Hey all,
Sorry I haven´t written recently. It has been a really busy couple of weeks. My language is improving slowly but surely and I even have a hard time saying the english equivalent of some words. We didn´t have anyone to cook lunch for us this week so we had to cook for ourselves.
My comp can cook pretty well and on Wednesday he asked me to fry some chicken and cook rice. I failed at both. The rice was hard because I didn´t add enough water. Also all that I knew for cooking chicken is to put in in the oil. Apparently you have to score it too so that all parts are cooked. And the chicken here comes with the stubs of feathers in the skin and I didn´t cut those parts out. So it was a pretty crap meal. But ahora, I am confident 75 percent that I could do it again and have it turn out well.
This gospel is true. I have learned a lot here that I can´t even begin to describe. I am working better with my comp and we have a baptism this week! His name is Gabriel from Bolivia. With prayer and work, we hope that his sister, her daughters, and his mom will follow in his footsteps. Serving a mission is a wonderful oppourtunity to learn and test yourself. That part has scared me at times because I don´t want to fail. I realized a little bit more this week that the olnly way to forget these fears and do better is to forget yourself in the work. I have only achieved that status for about 4 hours this past week, but I am going to try harder. You are all in my prayers, especially those in hurrican or earthquake areas (we have had a few small earthquakes here too). Faith in Jesus Christ helps us understand that while disasters happen both in the world and also personally in our lives, that all things pass and we have His promise that if we remain faithful, He will reward us 100x more.
Excerpt from his letter to family
It was a really slow week for us. Not many people in the street. I think it is because of the festivas patrias from earlier. I tried harder this week to improve my relationships with the members and with our investigators. We did an intercambio on Saturday and I went to another area in Costanera. They have a super nice pension and I enjoyed the time with Elder Smith. On Saturday morning, we did a service project for the Church´s world day of service. We went to one of the beaches and picked up trash. They don´t really have dumps here so when we pick up trash, it was almost like a landfill in some areas. Lot of clothing and just random knick knacks everywhere. I am really sorry, but I didn´t take any pictures this week except 1 or 2. I swear I will do better!!!
How did the mission transfer go? Are you still in the same area and with the same companion?
Mission transfers came and went. I am still in the same area with my comp. The other comp in our pension is staying too. 3 other transfers for our district. They are opening up a new sector in the other ward so we are getting 2 new sister missionaries on top of everyone else and one of them is brand new. I think we will meet everyone tomorrow during our meetings.
Most spiritual moment of the week.
I was able to forget myself in the work a few days ago and just have a ton of animo and focus on the people. It was really great and because of it I could speak Spanish well and had hope for myself. It is something I am trying to strive for most this week. My mantra is Olvídese. I want to be better
Have you been bitten by fleas yet?
NO! Thank goodness.
Tell me about some of your favorite ward members.
I love the Family Herrera. They are our mamita y papito. Super tranquilo and I always feel comfortable around them. President Herrera is always able to help us with the emotional demands of the mission and we always feel tranquilo afterwards.
I also have great respect for Hmno. Bravo. He is really white like a gringo, but he is Chilean and speaks Spanish. He calls me gringo. When I messed up with the weekly report he stepped in and helped us realize it was not the end of the world. My love for him really went up after that.
Hrma. Delicia is the seminary teacher and is really great to talk with.
Hrma Yenny is the Postre Chef and does really good at cooking. She always has food for us.
How is the language coming along?
It is coming. A lot of people say that my language is really good, but at times I still struggle trying to express myself. When people ask me to say things in English though, I have a difficult time speaking English. Not when I am by myself, it is easier, but if I try to speak English with others, I throw in a ton of Spanish because that is how my mind is working right now. Last week, E Guaysamin asked me how to say milagro in english and I knew the word miracle, but I couldn´t prounounce it. I hope that is a good sign!
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