Quizas mi ultima semana...

I never really thought I would get to this point. Well, everyone knows that it will come, but it always seems like such a far-off thing. But look, here it is. I'll be getting back home this next Tuesday. My mission here in Colombia is coming to an end. I still remember when I got here to Colombia. It really doesn't seem so long ago, like maybe a couple of weeks or something. But not two full years. Hard to believe. For me at least. For my mom... probably an eternity. But now, it is all coming to a close.

Oye, pero no empiezan a pensar que soy trunky, pues no es así! We have been working really hard here. This last Sunday we had five new people at church!!! Yeah, we won't be able to baptize them, but the next missionaries will. Because really, the numbers don't matter. What matters is that you work as hard as you can and that you have the Holy Ghost with you. If such is the case, you can say that you have had success, I believe that I have had an incredibly successful mission with one truly miraculous and amazing convert....me. I have seen and can testify of the hand of God in my life and in my mission. I know he is there and that he cares for me and that he loves me. I know that this is his true church..one, because it is the only one that fills all the criteria, and second (and most importantly), I have felt his witness that this is true. If you have not yet felt such a thing I strongly encourage you to go, read the Book of Mormon, think about it..what it means to you...why it is important to you...how it applies to you.., and then ask God if it is true. If you really want to know, you will know.

So yesterday I was assigned to talk in sacrament meeting. I talked a little about Zion, why God calls his people that and what that really means. It was really interesting for me to learn a little more about that. Zion means "the pure in heart" according to the GEE (you Spanish-speaking RMs will understand what that is). Another scripture says that it is "of one heart and mind". So I talked a little about the unity that needs to exist within the church and how to build and fortify that unity instead of destroying it. Then, I comparted my testimony and almost cried (almost, but no). It's a little tough to end this mission thing, but my time has come. And know what?....I feel I have done well.

We also had a FHE the other day where I just got ticked off with the non-commitment of the members. So I pulled out some scriptures and pretty much said that now is the time to prepare to meet God because who knows how much time we have left...a few hours o a few years. I invited (rather strongly) that they find out or themselves if this gospel is true or not, and if it is, that they weld, nail, and utterly affix themselves to that knowledge. Thus, and only thus, affixing themselves in such way and being true to said knowledge their whole life, will they be able to stand before God with a clean conscience at that last day.

Today, for P-day, we went and did...nothing. Really, we just cleaned up the house a little bit. And played Monopoly cards. And...at Chinese food. It was rather funny. An American (me) talking to a Chinese and the Chinese talking to me...in Spanish. Yep, but it was pretty good stuff. We also noticed that some wasps had moved into a corner of our balcony, so we attempted to fight against them...first with a broom, then with fire (using a lighter and spray deodorant)... but to no avail. They just keep coming back. We are now planning a sneak attack tonight...wish us luck. =D

I now must go. I bid thee farewell my brethren, I soon must go to the place prepared or me in the mansions of my father.
And so ends the First Book of Elder Rallison

Love you all,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison

PS See you next week!!!!

All is well in Zion

All is well and good here in Giron.

This past week has been good. The only thing that I didn't like so much was having to go to the center of Bucaramanga so my companion could go and get a salvoconducto, a document that is pretty much a 30-day extention of his visa (which expires next week). It was quite a hassle which invloved running all morning from government agencies to a bank ten blocks away. Of course with our luck, by the time we got back to said agency, it was closed (and we only missed by 3 minuites). So, now we have to go back there again this week. Oh joy!
We had lunch last Saturday with on family...it was intresting. Intresting in that the mother of the family commented that her daughter had asked her Mom when she could get married. "Well, I think you can wait a little longer before you get married" answered the mom. "But who am I going to marry?" asks the girl. Mom answers,"I don't know, but it will have to be a returned missionary." Girl says, "Can he be a gringo(American)?" ¡¡¡YIKES!!! I have a snake!!! Oh and by the way, she's five. =D

As for the work, we are working very hard. Not trunky at all. Just a little annoyed that of all the people we invited to church, epecially those with bapismal dates, didn't come. The only non-members there we a couple friends that one family bought. Well....I'll work with what I've got. We also got to work in Lebrija, a small little town about 20min from Giron. It went well, we found a lot of people and got to give a blessing after knocking a door.

