To Andy

          I recently responded to an email from my younger brother Andy, who is serving in Tampico Mexico.  He asked me "what can I do to help investigators get to church?"  I thought a little and prayed about what I might say.  The following is the letter I wrote to him.  I thought it a kind of epistle really.  I love my brother so much, and wanted to help him with his problem. 

      Hey man, sorry to hear about you investigator issue.  My only suggestions would be committing them very firmly to come, promise them blessings and teach them the truth that "si ama a Dios, iria a la iglesia.  Si realmente quiere ir a los cielos un dia para vivir con su familia para siempre, van a venir a la iglesia".  Make them feel like barro (mud) if they don't come.  You are just teaching them the truth, that if they really love God, they would go. 
     Our assistants gave us this training saying that if someone is sick, you would do better to treat the SOURCE of the illness and not just the symptoms.  The same is true for us spiritually.  If someone isn't going to church, isn't willing to pay tithing, isn't willing to progress beyond a certain point, then some part of their spirit is sick,  we need to treat the source of their spiritual illness.  This includes committing them firmly to read the Book of Mormon, I mean, to really read it.  Tell them that if they read it and feel nothing, they missed it.  Commit them to pray, to really ask Father what they should do.  I liked to use the word "rogar" (to beg or plead) when describing how earnestly we should ask for blessings.  Focus on treating the source of their spiritual retardation. 
         Even after you have used all your ammo on your investigators that you love so much, they still may not choose to come.  That's the simple truth of it.  I can relate to your hurt, disappointed and sad feelings, I have felt them before.
       When investigators really feel the Holy Ghost, stumbling blocks crumble away and they are filled with a desire to progress.  That is the theory anyway, but making it happen is the art of the dedicated and powerful missionary. 
      I love you bro, I pray for you every night.  I try to imagine what Mexico must be like, what the streets look like that you walk on every day, what the chapels look like.  I imagine you and me dressed up in white shirts and ties, contacting anything that moves and sharing a day together in the Lord's service.  If anything else Andy, when you feel down, my heart is with you.  Know that your older brother loves and supports you utterly and completely.  God bless you.
    -love, your brother,
         Spencer-