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| 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.
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| Hiking on pday |
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.
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| Elder Salinas with our pensionista |
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| That's me with my lemonade tererè! |
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| Elder Sorensen & Elder Salinas |
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| Tererè |
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| Making friends. Haha. |
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| Elder Salinas - not making friends. |
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| This girl often comes to church all by herself, walking or a getting ride. She's a great example to me. |
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| Elder Salinas and me with family at the baptism of 8-year-old girl. |