One week more...

Hey there everybody! (especially to Mom and Dad down there in Mexico disfrutando la playa y el sol, un dia iremos juntos:) Just so you all know, I will be working this whole week like any other week, next tuesday will be my last pday where I will be able to write, and super early on wednesday morning I report to the mission home and will pass the whole day there with the missionaries leaving and Presidente and Hermana Smith, stay the night in the hostal there, and then head out on thursday afternoon to show up friday morning in Salt Lake. So dont you all get mushy on me now, Ive got to work my heart out this week and then next week we can go crazy, deal? Thanks:) There are very odd feelings going through my mind knowing that this is going to be my last week here in Uruguay, the sensation of being able to see my family and be at my home soon, mixed with the desire I have to keep doing what I am doing and see all the we on working on go through to the end. 

Today was fun and remenicent, we went on my last run through the historic part of Montevideo to get some things and have a good time just taking in the capital. Really just a fun time to talk and chill with Elder Neilson and enjoy where we are and what we are doing. We have one of the very very few churches that has a basketball hoop on the inside, so we also went over to the church early to play a little bit of hoops which was super fun, but I learned two hard lessons: 1) Elder Neilson plays dang good 2) Im a little more out of shape then I thought:) But it was still super fun to ball around American style. 

This past week has been absolutely amazing, and I feel like the Lord is coming through for us big time and blessing us for our efforts to follow the direccion of our leaders. We have been trying really hard to put everything that we have recieved in practice and we are really starting to see the fruits of it! There is a family in our ward in which the parents are less active but the two oldest sisters are trying to get ready to go on a mission, and one is a ward missionary, and she told us that her younger sister wants to get baptized, and she arranged everything with her family and we taught her, and she is really excited about the whole thing! Her name is cecilia and she is 12. She loves young womens and has really loved all of the lessons so far and we talked to her about being baptized and the importance of it, and she is willing to prepare herself to be baptized in a month! The mom doesnt really want us around, but we are hoping that through this excitement of the daughters we can get through to the mom again. 

There is also a older couple that has been members for a long time and that we have been working with since the time of Gonzalez and that have become active again (more her than he) but he has changed so much and is coming to church again! Her name is Mirta and she has recently told us about how badly she wants her kids and grandkids to be baptized and learn about the church, but doesnt know how. Then this week we showed up when two of their granddaughters were there that live close by, and there were both very interested and intrigued by the church, and both said they would go to church this week. (they didnt show up, but this week will be the week;) But it was just out of no where we ran into them and they were both so interested and excited to learn more! I feel so diferent in this house then I did when I first got there, they have really changed so much, it is increadible! 

As these and other awesome experiences have happened this past week, I keep thinking of the story of Jesus coming to the apostles after he has been resurected and he finds them fishing. After passing the entire night without fishing anything, He tells them to cast their nets on the RIGHT side of the boat, and they were unable to take up the net because it was full of fishes. If we work in the way the He wants us to do, and do thing the RIGHT way, being His way, we will have the sucess that we desire and that the Lord desires for us. (John 21)  We have really be working to help the ward put in practice the plan that we have recieved from the Area Presidency, and this past month we have progressed so much in that, and the results and miracles have just started to fly in! It is really something increadible! We keep working as hard as we can, following the direction we have recieved, unifying ourselves to the ward to hasten the Lords work, and the Lord is coming through for us bigtime! This place is going to explode! CERRO 8! 

I know that our Heavenly Father exists and loves me. For that reason I know that He equally loves each and every person here in the world and wants them to live right and be happy. I know that He is a just God, and there is no way to get around His demanding justice. Only through the atonement of Jesus Christ can we not only be made clean, pure, and inoccent before the father; but we can achieve our true potential and bring to pass His work and glory. I love Them, and am so grateful for the time that I have been given to dedicate this time of my life to them. I am still young and with much to learn, but as a twenty year old man, I have tithed my life, willingly giving ten percent of my time on this earth to be part of our Heavenly Fathers Army. The best decision I have made so far in my life. Hands down. I know this work is true and that the call has been made, and the work has been hastened. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Les quiero con todo mi amor!
Elder Zachary Degn

Ps. My good friend Ariel, the husband of a member that we are helping reactivate herself. He is not a member but he is a really good guy. They gave us a excelent asado this week to send me off!