But honestly one of the highlights of my week was being able to interview an investigator for baptism. I don't know how to explain it, it is just an incredible sort of thing to see, hear, and most of all feel that this person is ready to take this significant step forward. I love the mission and I love being able to serve my fellow-man in this capacity. I love all you people back home, especially my family (sorry with the rest of you, but they came first and will always come first). I'll see you soon.

Love you,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison

Miracles on 34th St (of Giron)

This week has been fantastic. We worked very hard to complete all our goals and enjoy this work as much as possible. I got to teach some cool and several rather crazy people. I was also full of little miracles that make me smile.

For example, this past Monday, I lost a memory stick that contained all my photos from my whole mission. I was heartbroken. Maybe it had fallen from my pocket on the bus. I couldn't find it in the house. Anywhere. i was seriously grieving. But the good thing is this. I prayed. I prayed and felt that even though I don't know exactly how it was going to happen, that everything would be okay. Confiding in that still small voice, I went to work. Three days later, after an interchange, my companion came to me and gave me my memory! They found it in a barber's shop that we had visited that day. I was so incredibly happy. Those were my memories. And now I have them all back =D.

Another thing, we had interviews this past Saturday, just something short for me and my comp as we are going home here soon and will have interviews when we go. But afterwards, we were on the bus going from Bucaramanga to Giron, when a lady sitting next to me started talking to me about religion. She had been through a lot of churches (claims to have investigated our church and claimed that we didn't eat pork....umm...I love bacon...=D) and had a very critical idea of all of them. She believes that truth is a point of view based on how one understands the Bible. Yep. And here I was. And I started to testify. That I knew what I shared was true, not because I was convinced by some guy with a Bible, but because I have prayed and asked God if all this is true. Then the inspired question..."Do you believe that God answers prayers?" She was silent. Then she simply started talking about Colombia...the USA...every topic except religion. When I got up to leave she said "Think about it", I answered "Ask Him about it". THIS is what makes us different from any and every other church in the world. We know that God answers sincere petitions for truth, for clarity, for guidance. We believe and know that He will answer in the affirmative that what we share is true. And in that moment, in that little bus, I knew, I felt, without a doubt that what I share is true. It was one of many confirmations of said truth that I have received in my life, but one of the strongest I have ever felt. I knew it, and I know that she knew that I knew it.

Apart from those two amazing testimony builders, I also have also enjoyed a fun stake conference. President Hacking was there and spoke about how the mission of bringing people to Christ isn't just one of the missionaries, it is a mission of every member of the Church of Jesus Christ. The stake president had a cool talk too, he pretty much read word for word my favorite childhood story, "The Little Engine that Could" (remember that one Mom?). Suffice to say it was a little bit of a trunky moment for me. Also, five brothers from our ward received the Melchizedek priesthood. Sweet. And two were recent converts (including Jason). =D

Today we had a zone activity playing football and volleyball. It was cool and all but I forgot to use sunscreen and burned my neck. But all in all, I enjoyed what, as another elder so wonderfully pointed out, was my last zone activity in the mission. Sad, but true.

Love you all,
Elder Rallison

Time is like a greesed rope with a 500 pound weight on the end...try as you might you can never make it stop or even get a good grip, that is, until t

That statement that makes the title of this weeks email is one that is weighing very heavily on my mind. This week has been good, but it represents another week of my life and my mission that I will ever get back. I have spent it the best I can, but still... nearing the end makes one think of these type of things.

The highlight of this past week has to have been that Christian got baptized! And I got to do it! It was pretty cool. We had some small difficulties along the way, but in the end everything went off without a hitch.

Well, I would like to write more but I find myself out of time as I was fixing a camera bug.

I promise an extra long and extra cool email...next week.

