I Felt the Spirit Testify That I Was Here to Serve and Stay Worthy

VOY A SELVA (I'm going to the jungle)!!! Yeah yeah. I'm so stoked you have no idea. I´m going to Pucallpa and my new companion is Elder Paz. I asked everyone about him and they say he´s even shorter than my companion now but he´s a great missionary! I was glad to hear that. My companion Elder Zepeda who was a District leader is now going to be Zone Leader with Elder Little.

It was so good to be companions with Elder Zepeda. He taught me so much, mostly just by his example. It was really a huge growing experience for me this change because he often left for “amonitas” and spent the day with another missionary in our district, so I had to take control and know exactly where to go and what to teach. I love him though, and I'll miss him.

Last week the playa… beach… was so great!!! I took some pics and I´m going to try and make the cd today or tomorrow to send. Paciencia father!!! (Patience father - I have been bugging him about sending pictures, so I consider myself properly rebuked) I'm busy!!! I wanted to do it last week but it took more than an hour to walk there and then walk back. Plus we went caving. The only thing I didn't really care for was all the trash. We were the only people there though. The waves were huge.

Oh yeah, yesterday we saw the old man that beat me with his cane. (see original post of Monday, October 27, 2008) We were visiting our investigators before church and I saw him on the street so I said Buenos Dias and he was way friendly, and I invited him to church. His name´s Segundo. He didn't come but after church I saw him again (I swear he's everywhere) and this time he chucked a water bottle at me. Luckily I'm leaving the area so hopefully the persecution will cease.

(photo taken just after the water bottle event - jk)

So yeah... the investigators are doing great...but I'm leaving now so I pray the next missionaries will pick it right up.

Rosa Pizarro the lady we just baptized last week is awesome. She has a little boy, and maybe I already talked about this I don't know but we went and gave her son a blessing because he´s been having some major health issues. He´s only 2 or 3 years old and when we started giving him the blessing I honestly felt the biggest sense of responsibility to have faith in what I was doing. Really, having the priesthood or the power of God given to man to act in His name really sunk in when we were able to perform the blessing. I felt the spirit testify so strongly that I was here to serve, and to stay worthy to use that power. (Does it really get any better than that? A father's heart is very full right now.)

I want to take this time to thank Elder Brown, wherever he is now, for talking with Rosa Pizarro about the gospel. Rosa said it was just a short conversation a long time ago. It was only a seed then, and we were able to partake in the fruits (lucky us) but really. Thanks. Anyway, thank you everyone for the letters. I have a list of people to write letters to, so yeah.... I'm trying to keep in touch.

Love, Elder Layton

Be of Good Cheer and Do Not Fear

Hola!!! How is everyone? The misión is great!!!! Last night we finally committed someone to be baptized here in Ventanilla. It was slow up to this point because there wasn't that much to work with when we got here so we've been contacting like crazy and getting to know all the members.

Oh yeah, before I forget.... my favorite scripture is Doctrine and Covenants 68: 6 (Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.) Since I've been out I think D&C 84 is my favorite but that one is the best. And my all time favorite song is Abide With Me, Tis Eventide. I played that in Sacrament yesterday.

One of my companions, Elder Zepeda is from Guatemala, and my other companion Elder Evangelista is from Peru. (Note from dad - I just realized that this brings the mission companions up to 7, which equals the total that I had for my entire mission.)

I know I shouldn´t be all worried about my extended family but i just love them. Its hard to do anything on pdays like writing because I'm with my zone all day.

I've finally started eating some really weird foods. Of course I have rice, chicken and potataoes every day.... but we went to a members house that fed us this stuff called pataska.... inside it has mondongo and mote.... which is something like stomach lining. I had stomach in Arizona...but this was weird...and it tasted weird. We also had pachamanka which is a dish with chicken and orange potatoes with a weird taste. They told me that the way they get the orange color is that they put a special rock over the ground the potatoes are growing on. Cool huh? Oh yeah i also like the yuka thing...its like a long potato.

My testimony´s growing a lot. This week has been the hardest week of the mission so far, but that only makes me have to trust the Lord and pray for the people so much more. I feel like I'm finally beginning to understand the Spirit. It was so hard for me before to pinpoint when I was, when I wasn´t. Sometimes I'll get little promptings or thoughts to do something and it turns out thats exactly what I needed to do.

I played piano for the primary yesterday and Sacrament of course. I´m helping another lady here learn music. She conducts in Sacrament and she didn't really know how to lead haha.... but she´s a leading fiend now.

The girl that is getting baptized came over to her house last night and that's where we taught the message of the Restoration. She said she believed everything. My companions almost always let me do the Joseph Smith story which I love. I feel the truth of the restoration evry time I start saying the first vision.

Love,

Elder Layton

Ps I´m good friends with my Zone leader Elder Andrew Little. I think he may have a blog. (which can be seen here - http://servinginperu.blogspot.com/ ) We´re going to hang after the mission.