From the beginning they loved the church and felt the spirit clearly and powerfully as little children so often do. When there baptismal date approached the path to their house was blocked by giant puddles, 2 or 3 inches deep from the previous day’s rain. We went barefoot so our shoes didn’t get wet. We were on a mission to their little village of Curupayty, where we’d help their parents overcome doubts about their sons’ baptisms. They both consented and their home filled with excitement to see them take this important step towards bringing the blessings of the gospel into both their own and their family’s life.
The next day, the famous day-of-the-baptism-phone-call came and I figured something must have been wrong. As I’d suspected, the Father’s doubts had returned, and, as usual, because of negative comments from his neighbors. We prayed about it and took the leap of faith to rent a truck to take us to their house and then afterwards to the river for the baptism.
We arrived in Curupayty and talked with their father for almost 2 hours, determined not to return without his consent to allow these blessings into his family’s life. All of that talk seemed to get…nowhere. The truck we’d rented kept the clock running as he waited for us. But suddenly, as if by some unseen power, the father consented, signed the Baptismal Record, and we were off. The next day, their mother, Graciela, attended church to see their confirmation and is excited to prepare for her own baptism. Their father continues to open up to us little by little, and even invited us over for a Barbeque next weekend.
We found a new house and moved into it today. It will be a bit of an inconvenience since it is about 10 blocks from the chapel, but is otherwise a great house, with plenty of space, low rent, meets the conditions of the mission, and is owned by the father of my good friend and great convert Joel Caballero.
I was amazed by the members this week and their strength. Though only about 6 women and 7 men stay for the classes after Sacrament Meeting, they have solid testimonies and support each other through visits, encouragement, and magnifying their church callings. This is a great and a marvelous work. Love you all, especially my mom. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Elder McCarty
001 AnahÃ, Joel’s little girl, wearing my hat and name tag.
002 Me lookin chubby with a sweet old grandma. The great grandma of Hugo and Fernando that were baptized this week.
003 Hugo’s baptism, it was a cold day, so they were especially courageous to follow the answer they’d felt from God, despite the obstacles
004 Fernando’s baptism. Little Fernando threw himself into the current after his baptism, diving headfirst into the water, and everybody laughed. He was just so excited Lol.
006 Here I am in my old room. Those brown lines, we didn’t know what they were at first, but afterwards discovered that they were tunnels made by some strange bug that made holes in the wall and tunneled to the roof. Weird.
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