It's moving day! It's moving day!

Hola my wonderful happy family!! And all of my non-blood members of my family!! HI!

So, here I am in..........Mariscal de Ayacucho in the Zona Atahualpa. Yes, good luck saying any of that. :D I'm now with Elder Valdiviezo from Peru. It's interesting because I was in Calderón when he was "born" and now we're companions! It's going to be a good change. It's kinda funny because the zone that I'm in now touches the zone that I just left. I live about 20 minutes from where I used to live. So it's not that big of a change, but it's big enough for me.

Wow, it sounds like things are getting slightly scary there in Colorado. I know that whatever happens, learning will be done. Just keep trying to live life as in line with what the Lord has taught as is possible and you will make it through whatever happens. The Lord will be obligated to bless you if you're living righteously, but if you're not doing so, then the Lord has no promise with you. What is the best way to know if you're on the strait and narrow path or not? Constant, diligent study of the Scriptures (The Book of Mormon, the Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price) and the words of the modern-day prophets. In the Scriptures is the path that one must follow to be able to receive the promised blessings of the Lord, and the modern-day prophets help us apply the Scriptures to our lives now. I know that Heavenly Father has provided us with these sacred writings to guide us towards Jesus Christ and eternal life.

[To preface this section, I asked Elder Schomburg how he feels about performing baptisms.]  When I first started my mission, I wanted really badly to be able to baptize everyone that I taught. I wanted to be the person to help someone progress spiritually and take one step closer to the celestial kingdom. Now, after some time in the mission (I'm getting to be one of the old guys in the mission...what....), I have realized that what I want most is that someone can move onward and receive this saving ordinance. It doesn't matter so much who performs that ordinance, as long as he holds the priesthood and is worthy of performing such an ordinance. The important thing is that one is baptized by this authority of the priesthood or else one cannot enter into the celestial kingdom. In John 3:5 when Jesus says that one must be born of water and the Spirit or he cannot see the kingdom of God, He was talking about everybody. We know that He was baptized by John the Baptist who held the priesthood and authority to baptize. Jesus gave that authority to His disciples and gave them the commandment to go and baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. With time, His Apostles were killed, and those to whom the priesthood had been conferred turned away from the pure doctrine of Christ, thus losing the ability to use the priesthood. With this apostasy God took away the priesthood from the earth, but He had promised that it would be returned when His children were ready to follow Him again. That time came in the 1820s when celestial messengers (John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John [three of Christ's original Apostles]) restored that priesthood authority to Joseph Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only Church on the face of the earth that posseses this priesthood authority, and only by this priesthood authority may one receive a baptism in the same way that Jesus was baptized. So as long as someone receives a baptism by this authority, I don't care so much who it is that performs the ordinance.

Well, I'm out of time now. I love all of you and hope that you all have a wonderful week. Keep strong and keep on keeping on! I love you!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

17 months