Road Trip

Hey familia,
My whole mission I've heard about this one town in the middle of the desert where missionaries have to take a shuttle to get there. Not a lot of action, just a small ward. Kinda dead but somehow magically fun. Well, I got to go this week! The missionaries who cover the town also cover another small town so my companion stayed with one of the elders and the other elder and I took the shuttle down to Ajo, AZ! It's also always been my dream to teach someone on a bus. Well it was a dream come true. Except that the guy I was talking to and teaching wasn't very interested haha. But it was cool anyway. The town actually has a lot of work right now. The members are fantastic and the bishop has a vision for the ward. The missionaries are teaching this cute little family in which the husband is a bit hesitant but is progressing well. I wish I could have stayed another full day. Although after the exchange I felt like I had just come back from a campout, because the place the missionaries stay at down there is a little shack that a member owns. Food was scarce but I learned how to make microwaved pancakes...with honey they're not too bad :) 
We did another exchange with some Spanish elders in our zone and it was more challenging than I thought it would be. I have not ceased to learn how very important communication is. As our mission president says, the degree to which we communicate is the degree to which we teach, which is the degree to which we can lead, which is the degree to which the Lord can use us in blessing the lives of others. And for some missionaries in our mission, it's very difficult to communicate. For me at times it's still hard, especially in unfamiliar situations. But I firmly believe that the Lord can help us overcome those barriers. It's basically a question of how can God help us improve our weaknesses. As we've been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon recently I found again the scripture that says, "Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it." (Enos 1:15) I believe that. I know that the Lord is eager to aid us in whatever our struggles  may be, even to the farthest extreme. And I believe that as me make it a matter of consistent prayer and focus in our lives, God will bless us to become stronger. A lot depends on our faith and vision of what we think we can accomplish with the Lord.
I did my first baptismal interview in Spanish yesterday! Things are going great in our wards. We have a baptism coming up this Saturday for a young man who's been learning for several months. He's a really great guy, a student at ASU, and he's making evident changes in his life. It's hard to upload photos because I don't have a cord, but I'll see if I can borrow one to shoot you a few pics. I love you all and wish you a wonderful week!

Elder Gathro