Love you,
Elder Rallison

Working hard or hardly working

First off, the transfers. I am in Giron with Moya still. We are working well together and all, so I guess that President just wanted to keep us together until we die (note: die is mission jargon for finishing the mission.) But eh cool thing is that there are now new missionaries in Portal. They are very cool and all. One is Elder Raines (gringo de Utah) and the other, the "son" of Elder Raines, Elder Roduigez (a Uragayan).

So we've been visiting a lot of people lately. As a matter of fact, Christian passed his baptismal interview and gets baptized on Saturday. So that is pretty awesome...yay for us. Also, we've been working with one family in which all the kids are members but the parents aren't. Why? Because the husband doesn't want to get married. Yeah, they have six kids and have lived together for 19 years, but this guy just doesn't get that they need to get married. He said that he doesn't want to feel so committed. We'll keep working on that.

With Juan everything is going well, he is reading the Book of Mormon and praying for an answer. Oh and want to hear the crazy bit? We went to visit him and he told us he found a copy of a Book of Mormon in his house. What?!?! He went and pulled out a copy of the Book of Mormon, printed in '92. It was yellowed and the cover was pretty much destroyed but there it was, the Book of Mormon. He can't remember where he got it, but wow. It's just that his neighborhood is really ghetto and no one in the ward even remembers the last time the missionaries had gone to that neighborhood until we did. The only problem that we are having with him is that his wife is making it very difficult for him to continue (such and bringing in preachers and trapping him in the house on Sundays so he doesn't go to church). Sounds a little intense but that is how Santander-ian women are.

I've also had an awesome split with our ward mission leader this past Friday. It was great. We contacted a whole ton of people and got five appointments set up just from those contacts. We also got to go visit an old investigator of the ward who is dying from stomach cancer. So, I had no idea what to do, but after the prayer, I went directly to the Book of Mormon and started reading seemingly random scriptures about the faith and the Atonement of Christ. We finished with a prayer and a blessing, and by the end, in spite of the pain, she was smiling. I felt very strongly the Spirit guiding me in my every word. In all it was a really incredible day.

As for the menial stuff, we had zone meeting....with half the zone as trainers/newbies and the other half like me, dying this transfer. It was pretty epic. The new zone motto we invented is "Baptize and/or die". It was pretty funny.
We went bowling today as a zone activity and I actually bowled a really great. On the first one I bowled a 105 and on the second a 123. But lo and behold, an Elder who had never even bowled before pulled out a 143. I testify that there are miracles and that there is such thing as beginner's luck. We also invented several hymns---sung rap style. Word.

Love you guys,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison

And life goes on....

So this week were were teaching a lesson and right as we were finishing up a christian pastor showed up...looking for a fight. We were literally getting up to leave too. So we got to sit there and listen to him present an anti-Mormon shpeel (in front of our investigator, Juan) that lasted about half an hour. That was about the longest half an hour of my life. Then, we went and simply shared our testimonies, invited everyone to pray and ask God if what we shared is true, and left. I felt very good to leave that behind, and better yet, Juan is still listening to us. Epic win.

This past week we had intercambios with the zone leaders. We went with Elder Busch and had some crazy awesome lessons. We found a really cool family, Claudia and her sister Fabiana, and taught an amazingly awesome lesson. The Spirit was strong and we were just about to pull out baptismal dates when....the husband of Claudia pulled up on a motorcycle. The atmosphere changed completely. Fabiana went running to the kitchen to make sure that the lunch was ready and Claudia started acting all distracted and depressed. Dang, there is something awry in this relationship. So we quickly left but we set up and appointment for this Wednesday.

That day we also contacted a colombian girl who married a mexican and now lives in San Diego....yeah, that San Diego...in California. Cool right? She talks english...kind of...and was here visiting her family. But it was just weird, talking to someone and trying to teach, in English. It felt weird. And she also made me realize how much I miss mexican food. But even crazier was when we contacted a German guy. Now, he could barely speak Spanish and I only know how to say "Auf Wierdesein" and that phrase that Opa uses to "say hands off/Don't touch that" (which I am not even going to attempt to write). He said that he was here enjoying a break from the cold of Germany coming here to Colombia. It was cool and all, but I just wish I understood what he was saying.

