Elder David Maynard: FELIZ AÑO NUEVO

Hey Everybody!!

I wish you all a very happy new year! 2017 is going to be great! We had 360 baptisms in the mission last year, and this year our goal is 600. We have lots of work to do and we are excited to keep on pushing. We are going to have a big focus on working with the members this year. It is something that we need to improve in the mission. Preach My Gospel says ``Work with members of the Church to find people to teach. The ideal situation is when members invite others to be taught and are present for the teaching. When members do this, more people are baptized and remain active in the Church.`` So this is the game plan this year to baptize! And I make a call to all of the members out there to do this!!! It helps out the missionaries a ton and it brings more people to the Savior.

We were able to teach only 3 lessons all week. That is due to lots of meetings and preparations that we had to do to start the transfer. But all three lessons were with Liliana. We did also have quite a bit of time to contact and look for new investigators this week too. Anyway, Liliana is doing awesome. She is doing so awesome that she is going to be baptized this Saturday!!! Wow it is so cool. We have known her for more than 2 months now. We started doing service projects for her. (Service projects that a member got for us, there is the testimony that members find more baptisms) Since our service projects she has called us her ``little angels.`` She then accepted the lessons and has been progressing ever since. She had a true desire to stop smoking and we did EVERYTHING that we could have possibly done. One day she just stopped out of nowhere. The Lord works miracles. When we do all that we can possibly do, the Lord does the rest. It has been a really awesome process and a great experience. We are so thankful and so excited for this upcoming Saturday!

2016 was a great year. One of the best year`s of my life. It was definitely not the easiest year, but I learned so much from it. I know that we are not alone. We are never alone. I know that God is always there to help us. I know that all things are in His hands. I know that I am nothing without Him. 2016 was the year that I learned more about my Savior. It was the year when I depended on Him the most. I was glad to be in His service throughout it all. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is His church. It is the truth. 2 Nephi 1: 15 "But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love." May we all come even closer unto the Lord in 2017. Happy New Year!

Love,

Elder Maynard