6/18 USA!

Hey everyone! Hope everyone had a fantastic week, and that everyone is enjoying the beginning of their summer vacations. This was another action packed week, and I'm coming to realize that just about every single week for the last almost 2 years has been so. This was the last week of the transfers, which meant lots of administrative work in the office, running missionaries to the airport, farewell meetings, and all sorts of good stuff like that. With this group going home, I am now officially in my last transfer of my mission. It was actually really sad seeing this group go home, because a lot of them have been my good friends for almost my whole mission. Elder Evans is now home also. This coming transfer, well, it's going to fly by. We have a change in mission president, welcome to the mission meetings, interviews, and then it will all be over. Bring it on. 

After the farewell testimony meeting in the mission home on Thursday night, President decided to let all the missionaries do pretty much whatever we wanted too. So, we got two TVs going, one with game 6 of the NBA Finals, and the other with the USA v Ecuador quarterfinal match up in La Copa America. The group that went home was almost all gringos who love sports, and so yeah, I saw game 6 and saw the USA whoop up on Ecuador to make to the semifinals. After we scored the second goal of the game, Elder Taylor, one of the elders finishing his mission, jumped up and actually broke a wooden beams holding up some lights haha. Good thing they are in the process of remodeling. 

We are going to have a baptism next Saturday! Leonidas is going to be getting baptized. We are really excited for her and for her baptism, and so is she. We are teaching a few new people also. Juan Carlos is the father of a less active guy here in our ward. His adopted son got back from his mission in Argentina and Juan Carlos has been really receptive. We taught him last Sunday, but havent been able to get back to teach him since. We have an appointment with him for this Wednesday though. We'll see how it goes, he seems really cool, somebody who could progress really quickly if he does his part. 

We are also teaching a new family (families are the best to teach). We met them last Sunday when we went with our Relief Society president to give a blessing to her sister who is super super sick in the hospital, and we started talking to Wilma's (RS pres) niece and her husband. They are obviously worried about their aunt, and were really receptive in having us come and teach them. We went back last night and they recieved us with open arms. Arturo, the father, owns a grill-type restaurant and when we came in they gave us popcorn and apple juice and then shut down the restaurant and turned off a Peru soccer game to listen to us. Dedication (Peru lost in penalty kicks, everyone is mad). We taught Arturo, his wife Leslie, and their daughter Daniela (12 years old). We hadnt mentioned baptism or anything yet, and Arturo told us, "you know guys, we've been Catholics for our whole lives. Change isn't easy. But maybe God has placed you in our lives because we need to get closer to him. My wife and I, along with Daniela, are going to talk about this and pray and see if we are going to become Mormoms." They seem to have a real desire to learn and do the things they need to do in order to know for themselves. We taught them how to pray and challenged them to pray as a family, something they had never done before. Arturo told us all he had ever done was say the Lord's Prayer, and at the end of the lesson he gave the closing prayer like we taught him and it was such a humble and sincere prayer, and he told us he felt so good he almost cried. These are important steps. We are going back on Tuesday and we are going to teach them the Restauration and challenge them to prepare themselves to be baptized.

Well, that was our week. This is President Zobrist's last week, and then President Johnson gets here. We have another new group coming in this week. Anyways, have a great week. Happy Father's day to all of the wonderful fathers out there. Have a good one!

Elder Matheson