I can't really remember anything more to share with you all, here we are anxiously awaiting transfers, which will be arriving tonight. My last transfer. Yikes, it is one of those moments that as a missionary you never think are going to come. But come they do.
Well, I love you,
Elder Gabe Rallison

All is Well in Zion, Zion prospers....

Life is good and it just keeps moving along.

Just a small waiver here at the beginning. This is a really terrible keyboard. With that said, let's delve into what Elder Rallison has been up to this past week.

So this past week, several investigators along with our recent converts, invited us to a cool little park that was all lit up with Christmas lights. It wasn't nearly as spectacular as the temple Christmas lights, but it was still pretty cool. And at the end they had a little pond full of fish that the people can feed. It was a fun little outing. We were quite the bunch.

And better yet, we were able to get about half of those investigators to get to church on Sunday! It was great because the whole stake presidency showed up as well, and each one shared his testimony. Then, in the classes, in both hours, the teachers also shared powerful testimonies and invited everyone to pray to know if all this is true. It was epic!!! And the investigators were blown away! The only bad thing about that Sunday, is that we are now on the 8 o´clock schedule. Which means that we, the missionaries, have to be there at seven in the morning....well, at least we live close.

And after church we got to go visit the less actives in the ward with the stake peoples. I went with Pdte Leon, a counselor in the Stake Presidency, and Hno Isaac, the assessor of our ward. We visited several families, including one mildly drunk father of 14 children (I guess they didn't have television)=D. He said that he plans to stop working on Sunday and get back to church. We'll see if he doesn't come next week.

As for baptisms, we've got one coming up a week from Saturday. A kid named Christian. He's good, it's just a little difficult keeping his attention. Sometimes they get distracted so easily....but I guess that is life. Right? As a bigger-picture metaphor...what Satan does is distract us. He makes us take our eyes off the goal with glitzy, worldly, and sparkling things. The first of the ten commandments is this, not permitting that any other "god" come between us and our Heavenly Father. Just some food for thought.
Not much more to say.
Love you all,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison

New Years Day

This last week has been difficult to say the least. Here, it is always hard from Christmas to New Years to work as missionaries. We try, but everyone is out of town or has family in town visiting. So it's been a little tough, but we did find a few new families and we'll see how they progress this week.

We spent the New Year pretty well. First off, Jason invited us over to his house for dinner....once again tamales and some very tasty natilla. Not really sure how they make it, but it is sure good. It´s kind of like a carmel-ish Jello/flan thing with raisins and cinnamon. I want to learn how to make it because I love it. And afterwards we went to the house and made Mexican tacos! =D I was in heaven. Then, at midnight the whole neighborhood was lighting off fireworks and blaring music. Here, they celebrate New Years...until 8 in the morning the next day. But yeah, happy new year!

Love you all,
Elder Gabe Rallison

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's been a good year, hasn't it? Lots of progress, lots of new lessons learned, lots of challenges, lots of victories, lots of tears, lots of smiles, lots of misunderstanding, and lots of love. Yep, we have now reached that nostalgic part of the year...the end. That time when everyone thinks of what they've achieved and where they're going. Personally, I think I'm going well, still have a lot to go and all, but all said, I am happy with the progress that I have made and am making. That said, I still have a lot to go. So, in that spirit....Happy New Year!

This past week was pretty good. We had an awesome FHE with Jason and Carol along with a bunch of their neighbors. It was epic; there were about 15 people there. We taught about being obedient and obeying God's commands. We then played a game in which everyone had to follow the commands of "God". Each picked a piece of paper and had to do as written. Well, I had to bark and howl like a dog....and wouldn't you know it, I did it so good that the dog next door started barking back at me!

