Lo Ovalle 1 - Week #6

¡Hola Tejanos! (and anyone else reading this)

This week has been what I would call a "POR FIN" week! Por fin we got 2 of the Haitianos that we have been teaching with a baptismal date and are preparing them to hit the water at the beginning of February. To help everyone better understand the importance of this I'll recount a little of the background on them...
When we arrived in this sector we had several investigators that the other missionaries had been "teaching". This group of Hatianos were a few of them and the only thing they "lacked" was the baptism itself. Turns out that there was alot that they didn't know and everything we've taught so far has been new...LOL. The other day we were teaching them a little bit about baptism and confirmation and Nadege said that if she received an answer to her prayers that what we were teaching was true she wanted to be baptized. Bob (the other Haitiano) then echoed the same thing. So with all this time that we've been teaching and we decide to put them with a fecha bautismal one day and it just so happens that they put themselves with a baptismal commitment. The Spirit works in whatever way it can to help bring people unto Christ!
Also Saturday we found a family that we have begun teaching. Yesterday we taught Juan Carlos y Patricia (the parents) and we are hoping and praying that the two oldest kids will be there on Tuesday when we have a return appointment. It feels so good to have a family to teach, because that is our focus, and up until this point I've only had the opportunity to teach individuals.
Thank you for the pictures!!! I haven't gotten to look at all of them yet and this computer doesn't like my memory card but I'm going to try to put them on my card and print them later on. Sounds like there is all sorts of fun going on with the house and all that jazz right now, with the winter weather that doesn't happen in East Texas. It is also really good to hear that Lufkin 1st Ward didn't get closed to missionaries again.
Did anyone at my house get the package that I sent from the MTC? That is the question of the century... LOL. (And just for the record I'm not mad... I've just asked 20-something times... LOL!)
I too echo the sentiments of Grandpa that I am not in Haiti. It is hard to see the effect it has on the people here because there are alot of Haitianos in Quilicura (more than any other part of Santiago). The only missionaries that have been in Haiti since 2005 have been native Haitians. Last night I was reading an article in the Liahona from 2009 sometime about the missionary efforts in Haiti and it seems as if the program is thriving very well, seeing as the only efforts are through the natives there.
I'm excited for today... we are going to a super market called Jumbo that sells alot of the same foods and stuff as are available in the United States, including Root Beer! Unfortunately I'm not sure I'm ready to take my chances with root beer again after my MTC experience...LOL. (NOT going into details).
Sorry pictures didn't work...it seems like one of my memory cards got a virus on it so I'm trying to see if I can fix it so I can put all the pictures on a CD and send them home. Don't know if ya'll got the picture from the mission activity for New Years or not, I sent it home.
Love you all and miss you bunches. I'm almost done with 5 months of the mission (2 more days) and it is getting faster all the time. Love you and hope that my last letter wasn't too biting and sarcastic.

¡Todo mi amor!

¡Suerta con la casa de Hen!

-- Elder Todd