September 7 in Aeropeurto, Veracruz City

So this was a cool week! First week with a new companion is always strange but this one went unusually well! Elder Stanfield is from Washington, and he's got 20 months in the mission. Aeropuerto will be his last area. So I'm working super hard every day so that these can be the best last few months in his mission! He's a super cool guy and we're working super hard together. 

We had a really cool story this week! 

We have one investigator named Maria that is a relativley old lady. She has a small restaurant. A few weeks back she came up to me and said "Who are you guys?" We told her we were missionaries and she said, "Why don't you come by tomorrow to share your message with me?" We went and we taught, and came back a few days later. She had read a chapter in the Book of Mormon, and prayed. She then began to tell us about how she felt after she prayed. She had felt a reassuring feeling of saftey and peace so strong that she began to cry. Then, as she was telling us of this moment, she felt it again, and began to cry once again. She started coming to church and wanted to get baptized. She was progressing like crazy. The spirit had manifested to her heart that it was true, just as promised in the introduction of the Book of Mormon and in Moroni 10:3-5. But then the problems came. 

In order for her to get baptized, she would need to get married to her boyfriend first. They had been living together for over 30 years, and had had kids and raised a family together, but they weren't married. Recently they had started to have problems and even though she wanted to get married, he didn't. 

Eventually she became harder and harder to find, and because she was never home, we thought she didn't want to talk with us anymore, so we stopped going. Well, this week, some plans fell through, and we were in the area, and I felt like we should go by and visit her. We started talking again, and my companion left her some inspired counsel: say "I love you" to your husband every day. At least once. Watch how it changes things. Three days later, we came back, and she said that their relationship was changing rapidly. That he was less angry and she was less critical. He had begun telling her that he loved her too. He got to the point where he actually wants to get married! 

The lesson is that we need to use our words. Sure, actions speak louder, but actions without words is like cake without icing.

Well, that's all I have to say. Talk to you guys next week!

Elder Thompson