Week 25!

well hey there!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!  i know you're all wondering, but DON'T WORRY!!!  i only have ONE person on my mind ;) THE SAVIOR!!!  hahahahahahaha but yeah they do celebrate valentine's day down here too but it isn't as big as it is in the U.S.  this week we had a Zone Conference with our Zone and the zone from the department "Mercedes" which is where Elder Shaw (one of my MTC Comps) is!  it was great to see him and see how he's doing.  haha he's gained 30 POUNDS since he's been here because he's constipated!  hahahahaha it's stinking histerical!  our zone conference was really good!  the focus of the mission president's talk and all the other talks and activities was about the atonement and how we should use the wonderful gift of the atonement to help our investigators feel the spirit in their lives.  it was AWESOME!  we had a ward activity with the other ward that shares our same building this last friday!  it was pretty successful!  we had like 25 or so people come to it in total!  everyone seemed to really enjoy it and was having lots of fun!  it was mainly just like little kid games but everyone had a lot of fun!  i'll send you a picture soon of our activity!  haha the bishop's wife came up to me during the activity and told me "Elder Atkinson, can you promise me something? can you promise that you won't leave this next shange? absolutely NO ONE likes Elder Segura... and we LOVE YOU!!!!  it was tough enough having Elder Ashby leave, but if you leave this ward is going to die!!!"  i was terribly flattered and at the same time upset.....  i just realized how much wards down here ONLY function when there's some good missionaries in the ward.  but my goal is to try to keep this ward strong for when i actually get changed. haha  here's a KATY UPDATE:  oh man she is stinking prepared!  ¡i mean FAH! really the LORD prepared her so much for before we even met her.  everytime we meet with her and talk to her about the scriptures we left for her she whips out AT LEAST one page of notes that she took while she was reading about what her thoughts, understandings, and her feelings.  this week was week number 3 of her attending church and she is looking forward to her baptismal date on the 26!!! she already has good friends and everything in the church that sit with her and talk with her all the time!  haha  she is going to be a really strong member when she is baptized.  it is so spiritually uplifting when you see that all of this hard work is starting to pay off!  i have been working at ABSOLUTE CAPACITY since i've got here and it's esciting to see results!!!

thanks for all the prayers and love,

¡HLJ! ¡Vamo ARRIBA!

Elder Atkinson