January 16, 2017
Dear Mom, Dad, and my
wonderful family and friends!
It is so crazy to
think that there is snow right now in Cedar. In Bolivia, the days are
getting hotter, and there is lots of rain. This week we didn't have too
big of rainstorms, but it sure sprinkled/showered for a good 10 minutes and
then was calm and the sun was fuerte!
Dad I sure loved your
combination of ingredients of oatmeal. (My dad ate salsa and oatmeal together!) That made me laugh. Here I have
been eating oatmeal a lot with bananas, sugar, and crackers because it is really
fast and gives you good energy. It sure reminds me of the early morning
days when mom would make me oatmeal for school. Yummy! Elder Salas
can´t understand why I would want to eat oatmeal. He says that it
stinks. One funny moment we had was when we were in our apartment, and he
looked over at my food, which consisted of oatmeal and bananas, and I looked at
his food, which consisted of potato chips and Fanta! We sure laughed at
this!
Also, thank you for
the wonderful letters. This week, I received the family Christmas card, a
card from the Hintons, cards from Kaylin and Daniel, and one from Taylor Drew and
her friends!! Thank you all for the words and notes of encouragement. Dad
I will follow your counsel and work extra hard, enjoy the meals and food, and
then work extra hard again. Mom, thank you for your words of love and
encouragement. I am so grateful for you mom and dad and for your example
and your teachings.
This week was full of
miracles. The greatest of them all was that Adrian was baptized and confirmed
as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. During
this wonderful week, I sure learned that Satan tries extra hard, especially
during baptisms, to stop the work of the Lord, but I love the scripture in
Joshua 1:9 "Fear not, for I the Lord God am with thee." 
On Saturday, Elder
Salas and I prepared for the bautism (baptism) by setting up the chairs for the
service and making sure the font was all ready. When Adrian showed up to
the baptism, we could tell something was wrong. He asked to talk to us in
private and then explained that during the day, his Godfather talked to
him. His Godfather is of another Christian faith but said some untrue
things about the church that sure shook Adrian´s testimony. One of those
things was that if you get baptized you won´t be a part of my family.
When I heard this, my heart was so sad, but just like Joshua, I tired not to
fear and to trust in the Lord because through the Lord and prayer we can always
conquer Satan. Elder Salas talked to Adrian and asked him how he felt
when he read the Book of Mormon and when he prayed about the Book of Mormon and
if this church was true and if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Adrian
said he felt peace and tranquility. During this moment, I received an
impression that we needed to say a prayer. I then invited Adrian to have a
prayer with us. When went to a room in the chapel where we then knelt
down, and Elder Salas offered a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to strengthen
Adrian and help him feel the Spirit. After the prayer, Adrian firmly
said, “I want to be baptized now.” I know Heavenly Father lives and that
He hears every prayer and answer every prayer and that through his spirit
hearts can be changed and fears can be erased. The baptism went smoothly
and I was able to play Nearer My God To
Thee on a member’s violin right before the baptism and express through
music that Heavenly Father is only one prayer away and he is always watching
over us. After the musical number, Hermano Beito, Adrian´s friend in the
ward and president of the single adults program baptized him, and Elder Salas
and I were the 2 witnesses. When Adrian came up out of the water, I was so
grateful for him and his desire to follow Jesus Christ, and I felt such a
strong love for my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for their
great work of bringing each child of God back to Heavenly Father and into our
grand eternal family!
I know God lives and
that through baptism, our first covenant with God. and constantly renewing this
covenant through the sacrament, we can return to and live with our Heavenly
Father!!
I love you so much
mom and dad and all our family and friends. Thank you for your prayers for Adrian!
Love your son,
Elder Matheson
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| Elder Matheson, Adrian, Hermano Beito, Elder Salas at Adrian's Baptism |
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| Fortaleza Ward Members |
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| Elder Matheson and Adrian |
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