serving.

Pucallpa (Quechua: puka hallpa, "red earth") is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the Calleria District.

Pucallpa was founded in the 1840s by Franciscan missionaries who settled several families of the Shipibo-Conibo ethnic group. For several decades it remained a small settlement as it was isolated from the rest of the country by the Amazon Rainforest and the Andes mountain range. From the 1880s through the 1920s a railway project to connect Pucallpa with the rest of the country via the Ferrocarril Central Andino was started and dropped several time until it was finally abandoned. Pucallpa's isolation finally ended in 1945 with the completion of a highway to Lima through Tingo Maria. The highway allowed the commercialization of regional products to the rest of the country, thus improving the economic outlook of the region and its capital, Pucallpa. However, the heavy rainfalls of the Amazon Rainforest remain a problem as they erode the highway and can even cut it by causing flash floods.

Pucallpa is served by air through the Captain Rolden International Airport and by river through its port Pucallpillo near the center of the city. During the high water season, the floating ports of La Hoyada and Puerto Italia are used for riverine communications. Pucallpa is connected by road to Lima via the cities Huánuco and Cerro de Pasco.