 |
Me playing chess with
a kid of a lady we visit.
These are all pictures from E. Cabrera. |
This week went pretty fast and was pretty fun. We didn’t do
a ton of work which bugged me, but it was still a good week. After hiking up
some mountains to some lakes last P-day, I realized I’m pretty out of shape and
determined to workout better in the morning, hahaha.
So martes/Tuesday morning, I had a pretty good workout and
then I don’t know why but whenever I workout, I feel better, so I had a pretty
awesome morning and got a lot done. Before we went to lunch, we went up and printed
some pictures, which was pretty cool. After lunch we spent most the afternoon
with Raul and his family. Ya, it was lots of fun and all, but really I didn’t
feel like a good missionary. I felt like we were wasting way too much time and
could've visited lots more people. There were a ton of little kids, so when we
finally started the lesson, it was a lot of fun teaching the little kids. We
taught the Plan of Salvacion, and it was kind of funny at times (like when a little
boy said babies come from the little store down the road). It was super fun
teaching them and it reminded me of Mosiah 3:19, which says we all need to
''become as little children, submissive, meek, patient and full of love.'' I
also felt a lot like Christ when he said ''suffer the little ones to come unto
me'' I love little kids, and it was a super cool experience teaching them about
their Heavenly Father. Later that night, we had correlaccion with our ward
mision leader, and he encouraged us to invite our investigadores more to be
baptized and progress quicker. I felt it was very true and something we really
need to improve on.
Miércoles/Wednesday we went up to Mercado and bought a few
things. I bought this yerba stuff called tereré. It’s basically the same as
mate, but mate you drink with super-hot water and tereré you drink with super
cold lemonade or juice. It’s super duper good and Elder Cabrera taught me how
to do it well because it’s a big Paraguay thing. Like mate is mostly in
Argentina and tereré is mostly in Paraguay. They are both super good. After
lunch, we met with our zone here in Potosà and then met up with the zone from
Tupiza and together, took a bus to Sucre for our Zone Conference. It was pretty
fun and we stayed the night in a hotel. (It was kind of more like a dorm. I don’t
know really, we slept in a big room with like 15 sets of bunk beds).
Jueves/Thursday we spent basically all day in conference.
Elder Falabella (who is either one of the Seventy or an Area President) spoke 3
or 4 different times, and it was pretty cool. I learned a lot about how I can better
be a full-time missionary and really be a missionary all the time, constantly
sharing the gospel with everybody. I learned a lot from him. I also learned for
myself that this really is the true Church of Jesus Christ and that He leads
His Church. I have learned that I am a servant in His work of sharing the
Gospel with everyone. I have learned the Book of Mormon truly is the word of
God, and when we read it every day and pray, we can feel the Spirit more in our
lives. When we have the Spirit with us, we will live in a manner closer to God
and in this way of life, we will be happier. I love 2 Nephi 9:39 which says
''to be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life eternal''
It’s a very, very true statement. I love how the first letters of the last 5
words spells SMILE. Why? Because when we read the Book of Mormon and live with
the Holy Ghost, we can live happily. :) I love being a missionary and sharing
this happiness with other people.
After conference, we returned to Potosi pretty late Jueves/Thursday
night. Friday/Viernes we had some pretty good citas/appointments in the
afternoon, but each one cancelled or wasn’t there so it was a little
frustrating. We did contact for a bit and found some pretty cool people that
seemed pretty interested. In the evening, we visited a member family (the one
with the 2 little girls, one who shares my birthday). It was fun, but I always
feel bad when we go there because it’s just a big waste of time. But my comp
wanted to hang out there because we were guessing he would be leaving this cambio/transfer.
(So it would've been his last week here). Oh well.
Sabado/Saturday my comp wanted to spend the day with a
pretty cool family (who isn’t in our ward but loves the missionaries). We had
lunch with them and a few other elders (who we were pretty sure might leave this
cambio) and then spent a big chunk of the afternoon with them. I was a little
annoyed but was like whatever, it might be his last week. After, we went and
visited Raul and taught them a little more about the Plan of Salvacion and
answered their questions. Later we went and got chicken from a pretty good and
cheap chicken place here called Don Pollo. Hahaha. It’s pretty good.
Domingo/Sunday was a pretty good day. We had 6
investigadores in church (Raul and his family couldn’t make it, but it was
super nice because they told us the day before and they stick to their word).
After church, I got some good study time in, and then after lunch we went and
made cookies with a member family and afterwards I shared Mosiah 4:30, and we
talked about the ingredients in our lives. After that, I got some more good
study time, and then we went to Familia Copa and had a pretty good Noche de
Hogar (Family Night) and then ate super good banana bread. I love her banana
bread; it’s almost just like my mom’s.
Once we got home we waited for quite a while before we
finally got the call from our zone leaders telling us our cambios. And...... I’m
going to Betanzos with Elder Salinas (from Ecuador)!!! I was super duper
excited. My comp (Elder Cabrera) was also pretty happy because he wanted to
stay here for Christmas. If you’ve read my previous letters, I have been to
Betanzos several times for intercambios/exchanges, and I love it. I also really
want to learn Quechua to help more people. So I’m super duper excited to go to
Betanzos and work with Elder Salinas (who is a really good worker). It’s a
tough area and there’s not a ton of progress, but I’m super excited for the
challenge.
Today was a fun Pday. We played basketball in a pretty cool
gym and then ate with some members and other elders. After internet time, I’m
going to get my stuff packed and then will be in Betanzos tonight or tomorrow
morning! I’m pretty excited. I’m going to miss the awesome investigadores we
found here, but it’s nice because I will be pretty close still and we will have
to come to Potosà each week for our district meetings, so I will be able to
visit them a few times. It’s nice to be done with my training, and I’m super
excited for this new cambio! Love ya guys! Eat some more Thanksgiving dinner
for me. It doesn’t exist at all here, and I totally forgot it was this week.
Con amor,
