Mi corazón está en Cusco: The Big News!

¡Hola!

Alright, I can finally tell you! Hopefully I didn´t talk it up too much to make it seem not as cool now. Nelida, our pensionista, GOT MARRIED AND BAPTIZED! Kind of a crazy story. She told us a couple weeks ago for the date that I originally told you but told us that we weren´t allowed to tell anybody. I was kind of joking around and asked if I wasn´t even allowed to tell y'all and she, in all seriousness, made it clear that I wasn´t even allowed to do that. So, that´s why I didn´t tell you. They wanted it super low-key.

We were in Cusco all week so we didn´t have a great hold on everything that was happening here in Puno. We got back Friday around 8:30ish and had to run and do some things with the sisters here and didn´t get back until almost 9:30. Get home, plan, go to bed. The works. Neldia calls us Saturday morning at 9:00 asking if we can make it to her wedding . . . at 9:30! She gave us the wrong address at first so we lost 15 minutes traveling to the wrong municipalidad, leaving us 15 to get to the actual place that was half an hour away. Don´t know how on earth we did it, but we got there just in time!

Weddings here are a little different. We just stood in the office of the man that was going to marry them. They signed a paper and we left. And they were married!! Sounds lame, but it was nice. It was a little sad, to me, to hear what he said about his perspective on family. He talked a lot about how the family isn´t the main focus in life and that if there are problems down the road there are still ways to separate. After he said his little shpeel (don´t know how to spell that . . .) Nelida and Julio gave their vows and I was happy again. They talked about their goals to go to the temple and be an eternal family and that nothing would keep them from getting there. They both know it won´t be easy, but they are willing and ready.

The plan after all that was to have the baptism this Thursday, not this past weekend. BUT, we were thinking and talking, and the temple dedication came up (ps, the Trujillo Temple is getting dedicated this weekend and we all get to watch it). We told her that if she wasn´t a member she wouldn´t be able to go. Long story short, we organized the whole baptism in two hours and she came and got baptized the same day. Sounds crazy, but it was still a really good night.

I love seeing how the Lord makes things work. Honestly, there have been lots of times when I´ve questioned why something hasn´t happened or hasn´t happened sooner or a million different little things. But He has His time and His plan. When the people we work with are really ready, He´ll show us how to make things happen. But until then, lots of patience and love and FAITH are required. We are beyond happy right now! Nelida and Julio have never been happier.

Now we just need to find new investigators . . . :)

In other news for this week, Cusco is nice. Haha, between Cusco and the wedding/baptism, we only had one day to work. And even then, it was full of meetings with the zone leaders and the stake president and things like that. But it´s all good. This will be another crazy week. We´re going to be in divisions every day . . . I won´t see Hna Mendez basically the whole week :( But week six will be (almost) back to normal life again.

Love you all! Keep working hard :)

Con amor,

Hna Condie