Christmas was fun. Here, Christmas is celebrated more like New Years, as in everyone stays up till midnight on Christmas Eve and then they shoot off fireworks! Also, the majority get way drunk and dance in the street. Yeah, not really my sort of Christmas. Though we did have a lot of fun stuff. On the 24th, we ate dinner with the Familia Cacua (tamales- a Colombian tradition) and we also went and grilled meat out on the balcony of our apartment (about ten pounds between six elders). I was so full when I went to bed. And on the 25th I got to call my family. I loved that. It was cool being able to see all you guys and talk to you face to face after so long. You are all so big now! And you all seem to have changed a lot.

Well, I am at a loss for words....as in I don't have anything more to say. So I'll just leave it at this.
Love you,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison

I Love December!!!!

First off, I would like to thank all of you for your birthday wishes. Thanks for remembering your long lost -friend, brother, son, grandson, etc- here in Colombia. Love you all!!! Yeah, so I'm now all old-ish and I can now legally buy beer and do stuff...yep, and this matters why? Well, nuf said, I am now 21!

This last week has been way busy. I also took a ton of photos, but, as my luck would have it, I forgot to bring my camera today, so tough luck, photos next week.

On Friday, Jason and Carolina got married! It was way cool, my third marriage so far here in Colombia. I think by the time I get back I'll be a pro at getting all the stuff done so....anyone need help getting hitched? =D Just kidding.

But really, it was a great wedding, and after we had a party in their house which was pretty much us (the missionaries) teaching about the basic beliefs of the church to all their neighbors and family!

It was cool, and I think we found two or three new families from that so even cooler. Oh and apart from teaching, there was also a three -tier cake, a ton of arroz con pollo (a common meal here), and soda.

On Saturday, we had a baptism! Of the same couple above mentioned, along with their daughter Silvia. After a few delays, such as lack of presiding authority, witnesses, people arriving late, etc, we finally did it. It was a great service, as I got to baptize Jason! We even got to sing a special musical number for them as part of it. "Aquí en ropa blanca estan....."...you get the idea.

And speaking of singing, Saturday and yesterday we went and sung as part of the choir of Bucaramanga. It was so awesome. Elder Bogdan (a 50% Peruvian, 50% Texan, 100% great singer) and I opened up singing a solo of "Come and Adore Him" with Elder Montero and Elder Belgara backing us up. Yeah, you heard. I sang.....the melody. I sang a tenor line.....I have seriously fallen from glory ( I ask for a solemn AMEN from the Ahw 1st ward bass section). Then, later, the gringos totally rocked with Burrito Sabanero. I'm working on getting a video of the whole thing to send your way cause really, my words don't do it all justice.

And, on top of all that, I gave a talk on Sunday. I think I must have forgotten that I had a talk assigned or maybe it was a cruel joke from bishop, but I heard my name announced as the first speaker so I got up and gave a highly improvised talk. I talked about...being the Christmas season, gifts. First about the earthly gifts, such as cars, guitars, socks, ties, etc (all of which are really cool,....well, not quite so much the socks) and then comparing those to the eternally important gifts that God has given us, like the his love, answers to prayers, scriptures, commandments, prophets, priesthood, the Holy Ghost to guide us, and, most of all, his Beloved Son to save us from eternal condemnation. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.". I echo the words of Pablo in 2 Cor 9:15, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

I wish you all a very merry Christmas!

Love you all,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison.

Oh Christmas Tree....

So when we went to go visit a family this past Monday, they were there putting up the Christmas tree and all. Well, as always we helped out and after taught a lesson of the true meaning of Christmas. That was cool and all. But then they asked if we knew of someone who could use an old tree, as they had bought a new one for this Christmas. Well.....I knew someone.....the Elders! Yep, we now have a decent tree in our house with lights that we had bought from the store right below us. I'll send pictures!!!

Here we have also been spending a large bit of time in choir practice. Yep, choir. We are doing a missionary choir with all the missionaries in the Terazas and Bucaramanga stakes. We will be singing several hymns along with one of my personal favorites....El Burrito Sabanero =D! With the gringos singing a solo part...we will see how that goes, and I'll try to send a video. But our choir director....more like a choir dictator. Hmm.

