So life...is....busy. I've got a ton to talk about.
So, Viviana wasn't able to get to church the other day, but we are now planning on baptising her this weekend. Wish me luck (and pray for her please)!!!
Umm... Other stuff.....
I had interchanges awhile ago with several missionaries. Had one in Tocancipa with Elder Holmes. He's from Corona California and has about 2 months here in Colombia. As such, he's still working on his Spanish. It's coming along really well though, sounds more like a missionary with six months here. Also had one with Elder Glick in Chia. Chia was cool, a little underwater, but it is finally starting to dry out. It was fun working there with Elder Glick. That night I actually got to talk with one then-investigator, now-convert who is a Colombian cop. Cool, right? And better yet, when we got back to the house there in Chia I found out that they have a sauna! A sauna! It was nice, to feel heat, real heat after having spent so long in the cold rainy weather here. Yep, fun stuff.
We have been working crazy hard here and it is finally starting to show results. We've found several new families all in this past week. Now, we have been passing by and all are turning out to be really receptive. For example on lady straight up asked us for a Book of Mormon....when we contacted her. Sweeeettt. When we work hard, God blesses us for our effort. Always.
I have also been growing a lot in my personal testimony lately. I've noticed that many times now, when I have a problem, the first thing I do is always pray. And almost always, I get my answer, good and clear of what I need to do, what of all my choices is the best in any given moment. I love the relationship that I now have with my Heavenly Father. I hope to be able to maintain this my whole life. I also really want nothing more than that everyone can have the same relationship with him. Nothing is more important.
I love the people here and the lessons I have learned from them. I love you all very much too. Thank you all for your love and prayers.
I'm sorry to cut this off, but I've got things to do, places to go, and people to see.
-Elder Rallison
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
A long, long time ago---- May 18-25
Yeah, I know I am way backtracked.
Week 1 May 18-25
So we've got a baptism coming up! Yeah, you heard me, this Sunday, Viviana, the new one, is getting baptized this Sunday! So cool. =D
On Monday I had an intercambio in Bogota with Elder Thomas. So, first we had to go to Suba, a zone on the north-west side of Bogota, for choir practice for the choir in the mission conference. It was cool, though I was one of the only three bass singers there....yikes (good thing the bass voice is a lot stronger than the wannabe-men tenors). After we finished up all that, we headed out to go to work. Only thing is that he had to do a baptismal interview and so I had to go and cover a few appointments with Elder Araya. Yeah, I had an intercambio in an intercambio. Cool right. So it was way cool working with him, we went and taught a lesson to an investigator named Paola. She had a few doubts about the Book of Mormon, but after a little while and a bit of testimony she agreed to really pray and ask God if what we were sharing was true. She agreed to pray.
After that we went to share a message with a recent convert in the area of Elder Thomas, who, it turns out knew Elder Araya! Yeah, I didn't know it at the time but it turns out he had been in that area a while back. So, they just talked the whole time. Finally, got back with Elder Thomas and we headed home. But with one problem we got to the apartment and Elder Thomas realized he had left his keys inside the apartment. So we were outside the apartment for about half and hour trying to "credit card" the door, when, miraculously, it opened! Finally...., oh and his comp still doesn't know that happened..... After getting in, went and called up for pizza. And not just whatever....Dominoes! Yeah, I love Bogota, it has everything.
On Tuesday we had to go to Federman for mission conference! We got there more or less early so that we could practice more for the choir. President Hacking actually sat in the back and watch us rehearsing and started crying (I don't think it was because we were that good....quite the opposite in fact....). Then everyone started getting there. It was epic! For the first time ever, the whole mission was there in one place. So epic in fact, that we went and took a mission picture (I don't have it yet, but it should be on sister hacking´s blog). We (the chior) opened by singing two hymns "Nearer My God, To Thee" and "Christ the Lord is King". Elder Gonzalez came and spoke to the mission. It was cool cause he talked for like ten minutes on the missionary purpose then just spent the rest of and hour answering questions. It was really just an amazing experience. Also, he went and greeted each and every missionary there. That was about it for that day, after that we went back to the ZL house to spend the night.
