Puerto Rico!‏

¡Hola familia y amigos!

Well it has been a crazy week! It is strange how your whole life changes in just one day in the mission. I said goodbye to everyone on Monday and Tuesday which was pretty hard. Lili and Marcelo should be getting baptized soon and we talked about the temple and put a goal for them to go in a year. It would be so sweet if they could do that! I also said goodbye to the family Rivero who went to the temple as a family right before I left Oberá! It is so exciting for them because the dad starting getting active again about 8 months ago and we have kept working with them and now they are sealed as a family. Way exciting!

And now I am here in Puerto Rico with Elder Olsen. to be honest, Puerto Rico is kind of dead. There are 4 missionaries here in total and in the last year there have been like 3 baptisms or something like that. Which is kind of weird because the branch is super awesome and supportive and the district president lives here and everything. So really this place is set up for success. We do have one awesome investigator named Antonio and also his wife Elsa who should be baptized pretty soon. About a month and a half ago the Elders were walking by and kept going and then felt they should turn around. He had been searching for a church but after like 50 years of his life searching and studying the Bible, he had decided that it didn´t exist. And then the missionaries showed up and he has accepted everything! It is way awesome to talk to him just cause of how prepared he is. However, he doesn´t have a lot of money and can´t walk well, so it is difficult to get to church on Sundays. So we will be working with the branch to help him out there.

Elder Olsen is my new companion. He is from "la Fabrica" Utah and this is his 3rd change in the mission. He is a great missionary who has a lot of love for the people and understands his purpose as a missionary. He has a really dry sense of humor which is hilarious and just says exactly what he is thinking. His Spanish is really good and I am really excited to work and learn with him.We are going to get along really well and I am certain we will have success here in Puerto Rico!

We have the best apartment that I have ever seen with an amazing view of the jungle and city! Puerto Rico is beautiful and really close to el Rio Paraná which is the border with Paraguay. And that is my life for the next 6 weeks at least.

But this half week that we had for proselyting went very well. We have been praying and had a special fast to find a strong family to baptize. We are working as hard as we can and I know that the Lord will bless us and the lives of the people here in Puerto Rico. But I know he will do it in His time. And to be honest, I was a little bumbed that I didn´t get to enjoy in the experience that Oberá will be having this transfer with the baptisms, but the truth is that I know that I helped those people and it doesn´t matter what part I play in someone´s conversion. It only matters that I am doing what the Lord has called me to do. And I know that right now he has called me here to Puerto Rico to bring this place back to life! And with a lot of work and A LOT of His help I know that I will do just that.

I love you all and miss you! Thank you for your examples, prayers, and support.

Con amor, Elder Hawk