feb 22nd

Hola Familia!!!!!
Im feeling spring coming finally!!!!!!!!!!! Ha this past week in maryland has been nice were up in the 40's haha usually i'd be whining about that but after all this snow it's so nice to have some warmer weather to where we are just wearing suit jackets and no more huge coats, ha i like to give you all the weather update. But what a sweet week it has been here in Maryland. We have had some great success and i'm starting to see that this area is turning around alot. Thanks for the letters and package!
This past week we had a spanish zone conference. We have 24 missionaries who speak spanish and are spread throughout the whole mission and this was the 1st spanish zone conference they have ever had and it was all in spanish as well! It was really great and they touched on areas that really needed to be hit on and one is the SPANISH. We have a few elders who are a hop skip and a jump from going home and they are barely speaking spanish and it's because hardly anyone studies and even talks it outside of appointments and our 1st counselor in the mission presidency President McGinn can speak perfect and he got on everyone and we are starting a new thing in the mission called VIVA TU LENGUA (live your language) and in just 1 week and i can see the difference. Me and ELder Pauda are only speaking spanish all the time and it's helping him and it's also helping me because he asks for a lot of help so it's brushing me up on everything, but all in all the zone conference was really what the spanish elders needed. There is this big barrier between the spanish/english and we are on the same team so that's somehting that is going to change but ya it was way sweet to have all the missionaries there doing it in spanish.
This past week we were on a mission to find new areas and new investigators and we had good luck ha we went back to a lady who had only been taught once during the month of december but we went back with her this past week and wanted to start up again. Her name is maria from el salvador and her neice kenne lives with her and she has a 2 year old son. We went in there and we watched the restoration video with her and kenne. Her son was going crazy the whole video and was running around with the broom, but she never once lost her focus on the video. It was so amazing to see and when joseph smith was having the vision her son dropped a plate and ya just everything that could have bothered her or disrupted the spirit was happening. BUt maria didn't even flinch and i was watching here the whole time hoping and praying that she would feel something and after the movie she asked about baptism becuase it shows joseph smith's dad getting baptized and we led right into the bap. committment with her and she said yes!!!! She also told us that beofre we came over that she had so much stress and was fighting with her sister and that she just felt peace! It is so sweet to hear that stuff from people and especially to hear there stories of change and i love it. THey didn't come to church though which stunk, her sister got way sick and went to the hospital. I swear satan knows exactly what he is doign in thsi work, he'll do anything not to have people at church!!!
We did have one of our other new investigators at church though his name is Jesus vasquez. He came here from mexico about 13 years ago and got married and has a little family but he's been the only one that's been paying any attention to us. He's really sincere he doesn't know how to read very well and he really struggles because he says he wants to know what's right but he's heard so much that he doesn't even know who to listen to or what, but we got him to pray!!!! which is key with the people here and he came to church and he said that he loved it and that he would be back again. We are going to go back this next week to teach him and see what we can do to get him progressing to baptism.
One last experience, this past week we had dinner with the MORA'S they are a family who feed us all the time and sister mora and her daughter are active but hermano mora has been inactive for various reasons but mostly because him and his wife are always fighting and at each others throat and i don't things aren't going well in their marriage. BUt we had a great topic picked out about out savior and love and we read mosiah 14(it's my new favorite chapter in the book of mormon) it really hit me hard that morning of everything that the lord has done for us. ANd the worst part of all this is that hermano mora is endowed. He just knows so much and the inactivity is no excuse ha i think most of the missionaries have been scared to ask him to change or do anything but were supposed to be bold with investigators why now less actives so i was bold with him and just really started to bear my testimony of love to him and how love can overcome all things! I started to talk about mom and dad and how i have seen them love each other and how much that has impacted me. I started to cry in the lesson with him jsut thinking about the love you've shown me mom and dad and not only for each ohter but for the gospel and for us as your kids. I think something really clicked that night as elder pauda and i were teaching these people the basic principle of love in there home. I can't even begin to describe the love i feel out here from my heavenly father. What we do is because of love and i know that i know hwo to love only because of the amazing example you have been for me mom and dad!!!! I know without a shadow of a doubt that God loves us so so much and he wants us happy and demonstrated that everlasting love through the atonement of Jesus CHrist. I love this gospel, i love the power it has and the change that we can make and the love that we can feel!!! The gospel is true people i can't say much more than that! I love you all so much and hope you all have a great week!!!! Con amor
ELder Hammer