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2018-12-10: Hola Hola

Baptism of 8-year-old girl from Tecoya

Well, the weeks seem to pass super duper fast. I love my area and my comp, and we have a ton of fun but also work like crazy, and I’m always super tired. Hahaha.

Well, martes/Tuesday we got back to Betanzos (after going to Uyuni). We were pretty darn exhausted but after lunch we got to work. Literally everything we had planned fell through except one cita/appointment in the late afternoon but still it was a good day. While walking home, we laughed because we were both super tired and hungry but like super happy and Elder Salinas was like 'today was a good day'. I laughed and was like 'all our citas cancelled and we really only visited one person but you’re darn right, today was awesome.' Hahaha.

Mièrcoles/Wednesday was kind of the same thing. We didn’t have any really set citas, but we looked for a ton of old investigadores and several less active members. We found several and set different citas but most of them were 'without time.' Oh well. We also had clases de ingles (English Class) and then had the kids teach us Quechua after like 30 min of Ingles. Hahaha. It was funny. People just speak Quechua, and then we have to try to figure out why they say stuff the way they do and what rules they are following or using. We also spoke Ingles all day, and it was pretty weird. I realized I’ve started thinking in Spanish because every time I would start to talk, it would be in Spanish. It was a little weird at first, but I got to give my comp props for trying to learn Ingles. He is doing really well.

Jueves/Thursday our pensionista went with us to Tecoya, and we walked a ton, like normal, and it was cool having her help us (teach in Quechua). We also found a past investigator (well his family), and we taught them and it went pretty good (but then they didn’t come to church). Darn. We will see what happens this week.

Viernes/Friday we had to go into Potosi for district meetings, and we took one of our bikes to get fixed. After getting back to Betanzos, we had a few good citas that went pretty well and then prepared our classes for Sunday. (I teach Primary and my comp teaches the youth in Sunday School and then he teaches the young men and women for the 3rd hour.)

Sabado/Saturday we rode our bikes out to Tecoya. I am super duper out of shape, hahaha. It was pretty fun though. We had several good citas. We got back for lunch and then had a baptism for a little 8-year-old girl. She is super awesome. Her mom isn’t super active in the church and many times the little girl will go to church all by herself (and she doesn’t exactly live very close to the capilla/chapel). It’s a pretty darn good example of faith and really shows what we should do (even if others aren’t). After her baptism, we had an interesting cita with an investigator and two recent converts. They didn’t see the importance of reading the Book of Mormon, so it was fun trying to explain why it was soo soo important. It reminded me how important the Book of Mormon really is to me. Not only does it have super cool and crazy stories, but it also has the entire gospel of Jesus Christ and literally the answers to every single question. Also, during the lesson I explained how I really, really don’t like reading books, and then I realized the Book of Mormon is the only book (that I can remember) that I have read more than once all the way through. Why? Well besides the fact that it’s a commandment from God to study His words diligently, I really honestly love the Book of Mormon. I love the things I learn every time I read it. I love the feeling I get each time I’m studying. I really truly know it is the word of God. I know that when we really search the Book of Mormon and really 'feast' upon His words, we can know all things that we should do, and we can live in a way that we will be happier and be closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Hiking on pday
Domingo/Sunday was fun. I love teaching the Primary. Hahaha. It’s made me really appreciate all my Primary teachers did for me and all their patience. Hahaha. It’s a little tough here. I don’t really know what I’m doing, but it’s pretty fun. We usually play a little game, have a lesson, practice an article of faith, play outside, have a snack, and then color. I love little kids. They are so honest and straight up about everything. We have tons of fun but still get in a good lesson (I think/ hope). Hahaha. After church, we had a few citas but they all cancelled. We then made a pretty good plan of how we can help the ward. There aren’t a lot of strong members, and there are a ton of less active members. We made plans and things to share with each type of member, to help their faith and testimony. I love the story and example of when Peter walked on the water. While he was focused on Christ, he was able to walk on the water and experience something incredible. But once he began to focus on the big waves, and the wind, and the darkness, he began to sink. It’s a super great lesson. If we are distracted by other things (work, other people in the church, worldly things, any other distraction) we can began to sink spiritually and unfortunately sometimes people drown and die (spiritually speaking). However, if we are focused on Christ and our faith is in Him, He can save us and lift us to have incredibly awesome experiences.

Today was fun. Elder Salinas and our pensionista and I hiked up to a pretty cool waterfall. It reminded me a ton of Paria and West Clear Creek. I really, really wanted to jump in, but oh well. We carried 5 litros of ice cold lemonade up there, and then once we got there, sipped the good stuff. Hahaha. It’s called tererè. I don’t know how to explain it. Just look it up. Its super duper good. I love it. We got back and cooked lunch and that was about all for P-Day. We invited other elders from Potosi, but they didn’t come. Oh well. It was pretty sweet.

Well I love ya guys. Quechua is coming along pretty good. We have made a schedule where we rotate between speaking English, Spanish and Quechua (one a day). It’s a little tough, but it really helps us to learn faster. I love my comp. He is super duper awesome, and we work really hard and get along great. Betanzos is amazing. It’s a pretty tough area, but I love it. Merry Christmas! Hahaha. It doesn’t really feel like Christmas out here in Betanzos. We are looking for any type of tree to put in our house to make it a little more Christmassy, hahaha.

Love ya!!
Elder Sorensen
sorensen.tanner@myldsmail.net

Elder Salinas with our pensionista

That's me with my lemonade tererè! 

Elder Sorensen & Elder Salinas

Tererè

Making friends. Haha.

Elder Salinas - not making friends.
\
This girl often comes to church all by herself,
walking or a getting ride. She's a great example to me.

Elder Salinas and me with family at the baptism of
8-year-old girl.

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