Isauro has quit smoking!

Hi Everyone!
 
First off, I'd like to thank everyone for making my Christmas wonderful, I received lots of gifts, cards, letters, etc., and of course talking to my family on the phone! Christmas as a missionary can be great, even away from home, thank you!
 
The exciting news is that I'm staying in my area, my companion is leaving and I'll be serving with Elder Acevedo, who I served with about 9 months ago in the other Denver Spanish ward! It's going to be great, since we already know each other there won't be so much of a transition period of getting acquainted, and he's a good missionary and will work hard. So at the beginning of the new year both sets of missionaries in the ward are having the companion with more time transferred out, and me and the other Elder (who's pretty new, only a couple months in the mission) will have to lead everything! I'm really excited for the challenge, I think the Lord's going to work some miracles here and help us have a lot of success!
 
Another really exciting thing is that Isauro, our top investigator, has successfully quit smoking and is ready to be baptized! He was hesitant to make the commitment, but with encouragement from us and members and then daily support through the first few days, he's made it through and is a completely different person! He looks self confident and has an amazing spirit about him, he's helping and doing service at every opportunity and is loving the Gospel! He's going to be a very strong and committed member, he has everything in place with fellowship, responsibilities, and being nourished by the good word of God and we don't have to worry about retaining him! That's one of the hard parts about a Spanish mission, but I've found that by devoting more time and thought to the individuals and preparing them well, retention isn't a problem even if you don't baptize quite as many.
 
I'm so grateful for the gospel, it's a wonderful blessing we have and I know that the Lord's hand is in our work! I love the church and I love being a missionary, I'm deeply humbled and grateful for this opportunity, the Lord has been teaching me so much and it's amazing!
 
Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Damon Janis