Hey Mom and Dad,
Elder Anderson is still here !!!!! He's going to have been here for a really long time, like nine months! President Spannaus has a different style!
Thanks for putting the names on the temple prayer roll. I know they'll be blessed. They already are blessed. We've found many people that have accepted the gospel so rapidly and freely. The people here in Mexico are ready to exercise faith. The Catholic church, in spite of some of the bad things it has done, has helped prepare the heart of the Mexican people. They understand the principles of the gospel. They're just waiting to put it into practice.
The gospel of hope and faith would help so many people here. There are so many women that do the same thing day after day: wash, clean, take care of the kids, make tortillas, wash some more, and wait for their drunk husband to come home. They believe in God, and in Jesus Christ and they try to be positive but you can see in their faces that their just tired! They need real doctrine, and real faith, and real help! We haven't had any baptisms in the past few weeks. We need to start working a little harder, looking a little more for los escogidos. Everyone that has been baptized is doing pretty well. Laura Cadenas didn't go to church yesterday. She's had some struggles within her family. She needs some help too.
Concepcion and her girls didn't go to church either. I have faith that her husband is going to change. She has to get baptized. Just little by little we'll be working with the Santos.
I have been thinking a lot about faith. Many times I have said, I have faith when really it's not true. I "believe" but sometimes without real conviction. Many, many people here say they have faith, but they don't do anything to show their faith. We're helping people see that faith is very important principle of the gospel. We have helped them see that they have to exercise their faith, not just believe.
A sister named Mariana and her grandma came to church with us yesterday. She's accepted a baptismal date for the 24th of this month. She's a single mom with a little baby girl 1 1/2 years old. Also, we've found a woman named Sabina who has been really, really receptive to the gospel. She is a great woman, and does all of the homework. The only problem is that she hasn't come to church yet. So if you could remember her in your prayers. Actually, just remember everyone in your prayers!
Yesterday, we had a missionary devotional that went really well. We saw a slide show of the recent baptisms that we've had and then we watched a conference talk by Elder Perry called "Bring Souls Unto Me". Then I gave a little talk, then Elder Anderson, and then some people that were baptized in these last months bore their testimonies. It was pretty special.
There's a little kids that keeps coming to all of the church activities names Carlos, I call him Carlitos. He's a sweet little kids, and he likes everything we do. I've actually taken kind of a father role to him. He doesn't have much of a dad in his home, actually none of these people do. I gave him a book of Mormon on Saturday and on Sunday he told me he had read 20 pages. The only problem is that his mom doesn't come to church. We've gotta convince his mom to start coming so that he can get baptized.
Keep me in your prayers. Ask God that I can keep focused and positive and keep up the energy. That's what I need. I feel like there are so many thins that Satan throws at me that try to keep me down. But I feel good here!
Thanks for all of your love and support! Russell
Elder West
