Oct. 14, 2013
Hey Everyone!

How is everyone doing? From all your letters and notes to me it sounds has if there are no problems back there! which i am very grateful for. first i want to start as say thank you to all those who have written me! it is great it here from you and i want to say thank you to all for your love and support! it is amazing. i am truely blessed to have such an amazing family and friends. i am truely, truely blessed. and a huge congradulations to all those who have recieved their mission calls or to those who are awaiting for their calls. i am so proud and excited for you! this is truely the lords work and it is an honor to be serving my god in this part of the world. i urge you all to continue to strengthen your testimonies and stay firm and strong in this gospel. this is the only true church upon the face on the earth and the lord has many blessings awaiting those who will continue to stay strong in the gospel and for those who will take this step in their lives and come unto chirst. i love this work. it is the best work there is and was the highlight of conference. i have realized that missionary work is not just for the full time missionaires. it is for everyone. many apostles and prophets stated that the members and the missionaries must work together. we are all serving missions for the lord. i urge all to seek missionary opportunities in their lives and ask for those opportunities in your prayers. i know it can be difficult at times to talk about the church with those around us. have no fear, god is with you and if you will trust in him and open your mouth the lord will fill it. he will work miracles through you and you will experience a joy that you have never felt in your lives. the rms know what i am talking about. Again, have no fear. The lord is mindful of you and will help you. With god, nothing is impossible. Every soul is precious and great in the eyes of god. i invite all to read DyC 4 and ponder those words. You will be blessed.

Anyways, this past week has been a busy one. We have been working with many amazing people here. It is amazing to see the blessings just happen right before our eyes and to see the countance of people change as we talk to them about the everlasting gospel. Okay, lets see....we got to combine with the other zones again for a big soccer game which is always fun. we try not to be too competitive but you know....haha. it is really fun and its great to see that all the peruvians come out and line the fence to watch the gringos play. i bet we look horrible while playing! We also had a family night with a great family. that is what we are trying to do around here more often is to have little family nights with different members and their friends, either inactive members or investigators. it is a great chance for the spirit to touch them and it is the perfect atmosphere in which to teach. i bring my violin to every one and everytime i get to play they just love it. haha they always say ¨Do another one!¨ On tuesday we actually got to have exchanges with another missionary in my district. so i grab a pair of clothes and headed out to a new area for a day and a half. it was a great experience and i got to learn a lot on how others teach. but i guess i really didnt realize how much i loved my area once i was away from it. i missed those who we were teaching that night and i longed to go back to my home away from home. now dont think i was all sad or bumbed to be in a new area because i loved it and we found some amazing sons and daughters of our heavenly father to teach, but it was an interesting feeling for me. once i returned our investigators were like....where have you been!! we missed you! haha i love this place and the people. i think it helps me teach with more love which is what every missionary must do. you must have charity or you are nothing. anyways this last week we also had a huge training meeting with the asistents and the presdient which was very very good. i learned a lot of valuable information on how i must be in order to influence the lives of those who i will teach. one funny story is in the middle of the training president stopped and said, elder birtcher, where is your violin? haha he then continued to joke with me in front of everyone saying that he gave me the permission to bring it down and that i was scared to play...and a bunch of other stuff. all in good fun but i guess i am bringing my violin to all the combined zone meetings now. i also got to have an interview with president and i just want to say that he is the man. we talked for a good 15 20 mins and had a great time. a lot of great wisdom in his words to me.

other highlights from this last week have just been working everyday with great people. we have some investigators who have accepted baptism but the problem is they dont come to church!!! that is a huge problem around here. it is frustrating because that is all they have to do in order to be baptized and it is frustrating because we love them! But it is all in the lords hands and he knows when they are prepared and when they need to be baptized. ¨he knows the meadows where they feed¨-consider the lillies.

before i end i just want to share a passage that has truely inspired me and has changed my views on how i must be in this work. it is a passage from the talk-the 4th missionary. it is talking to missionaries on how they must act and feel in order to have success but it is aplicable to everyone. it states.

¨Just give it up. Surrender your will to him. unconditionally. withhold nothing. turn it all over to him. all of your desires, wishes, dreams and hopes. be true and faithful in your head and in your heart, not just in your behavior. trust in him. trust him who knows all htings. trust hom who has all pwer. trust him whose love for you is perfect. trust him, who alone suffered, paid and atoned for your sins, and for your weaknesses as well. trust him that he will make of you, immeasurably more, than what you will ever, ever, in all eternity, make of yourself. he will create of you a masterpiece. you will create of you only a smudge. you will create an ordinary man. he will create a god.

i testify that jesus the christ lives and that he is our savior and redeemer. he lives. read 3 nefi 11. i love this work. i pray for you all and for your success.

Till next week.

Con mucho amor,

Elder Weston Birtcher

1-4-3