Fernando is growing in the gospel

Well, it has been quite the hard couple of days since the last time I wrote. We started losing some of our better investigators that had baptismal dates. One of the people, Alicio, seemed before like almost for sure he was going to get baptized. This week we have been going to his house, and it turns out he started talking with a friend of his that is Jehova's Witness. He has started going to their church, but at the same time, he is reading the Book of Mormon. He has already gotten to Jacob in two weeks. The last time we went to his house, and he kind of just has gone crazy. He told us that most people look for God, but that he is looking for the devil. Turns out he has been in cults and stuff before, and we are pretty sure he is just nuts or something. We told him that if he wants to look for Satan, that's all he is going to find. That if he wants to look for God, he needs to do the right things to find him. Another one that has 3 attendances to the church, is 15 years old. The problem with him, is that his mother doesn't want him to get baptized. We are still working with him, and haven't been able to talk to his mother yet, but we are hoping that all goes well with him. This week, we had our plans for the day, we would go out to work, and just about everything would fall. We had days that we would go out, and walk around for hours without finding anybody in their house. Honestly I think it is mainly due to a lack of faith on our part. I just feel like I lack so much faith and patience right now. There are a lot of things that I need to be doing better so that I can at least do all of my part to be able to recieve the blessings of the Lord. I have definitely been humbled this week, realizing that I need to have more trust in the Lord. Fernando is doing really well now. He has continued attending church, and is going to have an interview to get his temple recommend. We are also working with him so that he can recieve the priesthood. His sister has gone to church with him the past 3 Sundays, and we finally got a chance to teach her the Restoration on Sunday. We invited her to read, and pray, and she said she definitely will. We also invited her to be baptized the 26th of this month, and she gladly accepted. When we had the baptism, there was still water in the font, and in the water, there were two scorpions, and a couple of worms. We had to drian it and clean it out, because the other elders were too lazy to drain it after their baptism. One day this week, we were walking, and a truck was coming towards us. There were two chickens in the road, and one of them moved the wrong way, right under the tire of the truck. We saw it just get crunched by the truck, and after it was still twitching for a little while. I went to go take a picture of it, but a guy came and picked it up and just took it. I'm pretty sure he ate it.... Well, although it is pretty difficult right now, I still feel llike I'm enjoying the mission. I feel like I am learning so much every day, which really just makes me realize how much I don't know. Anyway, things are going a little better with my comp, and I hope the area starts picking up again. I love you all, and I'll talk to you next week. Happy Valentines Day! Hasta Luego -Elder Ryan Griffin