The next day we went to another session of mission conference. It was also a great experience. The choir sang again at the request of President, then we got to listen to President Hacking cut heads at the whole mission. He was just taking advantage of the chance to talk to everyone at once. I think....
After everything, we had a temple trip as a zone on Thursday. We were heading there (me and my comp) but when the TransMilenio bus we were on stopped there, we weren't able to make it to the door on time. And wouldn't you know it we had such great luck as to not have another stop until the downtown, and on a weekday morning. We got off the bus at the station and entered a world where everyone was in there packed like sardines....no, correction, tighter than sardines. We finally broke out of that and got to a world were we could move....kind of. Got on the bus going back the way we had come and finally got to the temple. It was a great session. After the temple we went to the chapel of the zone leaders to make Chilean hot dogs and play soccer. In the end we got back here, but without any time to spare.
All in all, life is good, but very busy. Love you all lots, keep strong, do what´s right.
Elder Rallison
Temple/ zone activity
Week 1 May 18-25
So we've got a baptism coming up! Yeah, you heard me, this Sunday, Viviana, the new one, is getting baptized this Sunday! So cool. =D
On Monday I had an intercambio in Bogota with Elder Thomas. So, first we had to go to Suba, a zone on the north-west side of Bogota, for choir practice for the choir in the mission conference. It was cool, though I was one of the only three bass singers there....yikes (good thing the bass voice is a lot stronger than the wannabe-men tenors). After we finished up all that, we headed out to go to work. Only thing is that he had to do a baptismal interview and so I had to go and cover a few appointments with Elder Araya. Yeah, I had an intercambio in an intercambio. Cool right. So it was way cool working with him, we went and taught a lesson to an investigator named Paola. She had a few doubts about the Book of Mormon, but after a little while and a bit of testimony she agreed to really pray and ask God if what we were sharing was true. She agreed to pray.
After that we went to share a message with a recent convert in the area of Elder Thomas, who, it turns out knew Elder Araya! Yeah, I didn't know it at the time but it turns out he had been in that area a while back. So, they just talked the whole time. Finally, got back with Elder Thomas and we headed home. But with one problem we got to the apartment and Elder Thomas realized he had left his keys inside the apartment. So we were outside the apartment for about half and hour trying to "credit card" the door, when, miraculously, it opened! Finally...., oh and his comp still doesn't know that happened..... After getting in, went and called up for pizza. And not just whatever....Dominoes! Yeah, I love Bogota, it has everything.
On Tuesday we had to go to Federman for mission conference! We got there more or less early so that we could practice more for the choir. President Hacking actually sat in the back and watch us rehearsing and started crying (I don't think it was because we were that good....quite the opposite in fact....). Then everyone started getting there. It was epic! For the first time ever, the whole mission was there in one place. So epic in fact, that we went and took a mission picture (I don't have it yet, but it should be on sister hacking´s blog). We (the chior) opened by singing two hymns "Nearer My God, To Thee" and "Christ the Lord is King". Elder Gonzalez came and spoke to the mission. It was cool cause he talked for like ten minutes on the missionary purpose then just spent the rest of and hour answering questions. It was really just an amazing experience. Also, he went and greeted each and every missionary there. That was about it for that day, after that we went back to the ZL house to spend the night.
The next day we went to another session of mission conference. It was also a great experience. The choir sang again at the request of President, then we got to listen to President Hacking cut heads at the whole mission. He was just taking advantage of the chance to talk to everyone at once. I think....
After everything, we had a temple trip as a zone on Thursday. We were heading there (me and my comp) but when the TransMilenio bus we were on stopped there, we weren't able to make it to the door on time. And wouldn't you know it we had such great luck as to not have another stop until the downtown, and on a weekday morning. We got off the bus at the station and entered a world where everyone was in there packed like sardines....no, correction, tighter than sardines. We finally broke out of that and got to a world were we could move....kind of. Got on the bus going back the way we had come and finally got to the temple. It was a great session. After the temple we went to the chapel of the zone leaders to make Chilean hot dogs and play soccer. In the end we got back here, but without any time to spare.
