Elder Jacob Potts: Cochabamba, Bolivia: Investigators, Blessings, and Baptisms!

My area is still tough, but things are progressing amazingly. We now have a gigantic pool of investigators, and we have figured out that confedence in us is the key to having success in Cliza! A few of my investigators have some pretty tough stories, but we are helping them in every way we can.

There is a family that we are in need of a lot of help. Their dad is in a coma and is in the hospital, and they are struggling without him. They have 5 kids, and we are teaching them all. The mother is always in the hospital to stay with their dad. Without a father at home, they have very little money, and no head of the house to look to. Also, the medical costs have exceeded over 90,000 BS and they are unable to pay for it. The dad can't leave the hospital until the pay the cost, so they are in a very tough situation. All of the children are girls, except for one. His name is Fabian, and he is 16. Recently we have found out that he has been involved in gang activity for the past few years, but wants to change, telling us we are this. After explaining to importance of families, and the role of a father, he has come to realize that he has to play that role now since his father is sick. We have gotten together with the ward, and they are coordinating to be able to bring food to their house for them. They will do this each day of the week for them, and our help. After teaching the children, 3 of them have baptismal dates and attend regularly. The only issue will be permission. Their parents are very catholic and closed minded when talking to them. They are, however, very greatful for the ways that we are helping them.

This week we have gained much confedence of one of our investigators, Nilda. Before, she would not open up to us, so we did not know how to help her. Finally, she has come to trust us enough to tell us her problem. She has a type of skin cancer, but does not know how to tell her family. She is waiting to find out if it is dangerous or not before she tells her family. Now that we know this about her, she trust in us a lot, and tells us any updates. We taught her the plan of salvation after that, and explained how God has a plan for each of us. Because of her, we have realized that trust is one of the most important things to have with investigators.

The sister of this investigator with cancer is named Ely. She is probably the best investigator I have probably ever had, for one main reason. She is born and raised in Cliza, and literally knows everyone. We are great friends now, and she loves hearing our lessons. Through her, we get at least 3 or 4 references every single day. All we have to do is accompany her to the store, and on the way we run into her friend, take out an appointment. Then we get to the store, and she introduces us to the store worker. Everyone she knows, she introduces us too. She has some doubts about the gospel, but when it comes to references, we couldn't have anyone better than Ely.