Very Productive Week

November 30, 2009
HOLA FAMILIA!
Well it’s been another hot week here in Barranca. Unfortunately we are still living in the $22 a night hotel but we are not going to use that as an excuse to be less productive. This week was actually a very good week for us in the area. We dedicated ourselves, set some high goals and achieved almost all of them so I am feeling really good about the area. We gave surprise talks on Sunday in church; also we had a nice little Thanksgiving party and a Training session with all the church leaders of the district so it was a very good week.

By the suggestion of President Hacking, we fasted on Wednesday to be able to find a house or get the situation worked out. That same day, the counselor in the district presidency called and told us he found us a house. It was almost golden. It was in the perfect position between the two branches, it wasn’t with the renting agency that gave us so many problems but was a direct contract with a family who was moving out and it was cheaper. It wasn’t as nice as the hopefuls we had but it was enough and what we needed. We agreed with them we would have the contract by the next day and could be moving in today. We took all our papers, did the contract and just had to get the contract signed and emailed by a guy in the church offices in Bogotá. We emailed it in and it turned out that for some reason the guy wasn’t there for like 5 days. So in the end we couldn’t get it signed and they gave the house to different people… So “Pailas” as they say in Colombia (basically out of luck).

So we told president Hacking who is pretty tired of all this mess and he organized a meeting with the people from the church office today to see if we could get permission to look for … (I don’t know how to say it in English but its a person who signs that they will be responsible for the rent if the church can’t pay it). The general policy is that the church doesn’t do it but these rental agencies are sticklers for papers etc and they are requiring it. It was pretty ridiculous; we had some papers sent in about the Bogotá Temple just to show them that the church was a solid entity. It showed part of the payments to make the temple that summed up to about 9 million dollars. We took it (when I say we I mean the other missionaries because I was in my area) to them but the lady just said sorry but they needed people who could be responsible in case that we couldn’t pay. So I guess we will find out tonight what came out of Pres Hackings meeting but in the meantime we are stuck in the good old Hotel.

As far as the hotel we decided we weren’t going to let it be an excuse or reason to work less so we have been looking for ways to be more productive. One thing we have done is go to the church in the mornings to study there so that we can have tables etc. and a decent study area. Also, like I said this week we had high goals and we worked very hard and at least statistically we were able to reach them. We ended up with 10 lessons with a member present which is one of the highest I have had in any week of my mission. We also finished with 19 new investigators which is a record for my mission. The definition of New Investigator is someone who you teach for the first time and who accepts a specific date for you to return. The thing about Barranca is that you can find lots because they are very open but few really progress, so you have to be able to drop those that don’t and find the “Elect” who hear the Lords voice and don’t harden their hearts. Of these 19 people we were able to have 5 go to church and various others who couldn’t because of travel but promised to next week.

To make a long story short we got in contact with an investigator that I had in Bogotá a few months ago. We were teaching him and he even had a baptismal date but he happened to move to Barranca. Anyway one day he saw Elder Zara and called him over. They got his info and turns out that he lives in my area so last Monday we taught him and he committed to go to church again and was excited to be hearing the missionaries again. Sadly something happened and he didn’t show up but we have high hopes for him and with all the people we are finding I know some of them have to be elect. Like I said it’s tough but we want to help people gain a testimony of the church themselves so that they can be part of the building up here. But like dad used to say, we can’t chose what time we are given, but we can choose what we do with that time. So we just have to get our butts to work and get it done.

This week we got all the leadership together in the main chapel (Barranca has 2 house chapels and one real one) for a leadership training meeting by the missionaries. Each companionship took time to train about one subject and it turned out really well. It was such a blessing to be AP because I gained a lot of experience about doing such things. So we prepared a nice session about goals and got them involved and participating etc. and in the end I think they left very excited to put what we talked about in practice.

Also on Sunday the speakers weren’t there so as we were singing the sacrament hymn one of the young men ran back and told us they were asking us to speak. So I wrote down a few key points, took up my scriptures and talked for 12 minutes about prayer. I’ve learned that talks can be the same as lessons. You have an outline of what you want to talk about and you follow the spirit and look for ways to apply it to the listeners and keep them interested. In the end it turned out very well. Honestly I wouldn’t mind if we could speak every Sunday but I guess it’s good experience for all the members. So anyway this area definitely isn’t going to be easy to turn around but we hope to keep working hard and do just that.

Also this week was Thanksgiving as you know. There is a young couple here named David and Shirley (Great Spanish names right!) But anyway they love the missionaries so they help us out with everything and always invite us over for pday etc. We dedicated Thursday morning and lunch to do a little mini Thanksgiving with them. So Elder Williams and I hit up the grocery store and tried to find what we could to make a “Thanksgiving dinner.” David and Shirley got us some chicken (You can’t find much Turkey here) and for not knowing anything about cooking Elder Williams and I did a pretty good job of putting together the dinner. We made mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit salad and some corn. We were both surprised because it actually turned out good. Then we filled every body’s plates with mashed taters and gravy and corn, explained a little about why we celebrated Thanksgiving and then went around the circle and had everyone say what they were thankful for. It was a nice little emotional time. We really are incredibly blessed where we live.

In other random mission notes - I bought a harmonica a few weeks ago and I have been learning and figuring out a few songs in free time. I have realized here how cool it is to play instruments and be able to make music. I kick myself for fighting out of piano lessons and I have decided that when I finish I have to learn how to play piano and guitar.

Also today for Pday we went to a place that has a soccer /bball court that is covered and got some sports in with some of the young men. I wanted to play bball but we couldn’t find a pump so it was all soccer. I have actually grown to like soccer here and even watching it but as far as playing I am clueless. It is amazing how much you sweat here with all this heat and humidity so we were all drenched and after the losers (we won) had to buy pop for everyone so we enjoyed that.

All is going great with my son. He is funny. He has a good attitude and is always happy working. What I want to work on or help him learn is to be a leader, so I have to be reminding him to get himself ready etc. or else he just kind of wanders. I think it will come with time. He is awesome at Kung Fu and loves Asian culture and martial arts and is a great cook. His attitude is good and I’m glad he’s my son.

So anyway we’re off to start another week of work here. Hopefully we can fix this house situation but just the same we are going to work hard again this week and hopefully we can accomplish our goals and find the elect and help them find happiness and salvation. I love you all, I know the church is true and I know the book of Mormon is true, Have a good week and talk to ya next time. Elder B