Dustin's May 25th Letter

Dear Mom,
My week was excellent!!!! Sorry I couldn`t write on Monday :/ We had a tri-zone conference and then on Tuesday we had trainings. But my week was truly amazing. We now have 4 baptismal dates and we had 21 lessons with members and 13 others and people are still coming to church. We still have a lot to improve but we are progressing. When we got here a month ago we didn`t have any investigators, we didn`t know the members and it was tough to open this ward but with a little bit of diligence and patience we are getting the success that the Lord promises us. Now we just have to work even harder to maintain what we have and grow even more. The potential that we have here is huge and from the hints that Pres. Blunck told me, I will be here for at least 6 months!!! Woo-hoo! You might have to pray even harder for me because we are going to be relying and them and the Angles of heaven to lift us up and make miracles happen. I am truly excited for this great opportunity to be a missionary here in Iquitos, Peru. Sounds like you are having similar problem that we have been having here, eh? But the water is going down more and more every day and in a couple weeks it shouldn’t be a problem, but that means that it is getting hotter and hotter here in the rain forest. Wish me luck. It is great to hear how well the family and everyone are doing. I know he blesses each of you for you faithful service and obedience. Say hi to grandma and grandpa Chipman for me! :) And thanks for the package!!! (Maybe I spoke to soon... but I will let you know when I get it :) Have a great week and keep up the good work!
Love,
Elder Divis

Mom,
I have a couple minutes left so I figured that I would write a little something extra. In the trainings and conference that we had the last 2 days I learned a ton. Pres. Blunck talked about ¨la formula de tener 100 bautismos en su misiòn¨ he talked about Cantidad y Calidad. (Quantity and quality, how we have to have both.) We have to have at least 100 contacts (quantity) cause that is the only why we can find new people. And that we shouldn`t waste our time with the contacts and new investigators that aren`t progressing. It is something that Elder Zuniga and I were already applying but it opened my mind to many different things. Like that we can improve the quality of our contacts and as we will find better quality people cause the spirit will be able to guide us better. The pres. is a little worried cause only 3 companionships in the whole mission (95 companionships) had 18 or more lessons with members. The stats that he shared with us let me know that Elder Zuniga and I are working effectively and a ton. But that doesn`t mean that we can or will relax. Quite the opposite. We are going to work harder because we understand when President says that as a mission we are not reaching our ¨potential¨ as a mission. I love our president. He is a man inspired by God and I have learned, am learning and will learn much from him.
Just a little update on the mission and the conference. Have a great week!
Elder Divis