First things first; The mission met the goal of 50 baptisms in the month of
June DEAD on, on the 30th. We'd all been working hard and praying to find the
people ready. It was a great way to see the Lord granting according to worthy
desires. It was also a great kick off for the California Bakersfield mission;
they're officially starting up this week.
Next up; Leticia has been BOSS-like as usual. We dropped by on Friday and
she was doing great. As we got talking to her, she mentioned that she'd almost
decided to stop coming to church!
She said
that last Sunday she felt kinda uncomfortable because everyone was in nice
clothes, and her kids were in jeans and T-shirts because they didn't have any
Sunday-clothes. She went down to the store to see the prices and they were WAY
too high, so for a minute she sat in the car and felt awful, feeling like she
needed to stop going. But then she thought, "You know what? God will
understand. He knows I don't have anything and that I just want to learn, and
he's happy that I'm trying." It was AWESOME!!! 
We don't even
have to do anything; she's going to get herself to baptism! She resolves her
OWN doubts! Actually, in our last lesson she even said "I don't have any doubts
anymore; just questions." She's prayed about the 27th and feels right about it.
Her kids are really starting to get into it and love it, and during the
combined priesthood/Relief Society, she signed up on our dinner calender!
We didn't get a chance to teach the Sanchez Family; but we started teaching
the Figeroa Family last Monday. They are super cool. Their son has been
meeting with the Missionaries for a little bit, but the parents don't speak any
English, so the English Elders sent us their way to explain the permission form.
Of course, that's a perfect in for us! So we sat down and started explaining
what their son's been learning and they were super attentive. Hermano Figeroa
has been studying all kinds of religions, trying to find more knowledge and
truth, and he seems willing to study this out. The wife was largely quiet but
really has a good feeling about her, in terms of how well she's accepting the
message. We'll see tonight how that goes!
Another super cool experience from the week; we dropped by Coronel; the man
who asked us why his daughter changed to be Mormon. As soon as we sat down, he
started seriously bashing us, claiming Joseph Smith was a false prophet and
telling us we didn't believe in miracles. As we affirmed that we did, to each
type of miracle he brought up, and re-explained Joseph's role, he eventually got
quieter and quieter, until he had to change the subject. He then started using
scriptures to tell us we should be getting payed, and as we used the same
scriptures to show that we shouldn't he got quiet again. It was the strongest
example of "Not being confounded before men" I've seen yet. Finally, he told
us, "Maybe the reason I don't believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet is because
I don't actually know anything about it." We had nothing to disagree with
there!
At any rate I've gotta run again! I always seem to have less time than I
need! I'm excited for Tom's mission; both of them! They're gonna be Bosses out
there. And Tell Ron McIntyre that I'm super proud of him for finishing strong.
He'll do great in life. Also, I'm super happy to hear from Paul. I talk about
him all the time to people; he made the BIGGEST difference in my life, and I'm
eternally grateful. The song "A letter home" on the Work cd? Totally what he
did for me there. I love you all! Keep up the good work!
Love,
Elder Matthew David Clough
