New life in the work

Wow. What a week. I seriously don't think I've ever worked as hard in my mission before. This past Saturday, we had interchanges with the missionaries from the MTC here in Colombia. I worked for the day with two awesome elders from Venezuela, Elder Colmenares y Elder Benitez. They were so cool. We worked like crazy, contacting, teaching, working, working, working. The best part is that after I felt as if I Had my "greenie fire" reignited (greenie fire is what we call that newbie desire to work). With them, in one day we found eight new investigators. So much fun. =D And to end the day, we ate tamales that one of the families in the ward were selling so that their son can buy his military exemption (military service is required here in Colombia, unless you pay a ~$400 fee).

After all that, we just had to keep it up. And we did. For the rest of the week, my companion and I kept up an incredible pace. By the end of the week, we had contacted more than 160 people! What craziness. Now we just have to make sure that we can keep it up this week. We've got a good start, now we just have to keep it up. We are teaching a lot of people, among my favorites are all the awesome black guys from the coast. They are so stinking funny. We have one named Oscar who always addresses us as Amigo Rallison and Amigo Mendoza. They also have such a funny clipped accent. But they are seriously my favorites. I have noticed that here in Engativá most everybody is from somewhere else. From Boyaca, from Duitama, from Santa Marta, from Baranquilla (like Shakira), from Ibague, from Pasto, but I have yet to meet anyone who is really from here in Engativá.

Well, I think that's about it. But of course, I can't end without a spiritual message for all of you. I have been reading and thinking a lot lately about gratitude. Gratitude is, to me, really the key to happiness. An ungrateful person can have everything and still not feel satisfied, while a grateful person, who might have very few possessions, is always happy with the abundance with which they have been blessed. Many times, it helps to take a moment and look. Look at all the manners in which you have been blessed in your life. And really, it is a commandment (verse D&C 59:7). I would like to invite each of you to say thanks. To your Heavenly Father. To other people. It really does help.

Thanks to each and every one of you. Thanks Dad. Thanks Mom. Thanks Skye. Thanks Lyric. Thanks Eli. Thanks Jonah. Thanks Isaac. Thanks to my teachers. To my friends. Thanks to my leaders. Thanks to my family. Thanks to each and every one of you who had touched my life and helped make me who I am today. Thank you.

Elder Rallison