So, life is good here, all is well in Zion. Well, except for the fact that my Zion is changing. Yep, I'm getting transferred to Giron, a town near Bucaramanga. It should be cool, everyone says it's a great place. And not to mention that my companion is going to be amazing.
In Cucuta, we had an activity in the ward last Saturday, and it went well, except that we couldn't get a hold of the person that was going to lend us a projector. So in the end we had to use the TV from the chapel. It was okay though. All the people who went loved it, especially the games that we had.
I had an intercambio with Elder Stallings in Caobos. It started well, but when I was cooking arepas (kind of like Jhonny cake type of thing) when the oil that I was using got really hot and when I put the batter into the oil. Boom. Oil everywhere. I got some pretty nasty burns on my feet that made that whole day a little painful. But we did have some good moments. We helped a family move some 600 flooring tiles to the back of the house, while talking about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Pretty durn sweet that.
Well, as a last note, I'm finally here in Giron. I got here last night after a 13 hour bus ride. Normally from Cucuta to Bucaramanga is about 6 hours, but the main road was closed because a part of the highway fell into the river due to a landslide. So they had to send me through Ocaña and then down to Giron. It was long and on a particularly windy road, but I did get here safe and sound, just a little tired.
Love you all,
Elder Gabe Rallison
Monday, November 28, 2011
Giron--elections, meetings other cool stuff. Yeah... (from 11-2-11)
Here there were elections on Sunday for the governor and mayor. It was pure craziness. Everyone who wants to vote has to vote before 4 and worse each person has an assigned place where they have to go to vote, the place where they got their state issued ID. Which means that here in Giron, half the city had to go down to Bucaramanga to vote (and in doing so missed church on Sunday). Worse yet, were the political peoples going everywhere offering lunch, a bag, a hat, a ride in a bus or a taxi.....in exchange for your vote. "Sir, I don't know if you realize this, but I'm not from around here..." "Oh,...so you can't vote?" "Uh, NO." It was kind of funny though.;) And I also gave a talk on Sunday, went well, I think. I hope. I wish. Yep...
So, aside from the normal...I have realized that my English is now pretty terrible, I tired to help a kid here with an English assignment and I just couldn´t. Like um.....No sé hablar inglés..... yeah, it was pretty sad stuff. I am actually really struggling to write well here and I don't think it is turning out very well.
Lately I've been really diving into the Book of Mormon. Just so you all know, that book is the best on the face of the planet earth. I love it and want to read it over and over again. I've been using every spare moment just to read it. I love it. It never gets old. And, I'm noticing that there's always something new, something I didn't notice before. If you have a moment right now pick up a copy, sit comfortably, and read it, starting from the beginning. "I Nefi, having been born of godly parents..." Do it. And then ask God if it is true. And you will know.
Love you,
Elder Rallison
So, aside from the normal...I have realized that my English is now pretty terrible, I tired to help a kid here with an English assignment and I just couldn´t. Like um.....No sé hablar inglés..... yeah, it was pretty sad stuff. I am actually really struggling to write well here and I don't think it is turning out very well.
Lately I've been really diving into the Book of Mormon. Just so you all know, that book is the best on the face of the planet earth. I love it and want to read it over and over again. I've been using every spare moment just to read it. I love it. It never gets old. And, I'm noticing that there's always something new, something I didn't notice before. If you have a moment right now pick up a copy, sit comfortably, and read it, starting from the beginning. "I Nefi, having been born of godly parents..." Do it. And then ask God if it is true. And you will know.
Love you,
Elder Rallison
The dispatch.... (from 11-21-11)
This past week was good. We have been working really hard and you know what God has rewarded us.
For example, we were contacting and we got a bunch of really good ones. For example, Daisy. Her husband was killed several months ago and she had some huge doubts that no one could answer about life after death. That is until we knocked on her door. She cried while we shared the plan of Salvation with her, then after we left the read (and re-read) the pamphlet that we left and prayed to know if it was true. And she got an answer. She now has a baptismal date for the 10th of December.
And speaking of answers, I was reading in the Book of Mormon, in Moroni 10, as part of my personal study the other day and I felt I should pray once again to ask if the book is true. And I got one of the most powerful answers of my life. I can't describe it exactly, but I felt it, and strongly. And kind of deep warmth.
