Week 8 - Settling In

Monday, December 2, 2013

Mon Nov 25 13- Today was my first pday in the field. It was much needed. We woke up at our scheduled time, 6 30, said a prayer, and went back to bed. We got up at 9 and got ready. Then we went to go wash our clothes. We hung them to dry at a members house. We went and make chorizzos with pasta after that. Chorizzos are basically a really good bratwurst with onions and a bunch of good stuff. Then we went to the Villegas house. It took them a while to all get together so we could teach a lesson but once they got together, we had a good lesson. Then we went to another non active member home. The Perez family. Some kids stopped us and asked if we had anything for them to read. We gave them a couple pass a long cards. It started to rain towards the end of our awesome lesson with the Perez family. I said a little prayer that we wouldn´t get too wet in the rain and just as soon as we stood up to leave, the rain calmed down. We hardly got wet at all. Heavenly Father blesses his missionaries in little ways like that every day. Good way to end the day. 

Tues Nov 26- Today we wnet to Colonia Centro for the zone meeting. It was nice to see Elder Baggett and Hermana Sorenson again, and to see people that can talk English. They both said they had hard weeks so I was glad I wasnt the only one. We went to get food after the meeting. I got a hamburguesa completa which was a hamburger with eggs, meat, cheese, onions, peppers, jalapeños, salsa, fritas, lettuce and some funky sauce. I thought about my family the whole two hour drive back. We went to Matias´house after the drive back and taught him. We had a spiritual thought with the Mesa family after Matias. I explained to Elder Chali that I was having a hard time and he helped me out a bit. It is hard without your family, friends, and trying to learn a language. There is no choice but to rely on the Lord. 

Wed Nov 27 Today we woke up at 3 am to pouring rain. Of course our roof was leaking too so my bed was a little damp. We fixed the problem for the most part but I didnt fall asleep for a while. We studied, cleaned, bought lunch after we woke up. We made papas and milanesas for lunch. Mashed potatoes with some sort of fried chicken. It was the best meal here yet. Then we studied some more. I had an awesome study time today. Then we went and taught Susana Rey. We shared a good message with her. WE taught an investigator after that and we ended up giving her a blessing because she was sick. I did the anointing of the oil. Elder Chali asked if I wanted to do it in English but I thought I needed to do it in Spanish, so I did. Then he gave her the blessing. That was pretty sweet experience. Then we went to the Villegas house to tell the father happy birthday. Then we wnet to the church and I taught an English class. It was really weird to teach English. Estela Perez house was the last stop of the day. We ended up teaching her something different than planned but it was amazing. I felt the spirit so strong and that was an awesome way to end the day. Best day yet. 

Thurs Nov 28 - Thanksgiving in Uruguay was absolutely non existent. No one mentioned anything about it to me all day. Life is very differnt a couple thousand miles away. I had another awesome study session. I read about Moroni in the Book of Mormon. He was an absolute stud. Alma 48 17! I didnt feel very good after our first two lessons with non members, so we wnet back to the house and I layed down for a while. We went to movie night at the church afterwards and we watched Wreck it Ralph. 

Fri Nov 29 Today actually was really good, Spanish wise. I had a good conversation with the Villegas family, who I can usually never understand because they all yell over eachother and talk really fast. Uruguayans talk really fast. Some tmies Elder Chali cant even understand them because they get going so fast. We got more money on our mission cards, so we went grocery shoppinhg. WE had weekly planning, which took 3 hours. During the activity that night with the branch, we played games and ate some snacks. It was pretty fun. I feel better about the missiona each day. 

Sat Nov 30 Today was pretty good. I started the Book of Mormon again. I read through 1 N 15. I got a ton out of it. I read about the plates, the vision of the tree of life, and the coming of christ as seen in a vision by Nephi, 600 years before. We had two lunches today which was really nice becasue tomorrow is fast sunday. I ate three tacos on top of a ton of rice, salad and beef. Then we went to institute. Elder Chali taught about enduring to the end. Then we played soccer. I dont have the most skill, but being bigger faster and stronger than all these latinos is quite a help. I scored a couple goals and they said I was pretty good actually. I am just a really competitive and aggressive white boy. 

Sun Dec 1 Today was fast sunday. I hardly slept at all last night because my allergies were so bad. After about 3 total hours of sleep, I got up and started studying the scriptures. I read up to 2 Nephi chapter 2. I love studying the scriptures. I have never loved it like this before. When you have a set aside time to study them, It is awesome and you get so much more out of it. It is like a book I dont want to put down, but then I remember I have to put it down, so I can go share it with people! Sacrament meeting was awesome. It was Marisels last sunday before she leaves on her mission to Concepcion Chile. I shared my testimony and five people told me how much I have improved in just a week. I still dont understand a ton, but that is nice sometimes because you can just feel the spirit. It is really good because it was amazingly strong during sacrament meeting. We hung out with Marisel after that and had a huge water and water baloon fight after. It was super fun. After that, we went contacting. It was a lot of fun because people just judge mormon missionaries, but after about 2 minutes of talking to us, they seem to like us. I have definitely learned how to not judge people out here. They are just really different.