Dear Family,
This past week has been another bit of a small struggle with investigators here in Laredo. Overall, everything is stilling going along well. We managed to find a few new investigators that have some promise, so hopefully we'll have the blessing of being able to work with them more as the weeks go on.
I was very excited to receive Mom's Easter package. It was very much appreciated. There is an Elder Wilde that lives in the same apartment as I and my companion. He was amazed at the package that I was sent. He is just a short two months from finishing his mission and going home. He is the oldest in his family. He marveled that my Mom had the sense to send me new socks, shoelaces, conference talks printed out, along with a bit of candy and pictures from home. I attribute it to the fact that I'm the sixth missionary Mom has sent out, so she knows what missionaries need and enjoy, while perhaps his parents are still trying to figure it out on their first try =).
Easter was an interesting day. We didn't get any invitations to go to a barbecue and fiesta at a member's house like some of the other missionaries did. However, we did get the chance to watch the broadcast at the church about the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was played in Spanish done by all Hispanic actors and all, which made it a pretty cool experience. I've never seen a play in Espanol until now, so that was pretty interesting.
After the play we went out and tried knocking doors for a while, thinking that maybe on a day centered around Christ's resurrection, that people might be a little bit more open to hear a message about God. However, I think that idea wasn't too sound because out of the doors we knocked on, nine of ten were outside making carne asada with all of their cousins and were too busy to sit down with us. The other one of ten was over at their cousin's home making carne asada and wasn't at home. So we scrapped the idea of tracting and decided to swing by and visit a few of the investigators we'd found earlier in the week. We ended up finding one of them who had been called into work that day who got back late enough that his family was already at their ranch an hour away and it was too late for him to go over and join the party. So we were able to have a lesson with him and that was pretty good. It was nice to help someone focus themselves a little bit more on God.
Today we went into the business district of Laredo and found a couple of cool stores that had some neat, cheap things to buy. I got a Mexican blanket, a poncho and a smaller set of horns. That store did have some pretty neat other things though, so if anyone wants a Mexican purse, ponchos, blankets, dresses or things of that sort, you can just shoot me an email and I'll see what I can get. We'll probably be running up there again later on, so I'll try to think of some gifts to buy for the family.
The work is going well and we're putting in a lot of effort. Unfortunately, we didn't get any investigators to church on Easter which was kind of a bummer. I'm sure the success will be coming soon as long as we endure the trial well and continue working for the glory of the Lord.
I hope everyone had a great Easter experience and had at least a little bit of time to reflect on exactly what Jesus Christ did for them. There was no event more important than the event that we remember on Easter Day, becuse it marks the day we remember when death was conquered and we were given the opportunity to return to the presence of God. If anybody didn't get a chance to reflect on that, I'd encourage them to take a little bit of time over the next few days to do so. I can promise it will strengthen your faith and help you to feel the Spirit of the Lord more abundantly. I hope everyone has a relaxing week after all of the events going on and gets to rest from their labors, at least a little bit.
Love,
Elder Wood
