It's almost April!

¡Hola!

Woo hoo! I am excited! Today´s e-mail won´t be so long. I took too much time reading!! Haha. But it was really really nice to read both of your emails combined. Makes it easier for me to read and reply.

First off, I want to thank Aunt Wendy Gifford, Wendy Bentley, Amy McGreevey, and Michelle Olson (yes, I got your DE and your letter!) for sending me letters. They were fun to read! I will work on writing back... letters take a long time to write and send! Probably I will finish by next Monday, and send them off with a letter to you to forward. Much easier. And I like the pouch service idea, but I need to ask my Mission President how to use it… Or one of the assistants. But it sounds much better.

I´d also like to share a part of my testimony. Lately, I´ve really been developing charity, especially for everyone who has helped me! I tried giving a prayer of thanks for everyone, but after half an hour, I don´t think I covered half of the people I could think of, and as the week moved on I realized more people I could be grateful for. It really is amazing how people can influence your life, even in the smallest of ways. So, I want you to know that I truly do love you all, and I really wish I could tell each one of you personally. At BYU, Piru, Fillmore, Illinois, Washington, Utah, Cali, Hawaii... Even back in the good ol´ days of Burbank! That would be a good life goal to make. :). But as to my testimony... I know that Jesus is the Christ. That as we share the Gospel as restored through Joseph Smith and his translation of The Book of Mormon: ANOTHER TESTAMENT OF JESUS CHRIST, we really can become more Christ like in love, charity, patience, hope, diligence. In everything we do. The Book of Mormon really can answer questions of the soul. I have watched our investigators either listen to parts of the Book of Mormon, if they couldn´t read, or read it themselves, come to know how much the Book of Mormon can help them. We have living prophets on the Earth who testify of Jesus Christ - just like the prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the New. Through the Book of Mormon, we can gain a fuller understanding of the Bible! The Bible and the Book of Mormon both are words and teachings of Jesus Christ - just written in different parts of the world. Joseph Smith did see God the Father and Jesus Christ - as two distinct and separate beings. I would add my testimony to Nephi´s of the Book of Mormon, believe that we need to repent. Believe in Jesus Christ. Have faith in Christ. Act on that faith. Show that faith through a change of your heart. Show that faith through your daily actions. Show that faith through repentance. Repentance gives us the chance to become more like our Savior. Repentance is possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through that, we can be cleansed from sin. Through Baptism, by the proper authority and power, we can be cleansed of our sins. Follow the example of Jesus. He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He was perfect, we are not. How much more do we need to be baptized, being unholy!! He fulfilled all of the commandments of His Father, just like we need to. When we are baptized, we qualify for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Through His influence, we can avoid wrong and choose right - we can know the truth of all things. I know that prayer is a two way communication with God. He wants to listen - and He does! He will answer! Through the power of the Holy Ghost, we can feel His love for us. We can feel ´peace as a river´, comfort, love, just to name a few. With the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can have that all of time!! We can have guidance in our life, in everything we do. And that is not all - we must persevere until the end!! Read 1 Nephi 31:19-20. After that gate of baptism, we must press forward with a steadfastness of Christ. I know this to be true. I testify that God loves us. He is there. He is happy when we are righteous, and disappointed when we make mistakes, just like any father in this life would be with his children, only with a more perfect love and knowledge of what and how our actions affect our life. Affect the lives of others. I testify that Jesus is His Son, the Only Begotten of God the Father. That is how Jesus could be perfect and perform the Atonement in order to take upon Himself our sins, pains, sicknesses. That is why repentance helps! Jesus knows our every pain! He knows perfectly how, what, and why to help us. We just need to faith! We just need to act on that faith. James, the apostle, tells us that faith without works is dead. Believe that. Believe that we have hope to become better in this life. Hope for a better tomorrow - and then do whatever you can to have a better tomorrow! He will make up the rest of what we cannot accomplish on our own. Man in himself is nothing, with Christ he is everything. That is why this is important. Families are ordained of God. Through families, we learn. We grow. We understand right and wrong. We have a support system. Develop the love of your family. Family is everything. What´s the saying? Family, God, Country? No... Duty, God, Country. Something like that. But part of duty is to have a loving family. Through families, children can grow with love and happiness in their life. I know these things to be true. You can too. Pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Pray with a sincere heart. Be willing to act on an answer. He may not answer right away, but He will. Through a small feeling or thought - one that we must search for. I promise you that this is true.

Whew! That was a lot. But I really do mean each and every word! Seriously.

Now – to answer some questions: Any store I would buy something from would be the Supermarket. And it probably has everything. I just need to find it. Except Peanut Butter. They don´t have that in Paraguay. Only on the black market in Ciudad del Este.  I miss it already! Oh!!! Please send photos with the next item from the states. The people here LOVE pictures. Any pictures - family, landscape, friends! I miss having pictures, so that´ll help me too! :) Thanks!

My companion, Elder Beramendi is from Jujuy, Argentina. It´s by Chile and Bolivia.

Two more minutes. I love you guys. Please share my love and appreciation! I may miss my family, and my really good friends from home and the Y, but I have been blessed in so many ways! I hope to be able to share my blessings with them when I come home and through these letters! I hope everything is going great! Take care of yourself! I can´t wait for the treats!!

Con amor!

Elder David Watson