Well...hello again. 
I know i wrote you guys Thursday so nothing much has changed since 
then. but we have seen great progress in our search for new 
investigators and especially working with the less actives. President 
Zobrist is really hammering us on that. and the area....and the 
prophet...so it must be pretty important. we do have the promise that 
if we rescue those menos activos then we will baptize more 
investigators. so we will be focusing on that these next few weeks. 
Elder Priebe and i are doing very well. We are happy working together 
and we have enjoyed feeling the spirit as we teach and are able to 
watch these people change as they come closer to their savior. i just 
love teaching and people able to share the gospel. i really do. 
as for me. i am very happy. the area is great, the zone is working 
hard, and we are becoming more unified each day together. we have been 
trying to plan out those activities to help build the trust and unity 
in the zone and we have seen great results. we did a service project 
as a zone this last saturday and got to clean up this ladys backyard 
of all the stuff she has been storing for the last century. peruvians 
are such pack rats. but i love them!! 
Funny story about the service project: 
haha so we were cleaning up everything and had finished this one side 
of the yard. the lady has a ton of chickens and roosters there just 
running around and as we were all working on the other side of the 
yard....the wall on the side that we had finished comes crashing down! 
and it crashed on top of a chicken and a rooster!!! the whole zone was 
like...woah, those things are goners.... and the lady was freaking out 
saying save my chickens!!!! so me and this other elder run over there 
to start clearing out rocks to uncover the smashed chickens. well the 
chicken runs out a few seconds later and is squaking like crazy! so 
one saved, one dead....we thought. so we uncover a TON of rocks and 
underneath we find the rooster. not moving. we touched it and were 
like its dead. the lady was in disbelief and was frantic and then we 
move this rock off its head and POP. the head pops up and the thing 
jumps out and runs away!!!!! IT LIVED!!! couldnt believe it! so i did 
my good turn for the day :) the lady kept saying..you saved my 
rooster, thank you, thank you, thank you so much! haha she bought me 
Inca Kola and cooked the whole zone lunch. haha but we saved a life 
that day. :) 
 
sunday was ward conference and we had a huge turnout in the ward! 
160!!! we were so happy! great stuff. and we had a meeting with the 
stake president and are excited to get to be working with him. in the 
past he has hated the missionaries and there ahve been a ton of 
problems so elder priebe and i are trying to sort all that out and end 
those problems or the work here in moquegua will stop. and we are 
seeing some great results. excited about that. 
we have found 3 new investigators and have 3 others progressing 
towards their baptismal dates and the end of this month and for the 
first week in august. 
But it is my testimony that god lives. this is his work! i love being 
apart of it and serving him everyday. 
i loved the pictures that you sent me. dad, fantastic job on the shed. 
it looks awesome! you have always been an inspiration to me in 
buildiing and constructing things. great job! 
faith....what happened to your hair?? no se but HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN! 
YOU ARE SO OLD!!!! and this week would be the big birthday of big 
jake!!!!! awesome man!!! love you so mucho. 
 
well i shall talk to you guys real soon. hasta lunes. 
love you all so much. 
 
Elder Birtcher 
1-4-3 
oh and please send a ton of fotos from the family reunion. i want to 
see them so bad!!! 
mom have fun getting ready for girls camp!! dont stress over it too 
much....you always do a great job!! 
 
-- 
*      Elder Birtcher* 
*Perú - Arequipa Mission*