Skype Fest & Christmas Festivities

December 31, 2012 - Well this week was kinda slow as far as lessons go, with the holidays. Everyone has stuff going on or they leave out of town to visit family, kinda a bummer. But since we didn´t have a lot of lessons we got to contact and we found alot of new people that we can teach. 

Skyping was super sweet! It felt weird though seeing the house and everyone, but I wasn´t there. But I loved talking with you all and catching up a little bit. Nothing really happened this week, but we had a sweet experience. 

On Friday we were walking to people´s houses to try to have a lesson but no one was there or they were busy. So we were standing at a calling booth trying to figure out where we should go and We remembered about this girl Vanessa. She had left out of town to Barranquilla the week before but we weren´t sure if she was back, but we decided to stop by anyway. We got to her house, yelled ´buenas!´ and she came to the door. After we started talking for a little she told us that before we got there she knew that we were going to come. Then we had a super awesome lesson, it was great. I felt like giving God a fist bump. 

Christmas activity

Ya, that´s about it for this week, we really didn´t do a whole lot because of Christmas and new years today. But this week should be better than last. Today for pday we didn´t do a whole lot, just went to the store to buy food, printed of pictures, and finally got my debit card to work! Whoohoo! Then we just made lunch and slept. 

Love you all! Sorry this letter is kinda lame! Abrazos y besos!  

Day Before Christmas Letter

December 24, 2012 - What up! How`s it going? It`s still hot and humid down here but it`s getting better. It feels even less like Christmas down her too. 

We had changes last week and!!! Nothing changed. Still here in Cartagena with my comp Elder Mañuico. With the changes too some missionaries changed houses so I now finally have a room again! 

Some highlights from this week are that we found some new investigators so I`m happy about that. We also had a christmas activity with the mission president. We went to a centro for lunch, It was awesome, I ate some bbq, we then walked around and sung some songs there and talk to people. 

After we went to a church building to do a gift exchange. My gift was the little soccer ball (that we can`t play with) and a tie. I recieved a wallet from a elder that forgot my name so when he said my name he just yelled `Elder You!`. 

 After that we went out to a plaza where there were a ton of people and sang Christmas songs/hymns and contacted. It was super fun, plus this old crazy guy stood next to the elder who was leading the songs and started waving his arms around like a conducter of music. Also some lady with a 666 tattoo started yelling at some elders, she was crazy. 

At church there was an American family, they are doing a humanitarian thing down here for a week so I got to talk to them in English. They are all from Utah, but a few of them could speak spanish. 

Today for pday we didn`t do much, just went to the centro and bought myself a tech deck for christmas, really went all out. But right now we are kinda pressed on time to email because we couldn`t find a place that was open. Oh also my debit card does not work here at all so I can`t take out money, but here`s an idea. Elder Anderson`s works fine so maybe you could talk with his mom or something and give money to them and I could take it out throught his card? Just an idea. 

Love you all! I`ll send pictures next week, Can`t wait to skype!!!! Abrazos y besos!!  

December 17 - Money & Christmas Decorations

What´s up! This week was pretty good and a little iffy. We had some reaslly good lessons and found some new people. We taught this one lady who is super interested in the plan of salvation and the restoration so we are pumped about that, but we´ve had about 4 investigators tell us that they want to wait a little longer to get baptized and it´s super frustrating because they are so ready.

On sunday we had a Rescue, it´s when all the missionaries in the zone go to one ward and find the less active members and while I was walking around with another member we ran into an American guy. He´s from Minnesota, but his wife is from Colombia so he´s down visiting for like 3 months. Talked with him for a little while, he has zero interest, but it was cool to talk to him in English. We had a noche de hogar with the bishop and after we shared a little message we ate pizza and it was awesome. I miss pizza alot.

 Anyways, we have changes tomorrow so I might be here again or I might be in a different city with a new comp, but I´ll find out later today/tomorrow. Last Tuesday packages came! Got two from mom and a letter from Granny and Alyssa. The M&M´s and Reeses are heaven, chocolate just isn´t the same down here. Also love the little games, I´ve been destroying in checkers.

We didn´t really do anything today for pday, we just played dominoes, parques, and uno. But uno is so frustrating because everyone just starts making up rules and everyone is yelling in spanish or portugese, but it was fun. We´ll be having a zone activity with the mission president in the next week or so and we´ll have dinner then have a little activity with him/white elephant give I think.

The people that live below us put up Christmas lights on the house and they are really sweet until we have to sleep because they just flash and flash and flash and since we have to sleep in the front room, it´s kinda hard to sleep sometimes with the light. Ya, I think that´s about it. Nothing much, just a regular mission week here in Cartagena. Love you all! Abrazos y besos!

Toes, Bowling and Christmas Lights

SO recap from last last week. I went to the hospital clinic (super creepy, I felt like I was going to be in a horror movie) then the doctor just stabbed my big toe with anesthesia twice, then my other toe once, then went to town pulling up the toenail and slicing.

Sith Lord Toe.

Bandaged Toes.

T

After I couldn´t walk for a few days so I was stuck in the house reading all day, but when I took off the bandadge, my toe was super disgusting, kinda looked like the Sith Lord.

Last week pday we went bowling and it was awesome, but the lanes were super greasy so we couldn´t get the balls so spin very well. Ya, done with the recap from last last week.

This last week was pretty sweet, we found some new investigators that are really interested so I´m super pumped about that. Also the other day we were walking around and thought ¨hey we should stop by Jorge¨ (an old investigator) So we did. And got him set up for a baptismal date!

Elder Mañuico, Zapata, Me, and Fitzgerald

We´ve still had some trouble finding new investigators. People just don´t want to talk to us, or say that ¨the right church is the church in your heart¨. One sweet experience this week was this lady Ester got baptized. We had an intercambio a few weeks ago with the other misisonaries in our ward and while we were out we contacted Ester and she was super receptive and got baptized on Saturday (3 weeks later).

Exercise Time.

Everything going good with my comp and the language, I´m doing pretty good with understanding people, but still don´t have a super big vocabulary so I can´t say everything that I would like, but with time and some studying it´ll come.

At the start of the Christmas season, they line the streets with candles to guide the Virgin Mary.

Ya, that´s about it. Love you all! You might be getting a little surprise soon! Abrazos y besos!

With the Thrill of Victory, Sometimes Comes the Agony of Da Feet!

Hey, crazy day and I only have like 5 minutes to write, but I´m alive.

I´ll send pictures next week of my toe, but basically I had two ingrown toenails. One on my big toe, left foot and the other on my middle toe right foot. Got them cut on Thursday, but I couldn´t do anything till sunday.

Kinda boring week, but we got to watch the Christmas devotional so that was cool. Today we went bowling and it was super fun (I´ll send pictures of that next week) but after we literal spent 40 minutes trying to get back to our house because it was rush hour and there was not an empty taxi anywhere! But we finally made it back so now were heading out on our day.

Ya, this week didn´t do a whole lot besides sit and study in the apartment, but pumped for this week. And we´re going to get mail this week too. Next´s week´s letter will be better! Love you all!

 Abrazos y besos!