April 13th, 2015

Dear Family,

This last week here in Chao was really good, even though we were cut a little short of teaching time. Elder Campos and I ended up going to Lima in the middle of the week, so the good news is that we are now legal in Peru. Unfortunately we weren't able to go to the Temple in Lima, but that's alright! 

This last Sunday we had a pretty good turn out for church at 73. We are still working on raising that number and in helping our members and less actives realize the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy. That has been one of our main focuses this past month or so. We have some really great members, but we want this branch to get to the point where they are doing all the little things that a member should do by their own will. We have talked about this as a companionship and we feel like that starts with the consejo de la Rama. If we can help each of them understand the importance and their roles, then our branch will be able to be strengthened.

This week we had a baptism for one of our investigators that has been progressing a lot. We were really excited for him and look forward to his progression in the Gospel. He happened to be the same investigator that shared with us his dream. I can honestly say that I see the hand of Heavenly Father in his work here in Chao, and I look forward to seeing it more and more as the weeks go on.

As the weeks and months go on I continually feel blessed to be able to serve my Lord, my God. I sometimes stop and ponder at how my life would be if I wasn't on a mission, and I honestly have no idea how it would be. I can't imagine my life not coming on my mission, doing the things that I am able to do here. I love this gospel and this work!

Love,
Elder Thorpe