Bolivia Bound

The Power of Fasting!

February 3, 2014

Hello everyone!

Well, it looks like fasting has been great for everyone this past week - thanks to a state-wide fast, California has rain, and thanks to my fast with Hermana Hincapie, Aline Ligeron got baptized. :) Aline was one of our investigators planning on getting baptized Saturday, February 1, but her family is very anti-Mormon and she was really questioning her decision. Worse still, we weren’t able to get ahold of her because she traveled for a week and wouldn’t answer her phone. So, we decided to do the only other thing we could do: fast. So last week, we fasted, and to our amazement, we were able to talk to her a few days later and she said that after talking to her uncle, who is a member, she was 100% sure of her decision, wanted to get baptized, and she’s planning to go on a mission in a year!!! We were thrilled and it was a pleasure to watch her enter the waters of baptism two days ago, and get confirmed yesterday. I love the power of this gospel!

Then, for Fast Sunday yesterday, we fasted for another investigator, Wilma, who is fantastic, but who has had a hard time going to church. I think I talked about her last week - she had a dream 15 years ago about the Cochabamba temple and feels like she needs to find the right path to Christ, she’s reading her Book of Mormon, she prayed and asked if Joseph Smith was a prophet... she’s great. But, she’s had a hard time coming to church! So, we fasted, and were excited when we called and she said she was on her way, but then we were saddened when, an hour into sacrament meeting, she hadn’t showed up. But, with about five minutes left of sacrament, she came in! And not only her - she brought her 11-year-old daughter, and her brother and his son, who we have never taught! They stayed for the rest of the church, and at the end, she said she would definitely be coming back. I love the power of fasting. :)

Well, just some fun news about what Bolivia’s like now, because I’m sure Dad’s dying to know - it’s supposedly summer here where it’s supposed to be SUPER hot, but it’s actually been pretty moderate, sometimes even cold. I even have to cover myself with a light blanket now to sleep sometimes! And it’s also the rainy season - it has sure been super rainy. It’s super crazy because it can be clear, not a cloud in the sky, and five minutes later it’s POURING and we’re soaked instantly. It pours for like 15 minutes, and then is clear again, ha. Bolivia is nuts and I love it.

Well, I’m trying to send pictures, we’ll see if it works. One is of our baptism with Aline, the other is of Hermana Hincapie and me one of the days when it absolutely poured, this time for about an hour, and we were lost searching for the house of a menos activo and got totally soaked hahaha. And you know what? We never found the house. Ah well, such is life!

Love you all! Have a fantastic week!!

Love,

Hermana Chelsie Faulk