We continue preparing the family of Jason and Carol for baptism; they all passed the interview with flying colors this last Saturday, and we continue preparing them for everything. They really are just the perfect family. We are working with several other families as well but each has a few little things that need work. The problem here is that just about anyone listens to us, the problem lies with their commitments, such as going to church, reading the scriptures, praying, etc. Please continue praying for us, your prayers really do help us, a lot.

Love you all,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison

A Christmas Story

Well, how are you all ? Good?

Here in Colombia life is good. Very good.

So you all remember that family I told you about last week? They are getting married on the 16th and baptized the 17th. =D So cool. And they are really a great family. The dad, Jason, always has good questions, and Carol, his wife, keeps telling us that everything we explain makes perfect sense and that her only regret is not having been able to know about all this before. Cool right? I love it when we find those special people, those who are just ready for the gospel.

Apart from that, we had an awesome ward activity this last Saturday, put on by us, the missionaries. It was really something special. We got a hold of a projector, the bishop lent us his huge sound system, and we did a movie night with "The Christmas Carol". And they loved it. A ton of people came, even though it was raining really hard. The really ironic thing is that the next day when we went to the First Presidency Christmas devotional, President Monson talked about that same story. It was cool.

Um...not much more to say, but when I think of something I'll tell you.
-Elder Rallison

Cambios de nuevo....(from 10-26-11)

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

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

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!

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

Rewind...stop.

Not much weird stuff to report, just the normal appointments.

We taught Juan again, it didn't go so well though, he kept going off on weird tangents.... what in the world do the customs of the Catholic priests in the 13th century have to do with Christ in the Americas? Alas, he did not accept a baptismal date, this time.

We also taught a lady named Mari. It was a little weird, because she was just way critical of everything we taught. So in the end it ended up being Alma and Amulek against Zeezrom. She says that she's sure she's right and that waht her pastor has told her is true. Like, for example, that resurrection is not true doctrine.....Umm...right....So my comp (Alma) shared the part where it talks about when Christ presented himself to his apostles after his resurrection. So she say "well, that's just because He's Christ!" Enter Amulek (yours truly). "That is true, to a point. He is Christ, and would you read Job's testimony of Him?" She reads "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. -Job 19:25-26". Amulek bears testimony of resurrection. Alma follows. Zeezrom sat there in silence. Looked at us. Looked at the Bible. Looked at us again. And then continued on with a different subject. Sweeeet. Power of the companionship!!!!

We tried to do an activity on Monday as it was a holiday here in Colombia. Was pretty much a bust. Six people came, no more, no less. But we did get to watch Charly with a projector so it was all good in the end.

So that was pretty much the highlights here. Lots of rain (again) though mostly at night. And we went to eat at McD's today as a zone activity, tasty, but expensive. Our propane canister just ran out so we have nothing to use to cook. I continue praying that my shirts will hold out until the end. It has been noted that my shirts are noticeably yellower (or better said less-white) than my companions). Apart from all that, things are good.

Love you all very much.

-Elder Gabe Rallison

PS:::Feliz Cumpleaños Jonas...13...ummm...yeah, when did that happen.
PSS:::Looky here (foto). Elder Rallison and comp as cartoony cats. =D Elder Holmes drew 'em.

That's a little strange...

So yeah, the other day I went to the corner store to buy a little bit of toilet paper. And well, we saw a three year old peeing in the street....an Elder Holmes said that it was the 39th he's seen so far in his mission...yeah...that would so not happen in the states....and btw, Holmes has just 6 months in the mission.

Apart from that beautiful detail, life has been going good. We have been working way hard and have found a bunch of great new people. One of my favorites has to be Juan. He's way cool and the first lesson he just went all out with some of the best comments and questions I have ever had from any investigator. He went and just explained the whole apostasy but in great detail.....wow. He is just a little confused as he has investigated a ton of churches....Catholic, Adventist, Jehovah's witness, christian, and more. But he did commit to read and pray, so it's all good.

