The Worth of One Soul is Great - Elder Jake Avery

Written by Elder Jacob Avery, serving in the Peru Lima West Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaking Spanish.

(Note to reader: Clicking on photos will enlarge them. Some names are omitted for privacy.)

Hi Dad,

Everyone is sending me emails like I am a nervous wreck. I'd just like to confirm that it's true. I am a complete, nervous wreck, haha. Nah, I'm okay. Things are going well.

We feel like we have received direction from the Lord, so we're busy trying to complete the task he's given us. Luckily our mission president has decided to intervene and is coming with us to M**'s house today! We fasted on Sunday for them and another family that wants to be baptized, but the dad of the family doesn't approve. Obviously, he's not taking the lessons, making time to take the lessons, or even reading the Book of Mormon.

Exchanges

On a better note, families are the goal of our mission. We're teaching several families and almost all of them are progressing...like a turtle in molasses, but their progressing. We might even baptize two Seventh-day Adventists. It's a long shot, but I'll go for it.

We're working to get all of our converts to the temple. If that means strapping them on the bus to Lima, I'll do it, haha. The majority are going peacefully on their own :) We can't actually go with them as missionaries (it's outside our area), but we can send them with members, so we're looking for a date in January or early February.

Well, I'm going to send pictures this week! I love you guys and I thank you for all you're doing for me! Please be safe and please be good!

Hi, Mom! Don't worry, your emails aren't always too long. Some weeks I want something long, some weeks no. It's like guinea pig...sometimes fried, sometimes baked. It depends on if I'm drinking it with Inka cola or Ecco :)

I'm so sad to hear that Hannah is having some health problems. I'm healthy as a horse. Or at least I hope I am. I'm knocking on wood right now.

One thing I'm really done with is dreams. The people here tell us about their dreams...a lot. They have a lot of concern about dreams and put a lot of trust in their dreams. Something I know for sure is that not all dreams have a meaning. Dogs and horses have dreams too, but that doesn't mean they're receiving revelation. Even worse, some people consider their dreams a more reliable source of guidance for them than the scriptures. Preach My Gospel warns us that if our spiritual guidance is out of line with the teachings of the prophets, it's not spiritual guidance.



Studying (and glistening!) in the blazing heat
Happy January, everyone!

Speaking of dreams, I dreamt that Josh and I were shooting a rifle from the back of a pick up truck. I'm not sure what we were shooting at, but I know it doesn't have anything to do with whether the Church is true or not, haha. It just shows that even after six months of missionary service, Call of Duty is still engraved in my brain. Yes, I admit it...I probably played too many video games :P

This week we learned that if we teach by the Spirit, He will put words in our mouth. We had a lesson that started with the family telling us, ''We don't think we can keep doing these visits.'' The lesson ended with them accepting the baptismal challenge. Miracles are happening, and although not everyone is progressing in the gospel, the worth of one soul is great in the eyes of God (and in mine as well!).

Have a great week and enjoy the snow, ice and rain. I'll be tanning on the beach, haha. In my dreams ;)

Love,

Jake

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Happy Martin Luther King Day (January 20, 2014)