First Baptism!

"Sanger looks like Mexico"

My first baptism was yesterday! It was Victor. He was baptized by Hermano Sadate. It was such a good event. It was awesome to feel and see the huge change in his life. He feels so great that he has a ward family now, because none of his family accepts it. They make fun of him, but he says that he doesn't care because he knows it's true.

Right now Elder Rodriguez and I have 9 investigators with a baptismal date THIS month. Hopefully they all go through. Sanger is one of the most successful areas in the mission. The whole mission has a goal to get 1000 baptisms by the end of the year.

My legs are mush. I've biked so much these past few days. And on Saturday we had no more miles so I biked over 20 miles alone that day. Maybe I’ll get some Lance Armstrong legs after I’m done here.

My companion is amazing! He goes home in March! And he's been in Sanger for 3 months already. He's taught me how to teach effectively. The key is to teach people not lessons. So we are trying to make each lesson as personal as we can to each investigator.

President Gelwix has helped me a lot. He motivates us like no other. He loves to come and teach with the missionaries. He was actually the one who committed Victor to baptism the day before I got here. I'm excited to teach with him here soon.

The area here is a bit dangerous. Three weeks ago there was a shooting, and we're not allowed to go across to that part of town once it's dark. But it's fun to go to that area in the day because everyone notices you and everyone is pretty nice. They seem to really respect the missionaries for what they do here. Especially because it's a smaller town so everyone knows them. And they call me the "Juero" (white boy). But they respect this Juero :) because I’m the one who scored the goal in soccer. Hahaha We play soccer every Wednesday. And EVERYONE is Hispanic and seriously knows how to play. But yeah, I love it.

Dogs love to chase us on the bikes. Everyone has dogs. At least 6 per family. No joke. I almost kicked this big German Shepard when I was on my bike the other day.

The rule is that all mail no matter what has to go to the mission home. So yeah, nothing can come to my apartment address. So forget I gave you that address.

The work here is so fun. I love seeing people’s lives change through this message we bring. The spirit is real. It can change a lesson in a second if you listen carefully. Satan is real. I see him work so hard on the investigators. Satan knows this is the only true church and he does all in his power to not let anyone hear our message. I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. I love the way people's eyes open up when I tell them that we have been called here by a living prophet of God and are representatives of Jesus Christ. It really catches their attention.

Have fun this week!

Love,

Elder Gygi

Post Script:
Taylor sent a few pictures with a short letter that said:
"Sanger looks like Mexico huh?
I ate crickets on my enchiladas my first night at a member's for dinner. Let's not talk about that... hahaha.
I taught 5 homeless people."

Gotta love him!