Hi!!

The further I get out here on the mission the more convinced I am that missionary work should be much more centered on the members. This week I was reading a conference talk that Elder Perry gave in the April 09 conference titled "Bring Souls to Me" which talked about how it’s the members’ duty to do the finding and fellowshipping and the missionaries’ duty to do the teaching (read the whole talk, it́s super good). It works so much better that way! We get hardly any references, but the investigators we have that are references are our best investigators because they have someone they can look to as an example of a good member. They can ask them questions when we leave (most investigators are too timid to ask us questions, so having a member is super important because members can get closer to them and be their friends). Members have a huge advantage over missionaries: they can be normal people. They can get into many more doors than missionaries can. The trick is to just be a good example of living gospel standards until they initiate a gospel centered conversation, that way you know you have a captive and interested audience and you aren’t just preaching to unwilling ears.

This week was great. I am feeling much better and we finished out the transfer here in Muñecas. I get to stay here another transfer and Elder Vidal and I decided we are going to work a whole lot more with the members. This is a whole lot harder down here because our ward mission leader only comes to church every once in a while, and the missionaries before us didn’t leave us much. It́s going to take lots of work and arm pulling, but we are putting together a big list and map of all the members willing to work with the missionaries; that way we can pair investigators with members who live nearby and can bring them to church (that is by far the hardest thing to do down here, getting people to church).

Anyway, all is well. The Spanish is going great! Ím a sleep talker, and my comp told me the other day that I sleep talked for the first time in Spanish. We celebrated, of course.

Love all your guts! Write me lots of letters!!!
The book is blue, the church is true, go cougars!!!

-Elder Spencer