Letter #7

September 24, 2024

Hey everybody!

This week was pretty crazy busy (as usual). It was kind of the worst and the best week of my life at the same time, had some hard days, but also strengthened my testimony in lots of amazing ways.

Beginning of the week was interesting, had my first experiences with all of our lessons falling through, so that was something. We've also been passing a lot of bolos (drunks), and it's either low key scary or hilarious. One guy gave me a hug and told me that we were angels sent from the U.S., so that was kind of touching/funny. But yeah most people are willing to talk with us at least once, but then never again, so we've been working super hard on finding people that are actually interested.

On the flip side, we've also had some really really good lessons. We've been teaching a family that we met on the street, first time we met them we gave them a pamphlet about the plan of salvation and they actually read it! Had some really good questions and we were able to give them the whole lesson, it was awesome, the spirit was super strong. They also asked us to bless their house because they'd seen evil spirits there... so that was pretty interesting as well.

Also extended my first baptism invitation! We've been teaching a guy named Jorge, he's awesome and has a really great testimony. So we went to his house all pumped and ready to teach and invite him, and the lesson was great. So at the end I invited him to be baptized ...drum roll... anddddd he said no. All good though, he just wants to learn more first, so todo bien.

He did give us a huge bottle of honey though, not exactly sure why, but it was sick.

Other than that, for pday today, we traveled to another district to play futbol, it was great. The town is in the mountains too, and the streets were mostly cobblestone, it was super cool. We got poured on on the way back though, it's been raining just about every day.

Another thing: gratitude. Apparently the elders here before us hadn't paid the water bill for a couple months, so our water got cut off, so it was bucket showers for a couple of days. Always remember to appreciate the stuff we have (like running water, washing machines, electricity) because there's a lot of people out here that don't have it. It was a pretty eye opening experience.

Last thought, there's a lot that's stuck out to me a lot, but probably the most important are goals, discipline, and joy. In a talk President Monson gave in 1999, he said

"In the search for our best selves, several questions will guide our thinking: Am I what I want to be? Am I closer to the Savior today than I was yesterday? Will I be closer yet tomorrow? Do I have the courage to change for the better?"

That hit me pretty hard. How often do we aimlessly wander around without a goal? How often do we choose to give up our agency to act rather than be acted upon? I know this has often been a problem for me, and I'm sure we all face it at some point. This is why goals are so important in our lives. We need a direction to go, we need to have an end point in mind. This leads to discipline; when we do have that direction we need, whether it is to be a better disciple of Christ, a happier person, or in my case, a better missionary, we have to have discipline to reach that goal. Another quote I like from a different talk says that it's easier to follow the commandments 100% of the time than 98. This principle applies also in our goals. If we cross the line once, it becomes so much easier to do it a second. So I want to challenge you guys to do something; whatever your goals are, and in your journey to grow closer to Christ, be disciplined. Don't make exceptions, no matter how special you think your circumstance is.

But anyways, love you guys!! Sorry for any typos, I'm writing this on a "chicken bus" and there's like 100 people in here, soooo...

But also keep up the emails! Sorry again if I don't respond super quick, pdays are super busy.

Nos vemos!