Loved Conference

October 5, 2009
¡Q´Huuubo familia!
Well it’s been another good busy week. We had the first 3 Zone Conferences and they went very, very well. Also the work continues in our area and we have some good investigators but we need to find more. General Conference was great, I really learned a ton and it was great to hear what the General Authorities had prepared for us. Also today was a good pday so all is very well.
Wednesday, Tuesday and Thursday we had the first 3 Zone Conferences of the 5 that we have every transfer and they all went very well. Sister Hacking talked about keeping the apartments clean and gave some tips on how to better take care of money by being smart in food shopping. She gave suggestions like ramen noodles, sandwiches etc. Elder Gags (his name really is Gagliardi but no one wants to say that) and I prepared and talked first about the new goal setting system we created based of PMG and explained exactly how it was going to work. We actually started it about a month ago with the zone leaders in the zone leader council. We reviewed and explained everything. Then we talked about goals and their benefits etc. President Hacking talked first for a while about money because lots of missionaries are not managing their money well and ending up without. He then talked about the Book of Mormon and it’s importance and power and he implemented a challenge in the mission for everyone to start right now and read it from Cover to cover whether it be your first or 50th time, and every time you read, to start with Moroni 10:4-5 and pray to receive a stronger testimony about it.
Knowing that President was going to talk about that, we then talked about how important mornings are in the mission and how we can take advantage of them. Haha it was great, using my camera we made a video called "the ideal morning" with Elder Zari and Smith (the two secretaries who live with us). We used lots of different and changing camera angles so it actually looked cool. Afterwards, I got on one of the office computers and got to use what I learned in that video editing class I took. I made it nice with music and titles etc. It started off with a nice piano version of "Joseph Smith’s First Prayer" and it shows Elder Zari getting up before 6 30, praying, doing his exercise and studying obediently and on time. Then the music stops and changes to a rock version of "Do What is Right" that we found. It shows Elder Smith hit his alarm at 6 30, get up at 7 30 with food and stuff all over his bed, play games on his phone instead of exercising and look at pictures of his girlfriend instead of studying. Haha it cracked everyone up but I think it was a good way to show what should happen and what sometimes does. Then we talked about the importance of a good morning and a good study time and how it will help us throughout the whole day. Now this week we will be going to Cucuta and Bucaramanga to do the last 2 Zone Conferences so hopefully they go as well as these ones. Everyday, working with the other missionaries and President, I learn so many things and lessons but those mostly go in my study journal.
Things are going well in our area. The Diaz family is doing great, not to mention that the mom is a professional chef and she very frequently invites us over to eat :) ... We have a few good investigators that we are working with now but they have some big challenges like marriage problems and word of wisdom probs but we are trying and praying for ways to help them and hopefully they can progress.
The conference was awesome. haha Its hard to believe that a few short years ago mom had to drag me out of bed to make me watch it, and now I find myself looking forward to every session. We went to the stake center of the Bogotá stake to watch so all of the members from Tierra Linda were there which was very cool. That ward really was awesome and way strong and had great members. It was great to see and talk to some of them and see how they were doing. Also ALL of the people I found that were baptized were there; it was so awesome to see them all. One sister is now the secretary in the Relief Society and is preparing for her patriarchal blessing. Another one they say is getting ready to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. The biggest surprise was a little boy named Julian. When we first started teaching him he said his mom would probably not let him go to church because she was very catholic. We later visited her in their home and she told us she was very Catholic but we had fasted and prayed for them and we presented her with "For the Strength of Youth" and told her about all the good things Julian would learn in the church. Anyway after that she allowed him to progress but told us she was born and would die Catholic. We continued working and praying for them and my last week there we were getting Julian ready for his baptism and she had agreed to come to church. So long story short she felt the spirit and she and the other 4 children were baptized and this Sunday at conference they all walked in (Julian and his bros with white shirts and ties and the mom and sister with dresses). Julian ran over a gave me a hug and his mom just came over and shook my head and told me "muchisimas gracias por ayudar mi familia" I talked to the ward mission leader and he said the ward is taking great care of them and making sure they feel welcome and keep progressing, it was so awesome.
But also awesome was the conference, there were too many great talks to mention but if you missed Elder Holland talking about the Book of Mormon you should look on the Internet because it was intense. President Monson's talks in priesthood and Sunday were also amazing. I thought I saw a real tendency this conference for talks about personal testimony development and having more of the spirit. The cool thing is that 2 weeks ago when we established what we would talk about in the Zone Conferences, President had come to the conclusion that was exactly what he would talk about and that he was going to do this book of Mormon challenge because he wanted the missionaries to gain stronger testimonies and have more of the spirit. Maybe it’s just because that’s what I was thinking about but I really believe that God knows what he wants us to hear and our Mission President was inspired with the same idea that the general authorities were inspired with before he even knew what that had planned... another testimony builder.
Ha I realized sometimes my letters make it sound like life is perfect and the mission is a 24 / 7 joy ride. Honestly sometimes the same day to day schedule can make things feel a little dry or repetitive and of course there are always challenging days or times where it feels like a struggle. But I realize as I end every day or week that the great experiences we have are so many more than the challenges and how worth it, it is. Especially when I write my letters and start to think about all that has happened during the week I realize how much I am learning and all the good things that happen to me or blessings I have.
Today we had a good P day. We played basketball and soccer with our district, I am pretty rusty but I can still basically dunk and I made a few threes. Then it was my turn to get taught a lesson with the Latins in soccer. Haha I really can’t handle the ball but I can run with them and once in a while I get set up for a lucky goal or two. Soccer is life down here as far as sports and when Colombia plays and scores a goal you can basically hear the entire city scream wherever you are in the street. This weekend Chile plays Colombia in Medellin (Colombia) and if we don’t win there is no hope left for the world cup so it should be pretty intense around here.
But anyway I have had a little more time to write today but my hour is about up now. Thanks again for everything. I love you and you’re in my prayers, thanks for the letters and be safe and be of good cheer. Bubbye. Elder Barnard