Apart from that I went to Pamplona this past Friday to work with the missionaries there. It was way cold and (due to having played and lost a high-stakes UNO game) I got stuck sleeping on the floor. But it was good too. I got to spend a whole day with my "son" Elder Quiñonez. Remember him? He's an awesome guy and he just keeps getting better. He's changed a lot in the past few months...really, he's not even close to the same as when I was with him. I guess in the mission the same passes with all of us. President said that my own parents won't even recognize me when I get home. Hard to think about, but looking at myself I've really changed a lot. A little physically, a lot mentally, and an unmeasurable amount spiritually. Yeah, it's true. But it's okay, I'll send a picture so you recognize me in the airport.

The mission rocks.

Love ya all,
Elder Rallison

My week...

Has been pretty good. Really. My comp and I are trying to recover from about a week of lost work. It's going well, a little rough at times, but I think we can do it. We are looking for new investigators (if you know of any non-members in the Cucuta area, a referral would be very much appreciated). We are also working hard to get this ward working well and all...Wish us luck.

Loved conference!!! I learned a ton and really enjoyed a lot of talks. I don't have my notes with me, but a few that I loved were: the talk from Elder Cook that talked about the missionaries that almost went on the Titanic to return home, but didn't because one got there late (lol, Bro Farris, look, sometimes it's good to be late....jk =D). Also, I really enjoyed the talk from one seventy that talked about the importance of time. That time is a gift that God has given us and that he will ask for an accounting of every second that He has given us. And Elder Holland...wosh, he blows fire as he talks... but it helped me to focus on opening my mouth a bit more to share the gospel with one more person. Those are the big highlight that come to mind right now....except for one more thing. THEY ARE GOING TO BUILD ANOTHER TEMPLE IN COLOMBIA!!!!!!! IN BARRANQUILLA!!!!! It's not in my mission, but is going to be a huge blessing for the members here. For example from here (Cucuta) to Bogota is about 18 hours. To Barranquilla is about twelve. A big difference. So yeah, I'm happy with that.

We had a lesson the other day in a part of the area called Las Cumbres....a little dumpy, but cool. I could probably pitch a baseball from there and have it land in Venezuela...yeah, that close. I was so tired that day, having walked almost all of my massive area.

Today we had a lot of fun. We had a zone activity, in which we made Argentinean milanesa (pretty much chicken fried steak), with mashed potatoes and salad. I made gravy for the mashed potatoes, and everyone absolutely loved it! We also played football as a zone and in the morning had a zone study, in which everyone shared what they had learned....it was tight.

As always, tengo que ir,
Love you all,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison

Rain, Rain and more rain

So the "winter" has now started. Here, that means a ton of rain, it has rained about every day this last week. One day (I think it was Thursday) it actually rained so hard that the streets were like rivers and it almost flooded the chapel. Yikes! But luckily it didn't. Yeah, that could have been ugly. I was very happy, I got soaked to the bone, which after a hot day, is the best thing ever.

The next day we also got a little wet helping a sister clean her reserve tank of water. It was way gross, with more plant life than water. So we drained the tank, and went to work with brushes all morning just fighting to clean the tank. It actually turned out pretty good, considering what it looked like before.

Yesterday we had zone conference with President Hacking. It was, as always a great experience. He talked a bit of the importance of obedience and of looking for people to invite to come unto Christ. I know that it is when we are obedient that God is on our side and guides us to those who are ready to come unto Him. We also learned about the import of planning and then going and doing it.

Apart from that giant list, I have been working. We have planned several new activities to find new people that we will be puting in action this coming week. We've been trying to work with the members as much as possible so that these poeple can join and grow, so that they can be firm and strong, forever. That is what I want. Lasting conversion, not just momentary triumph. That is the goal. I hope that is what happens with Victor and Hercilia. For life, and for all eternity.

Love you all,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison