happy birthday to me!!

Hola! Its my birthday! I am now 22 yrs old. Wahoo! Today we are going to the park to have carne asada and play some sand volleyball with the Spanish branch. It is also Debbie Crespo’s birthday, the cutest 9 yr old in the whole world!

Hector's baptism is Saturday! We are really excited about it. He is progressing very well. His faith is growing every day. We were able to watch Finding Faith in Christ with him and that encouraged him to continue to improve through the Atonement. He had his baptismal interview on Sunday and we are all good to go. We will be seeing him practically every day to review some material and get him excited. He is staying strong with the Word of Wisdom.

We made more progress with Gladis and Eder. We watched the testimonies of members on mormon.org and that helped them to see how the church has affected the lives of people and how the Book of Mormon is true! They hear our testimonies often, so they enjoyed hearing new voices. :) The Elders were able to come by and give them both blessings of health because Gladis found out she has mono. She is feeling better and taking medicine, so she went back to work. After the blessings, which were really special, both said that they felt the Spirit. In Gladis's blessing, she was guided by the Lord to be baptized and in Eder's blessing he was guided to follow the commandments. I have faith that this family is going to keep progressing and will be baptized. The Spirit is touching their lives and they are recognizing it. yeahh! Gladis's baptismal date is going to be moved back because of her work schedule She has talked to her boss and feels like she has done all she can, so we are going to have faith that itll change. Her husband is getting a little upset about the fact that she needs to change her schedule, but we explained that we are the messengers inviting them to live the law of the Sabbath.

Wow! Heavenly Father has been blessing us so much with investigators. Israel is pretty amazing. We had a strong lesson with him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how the Atonement can change our lives. He is preparing to be baptized on the 18th of September, and is really excited about it. He has had the desire to be baptized for a while and is really happy that God led us to him. He knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. His aunt, Jennifer, is also very prepared and willing to accept the Gospel at this time. We are working with her and helping her see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We had an amazing experience with Jose Rubio last night. We were going over the book of Mormon and a recent convert was there sharing his testimony of how he came to know that it was true. We talked to Jose how he came to know that the Bible was true...over time and studying. We encouraged him to continue to do that with the Book of Mormon. We discussed baptism and the blessings of being a member of the Christ's church. While he was saying the closing prayer, he broke down and cried. He said he felt so happy and today he called to tell us he is really happy. We were like, thats the Spirit!!!!! He received an answer that it is true!!! He is excited to be baptized on the 25th of Septemeber. He just needs to talk it over with his wife because she isnt religious. Her and her kids are living in Mexico right now while he is working in the US.

Jenn the investigator that went away to college gave me a card and said that she is really glad that she could get to know me and learn with me. Her perspective on life has completely changed and we know its not me that did anything but the Spirit! She found an institute near her college and I pray that she will go!!

Our new investigator, Marisa, is really amazing. She really needs to accept the Atonement in her life to get rid of bad emotions that she has bottled up. I know she will and that the love of God will change her life completely. We are excited for her soon to be transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly!

Goodnews! Our less-active, Hermano Lopez has decided to come back to church! That made me happy. I hope he sticks to it. We stopped by more members and less-actives this week, trying to encourage all of them as well.

This week was a good one. Last Monday I was able to see my family and go to the fair. It was fun! I almost threw up on a really sketchy ride with Hermana Guthrie. I love my family! I got to meet my little brother Bobby for the first time. He sure is handsome and looks exactly like my dad when he was a baby. I am excited to see all of you in December once I am home. I love my mission! I have had great experiences and look forward to what is to come for the last three months here in good old Iowa. Miss you!



Hermana Murphy