Tough week

Well sure enough, this was another tough week. I guess I have faced so much rejection and trials that we have just kind of lost our enthusiasm for the work. I have been thinking a lot of how one can maintain the enthusiasm during trials and hard times, because especially here where it is so hot, sometimes it is hard enough even to be outside, yet alone happy and enthusiastic. I feel like this week we worked as hard as we could physically, but mentally I have just been kind of distracted this week, and haven't really been as focused as I would like on the investigators and other people.

I guess I have really been being tried on my patience, in this last change and this last week. I expected that if we increased our faith, and worked even harder, that we would be able to see miracles. Honestly we stepped up the quality and quantity of our work, and yet I am having a harder time in the mission right now than I think I have had in any other area. I have been pretty impatient with the Lord.... and even kind of gotten to the point of frustration in this week. We have been finding and teaching great people, but something is always happening that causes us not to be able to keep teaching them. It has been really hard for me, because with the other stuff of being DL, and having a new companion that I have to train, I frankly feel alone a lot of the time. I feel like I am just out here having to do everything by myself, and I guess that right there has been the problem. I can't do it by myself. I think among all the other things that I am lacking right now, a big part would be more trust in God. I am in a situation that I can't handle with my own strength and efforts, and so I have to turn more to the Lord.

We do have one investigator that is progressing really well, and went to church for the second time this sunday, and is going to be baptized the 5th of November. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with at least one investigator that is progressing, but I can't help but feel we can be doing a lot better than that.

We also had changes this week, my companion and I both stayed. The other three companionships in the district all had changes. Now our district is really young. In Ettiene there are Elder Tilleman (2 changes) and Elder Grisham (3 changes), In Libertad 1.1 Elder Enriquez (1 change), and Elder Lamb (3 changes), in Libertad 1.2, Elder Bowers (5 changes), and Elder Coggins (0 changes/new), and then us in Las Residentas, Elder Rodgers (now 1 change), and I (now with 10 changes). Well basically all besides Elder Bowers, I have the same amount of changes as the rest of my district..... combined. I fell old in the mission now, even though I only have 1 year and 4 months now. It is crazy, because now the mission is really young, all the past 4 changes, there have been about half the mission changed out. Now I am in the older 1/4 of the mission.

Well that's about all for this week, Love you guys tons, and hope that all is well.

eLdEr GriFFin