We also had another investigator who invited us to lunch! And she made us lasagna! It was way tasty, and better yet, afterwards we taught her daughter Paola, whom we had never taught before, but who also accepted a date for the tenth of December!
For example, we were contacting and we got a bunch of really good ones. For example, Daisy. Her husband was killed several months ago and she had some huge doubts that no one could answer about life after death. That is until we knocked on her door. She cried while we shared the plan of Salvation with her, then after we left the read (and re-read) the pamphlet that we left and prayed to know if it was true. And she got an answer. She now has a baptismal date for the 10th of December.
And speaking of answers, I was reading in the Book of Mormon, in Moroni 10, as part of my personal study the other day and I felt I should pray once again to ask if the book is true. And I got one of the most powerful answers of my life. I can't describe it exactly, but I felt it, and strongly. And kind of deep warmth.
We also had another investigator who invited us to lunch! And she made us lasagna! It was way tasty, and better yet, afterwards we taught her daughter Paola, whom we had never taught before, but who also accepted a date for the tenth of December!
My November Days
Wow, what a week.
So on Tuesday we went to help out the sister missionaries in Terazas. It was cool, they even got us lunch with the Notary from Bucaramanga, which was amazing. About a pound of lasagna each.
Crazy right? But they (the sisters) assigned us a way ghetto part of their area. I also got to work that day with Elder Cornejo, which was cool, I hadn't seen the guy in quite a while. We taught several lessons, almost got mugged, and contacted a lot of people. If you want to know what that neighborhood was like, just look at Fast and Furious 5 (which I saw on the bus from Cucuta) at those neighborhoods built up the hill in Rio de Janero. That's an idea of what it is like.
Here's a great story. We got a reference from the missionaries in Sotomayor for a family that live a little far from us. Better said in the limit of our area. Tough right? So we took a bus got there, and looked them up. We taught a lesson, and invited them to get married. They said yes. WOW! We invited them to church. They said yes. We asked if we needed to come looking for them on Sunday. They said no, because they have a car! You need to understand, few people have cars here, and often use lack of transport as an excuse for not going to church. But they have a car. Perfect! And they came to church! They loved it. So much that they went and invited the in-laws to the lesson that afternoon! I love it when everything works out well. It makes me happy.
An explanation here. While we were visiting a member, he went showing off and pulled out an old pharmacy school uniform that he had lying around. I put it on and he's just "Wow, you really do look like a doctor! What can I say...it's in my blood.
So this week a lot of the people here have been getting out their Christmas decorations and putting them up. We actually got to help one family with their tree. It was pretty cool, but as you can see, this tree had a color scheme instead of the eccentric stylings of the arbol back home. But it was still fun.
Not much more to say, if I think of something,
I'll write next week.
Love you,
Gabe
So on Tuesday we went to help out the sister missionaries in Terazas. It was cool, they even got us lunch with the Notary from Bucaramanga, which was amazing. About a pound of lasagna each.
Crazy right? But they (the sisters) assigned us a way ghetto part of their area. I also got to work that day with Elder Cornejo, which was cool, I hadn't seen the guy in quite a while. We taught several lessons, almost got mugged, and contacted a lot of people. If you want to know what that neighborhood was like, just look at Fast and Furious 5 (which I saw on the bus from Cucuta) at those neighborhoods built up the hill in Rio de Janero. That's an idea of what it is like.Here's a great story. We got a reference from the missionaries in Sotomayor for a family that live a little far from us. Better said in the limit of our area. Tough right? So we took a bus got there, and looked them up. We taught a lesson, and invited them to get married. They said yes. WOW! We invited them to church. They said yes. We asked if we needed to come looking for them on Sunday. They said no, because they have a car! You need to understand, few people have cars here, and often use lack of transport as an excuse for not going to church. But they have a car. Perfect! And they came to church! They loved it. So much that they went and invited the in-laws to the lesson that afternoon! I love it when everything works out well. It makes me happy.
An explanation here. While we were visiting a member, he went showing off and pulled out an old pharmacy school uniform that he had lying around. I put it on and he's just "Wow, you really do look like a doctor! What can I say...it's in my blood. So this week a lot of the people here have been getting out their Christmas decorations and putting them up. We actually got to help one family with their tree. It was pretty cool, but as you can see, this tree had a color scheme instead of the eccentric stylings of the arbol back home. But it was still fun.
Not much more to say, if I think of something,
I'll write next week.
Love you,
Gabe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
