Transfer - I'm Staying, but not my Companero

3 November 2014
Hey fam how is it going? So today there are transfers and my comp left. Tomorrow I will be with a new comp. Also I am now the District Leader but that pretty much means that I get to work more. But that is fine.

My comp and I had a baptism this week so that was awesome. 

los misioneros están felices a pesar del calor y bautismo 

One of the things that we started doing is singing hymns before every lesson. Our lessons seem to be more powerful when we do that. A women and her daughter decided to leave the church over something really stupid. The girl wanted to go to BYU but to get in she needs to go to seminary. She never went to seminary and then they went to the Branch President and asked him to sign off her seminary card thing saying that she had gone to seminary so that she could go. The President said he wouldn't (because that would be dishonest) and so they left the church . . . soooo yay. I am going to vist them tonight and will see how it goes. The church is really just starting here so there are always stupid things that happen. We will see how it goes.

We are still teaching bible classes in the church and it has been going pretty well. We have 4 to 6 people who attend regularly but hopefully more will come after this transfer. Were trying to teach the masses. Sooo that is what's up. I have to go and lets be honest I know that Asenath never reads the whole thing if it is long so I guess I will keep it short. 

Love you guys, Luke

Short and to the Point

October 27 2014
Hey mom everything is going great here. We should have a baptism this Saturday. My comp and I found a ton of people to teach this week so things are looking pretty good. Transfers are coming up and I will probably get a new companion. But we will see what happens.
Love, Luke

1000's of words (photographs)

13 October 2014
Fotos!!!!!
First let me say we have a cool zone. The entire zone is as large as my district was in Spokane. We recently did a service project to paint a school.

 

Of course the room I worked in was the best painted! 

 The Awesome Zone

Things have been going well. Here I am cleaning the baptismal font because we had some baptisms.

It is probably the coolest baptismal font I have seen. The only problem is that it takes foreverrrrrr to fill up.

Here we are about to put the font to good use!

Remember when I said I've eaten ants?  Well here is a foto of one of the little beasties, hormiga culona. People fry them up with butter. I didn't think they tasted all that good. A little crunchy.

This is kind of our backyard. Big industrial place across the river.

 And these our some of our neighbors . . . they are not very receptive

 Sorry for the last photo Mom. You don't need to worry. The alligator is busy eating ants! 

Love, Luke

On occasion I do get sick . . .

6 October 2014

Well I was thinking for a moment, "Wow, I'm not sure what to write about because I don't remember doing a whole lot this week or what happened. I realized that it was because I got sick this week and had to stay in the house for a couple days and then we had conference. Our Mission President makes us watch conference because he says that he does not want the following scene to happen, because it has in the past.

(bad missionary) Hello we are here to talk to you about how God has come down to earth with his son and called a prophet. and how God has newly blessed us with prophets and apostles.

(investigador) you are telling me that there is a prophet in our days?

(b m) Yes

(i) And he is in your church?

(b m) Yes that is what we know to be true and what we teach

(i) Wow that is amazing! What is the last thing that your prophet said to you?

(b m) Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

(i) Oh, so the man you say is a prophet must not be that important if you don't take the time to listen to him

That would be a little embarassing. So we have to know what the prophets says especially since that is one of the greatest differences between us and other churches is that we have prophets.

But yah. I was pretty sick for a few days so I did not do a whole lot. I am not sure what it was maybe the water, or the misquitos, or a bad fish that someone gave me . . . but its all good because I feel fine now. 

We are working with this girl named Shirly (who is a recent convert) to baptize her mother. So things are going really well with that. She is attending church and reading the Book of Mormon and she attended conference with us. So things are looking really good. Her baptismal date is October 25th. We have a famliy home evening with her and another family of recent converts tonight! I am not sure what we are going to teach yet but whatever it is its going to be super spiritual and powerful. A spirtual roundhouse kick to the face the will leave you and your mother weeping . . . that is the goal! (parental comment - interesting metaphor, and graphic)

 

I have been studying the life of Alma the younger and what kind of missionary he was. My goal is to become a missionary like him. He was a powerhouse. I made a list of his missionary attributes and where they can be found in the scriptures . . . but alas . . . I forgot the list. So maybe next week I will send it, idk. 

 

By the way James. I saw your youtube videos of your comics that you drew I thought they were pretty funny. But you should take a 2 year break from drawing comics and attend to the other more important things that you have to do. You should fulfill your duty to the Lord.

 

Matt 6:33 'Look first for the kingdom of God and all other things will be added to you'. If you go on a mission first and then focus on the other things the Lord will bless you with more éxito then if you had never gone on a mission and had stayed at home doing whatever it is that you do.

Love, Luke

Crazy Cuisine

29 September 2014

hey fam and friends whats up? we have played soccer every P-day since I have been here so I am getting pretty good. On another note, we basicly have no food in the house but I think that we get our asignation tomorrow. I do not know why they don't give us the money on p days so that we can go shopping like we are supposed to. Whatever. 

 

So this week was pretty awesome my companion and I sat down Thursday to do our weekly planning and we started setting goals. At the beginning of the week we didn't have anyone with a baptismal date. We set some inspired goals to help us work more effectively and now we have 3 people with a baptismal date. So that is really cool.

 

One of our investigatores invited us over to eat today so (and since we don't have any food . . .) so of course we accepted. We were given fish and arepas . . . and I realized something today . . . the water in Barranca has the same taste as fish. That  is just how fancy we are over here - the water has the same taste as the food. I am joking. I'm pretty sure that means the water is dangerously dirty. 

 

That's pretty much the update of the week. We are working and sweating and we are sweating even when we aren't working. And in case you guys are wondering if I have been eating crazy things here, here is a list of wierd things that I have eaten:

chicken feet, cow udder, cow tongue, cow liver, cow stomach, ants (hormigas culonas), and fried pig skin. mmmmmm yummy and I eat rice rice rice rice rice and more rice.

Love, Luke

The BEST mission in the world

September 22 2014
Well family, this week has been pretty much like a normal missionary week: visiting people, finding people, dropping people, being dropped by people. We had transfers this week but nothing has changed with me and my companion. However there is one missionary here who has only been here for one transfer. He is a Greeny and he is not getting along with his trainer. He was praying for a transfer and got transfered . . . and he told us 'Wow! Now I know that God answers prayers." It is kinda sad that he had such a bad experience with his first companion. But it happens. I guess its one of the ways God helps his missionary develop patience.

Interestingly enough the most common thing that I think we have had to teach this week is about polygamy. That is kinda wierd all of the members had questions about it. So we have taught all the members in our area about polygamy and temple sealings and things like that. That was thanks to Elder Joseph F Smith and the book Teachings of the Presidents that mentioned he was sealed 3 times . . . so that was fun.

But its always an adventure here. Like today for example we do not have water in the house and I have to wash all my clothes . . . but I think that it is these little trials that make life fun.

Good quote from Helen Keller: 'Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."So I figure life would be pretty boring if I had a wahing machine and water all of the time or even warm water. No actually it is so hot here that I dont think I would use warm water even if I had it. 

 

I have only had like 3 or 4 woman ask me if I wanted a wife or girlfriend or if they could come back with me to the United States. I think it is because I am in a smaller city so it doesn't happen as often.

But all and all its pretty awesome here I am pretty sure I have the best mission in the world.

Love, Luke