Profound question of the soul??? :

How many grains of rice do you think ive eaten this past week? :)

I am DONE with rice. just done with it. 

But as for the Mollendo Weekly, all is well! Just as it always is. :) We have really been helped out by all the members from the branch in that they have given us all sorts of references. we were able to contact 8 new people and get lessons with all them for this next week. We were able to place 9 baptismal dates for this end of the month and for the next month!! Gonna be rolling! Our klan of kids has been able to let us into their homes to teach their families and parents who are actually very receptive and open to us! so we are excited to work with those wonderful families. 

I love mollendo. I love the missionaires here and i love the zone where we are at. We had a fun pday this last monday in which we went to the beach and dug a hug pit to build a HUGE sandcastle. That was the plan: What actually ended up happening was i was down in the pit digging and the sides collapse and caved in on me filling all the way up to higher than my thighs trapping me! :) and then a HUGE wave comes rolling in and soaked me so bad! hahaha it was pretty funny and we had a great time! i couldnt ask for a better place to end my mission. the lord knew i was supposed to come here. i can see that in so many ways! 

Hey dad!, my talk yesterday in church actually went VERY well! hahaha i had to laugh about that again! but yeah i did get to speak to the members in the sacrament meeting and all said it went really well. We we so crammed in our little chapel that holds max: 120-130 people and we had there 146! We also had a sister faint in the middle of the meeting which was interesting. but she is doing much better! :) 

I will send you some pics. Today is my former comp, Elder Loor´s birthday! So yesterday i had all the 8 elders here in teh zone come over to our house and we went on the roof for a fire and smores night along with sleep out on the roof! I will send you some pictures! really fun! i think we are going back to the play on the beach today after we eat some pizza together as a zone for Loor´s b-day! 

i love you all so much! you all know that. 

have a wonderful week. 

Elder Weston Birtcher

1-4-3

May 7, 2015
Buenos Dias Familia,

Well for news from Mollendo...Its been a full week. It was a great chance for Elder Heywood to get better at his spanish and contact more people in the streets and in their doors. We taught some really great lessons with some new investigators that we have found and have placed 7 baptismal dates on the people we are teaching. We had another great turnout in our little branch here-it actually becoming one of the strongest branches here in Mollendo! The chapel is super super small and barely fits anyone in there, but if we keep up the attendance number for a good 3 months...they will build a bigger chapel just across the street in the HUGE acre lot that the church has here. That is my goal!

My district is sure improving, which is really exciting the zone to get better and work harder. We are going to have a great month. I have sure learned once more the importance of family. Families are everything....I think in all my past months in the mission i have baptized many indiviuales (completing the family) but i have not yet baptized a FULL family yet. I think i came with that determination here to find whole Families and help them all come unto christ. And we have been so blessed to find about 5 new families since we have been here and they are progressing and excited to learn more. The spirit has helped us find more and teach them according to what they need to hear. I love these Mollendinos, they are a great people. And they must love us 2 gringos. :)

We are working with a family, 2 couples planning on getting married and baptized the 23rd of this month and in order to have some money to get all their papers done and sent in...we did a BBQ for them. So on Saturday we were busy cutting food, and cooking meat and everything (no its not like your BBQs there in the states...but it works) and we got to go and delivery food to other people in the ward. Had a great turnout and they are on their way to get their papers all in order to get baptized!

Not much else to say around here. I am doing well. I dont think i have been so tired in such a long time. I need to not get fat and i need to keep doing the lords work. I love being here in Mollendo, we just got to find some cool pday ideas to do around here...there really isnt much to do here. And since the major options we CANT do here (swimming, the movies, etc.) so we have to make our own fun. So i will be using my creativity more. I love my comp. We are working hard as always. 

Love you all so much. The plan of salvation that god has for us is real. He has his plan and we have our purpose here. We are to have joy. We to have trials, but within the trails we are to remember god and come out conquering. The lord lives. I testify of that. He loves each one of us. May we love him as he loves us. 

Elder Birtcher