All in all, life is good, but very busy. Love you all lots, keep strong, do what´s right.
Elder Rallison
Temple/ zone activity
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Crazy long letter...
So these last few days have been some incredibly hectic. To start, we've been teaching an investigator that the last missionaries left for us, named Viviana. She is a great investigator, but due to some very interesting circumstances (some random phone calls, members, and more), we found out that she was not the investigator that the last missionaries had left for us! There was another Viviana! Oh gosh. Worse yet, she had been progressing and had a baptismal date. No sooner did we find out about that, we went to call her. But lo and behold, our cell phone was left completely devoid of minutes.We ran around searching until we located a place selling minutes and called her. We set up an appointment to start in fifteen minutes and within an hour we had a new baptismal date set up for her. Phew. And she's great. She's actually interested in the Church, reads everything, and comes to church almost every Sunday (she only missed on our first week here). Yeah, she's getting baptized.
We also had a great family home evening with the Roduigez family. We cooked dinner, a Peruvian dish called "lomo saltado". It consists of potatoes (french fried), onions (sliced), and beef. It was really tasty and the fat content is probably going to kill me someday (hard to see how, I am the skinniest missionary here in the mission). I made dessert....rice krispy treats! It was so good, but I stuck using chocolate rice krispies, funny thing is it actually turned out better than normal. We watched a movie too about and Italian pastor who finds a Book of Mormon without a cover and becomes converted after reading it and praying. He eventually gets kicked out of his church for preaching out of it and refusing to destroy it. He spends the rest of his life looking for the church who published it and finally gets baptised by a mission president......about forty years after first reading the Book of Mormon. Now I ask, how is my testimony? Would I be willing to do that?
Don't know how many of you know, but here in Colombia we are going through a very wet season. Here in Cuindinamarca (the department in which I live, it is the Colombian equivalent of a state) there are more than 2500 acres flooded from the torrential rain. Some small towns to the south of Zipa have incredible levels of water. A university near here (la Universidad de la Sabana in Chia) was flooded up to the second floor. That's like nine feet of water. I am really getting sick of all this cold rainy weather. I am really missing nice, dry, warm, Arizona...
We had zone conference yesterday and due to the difficulty of traveling as half the roads are flooded, we had to leave on Tuesday night to get there. The bus we were on was crazy. I felt like I was on that bus out of Harry Potter, the one with the shrunken head that guides the driver. This bus accelerated faster than a Ferrari, and put on the brakes like no other. I think we reached like 120-140Km/h. Not that fast by American standards, but here, that is FAST. We got from here to Bogota in under 45 minutes, a trip that normally lasts an hour and 15 minutes. I don't think even Brother Kennedy drives quite like that...
Zone conference was great, and we had a special visitor, a newly called mission president and his wife, Pres Amaya and Sister Amaya, who are going to preside over the Ecuador Guayaquil North Mission. It was a great conference, with a ton of practices. One just had me rolling on the floor laughing. So Elder Olvera had set up a baptismal date for me and my companion. He said " As Jesus was baptized by one who had authority, John the Baptist, you too will be baptized by one having authority, John the taxi driver." "John the TAXI DRIVER!?" "Yes he's the Elders quorum president in our ward." LOL. Even funnier as in Spanish, the words "bautista" and "taxista" are very similar. I almost laughed out loud but realized that Pres Hacking was just ten feet away. But yeah, that was way funny. We ate well too. Subway sandwiches for lunch, and heading back to Zipa we stopped by McD's for dinner. Now to you, that may not seem like much, but here, for a gringo, that is the flipping holy grail. But yeah, that is all, I think. We will be talking soon.
Love Y'all,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison
We also had a great family home evening with the Roduigez family. We cooked dinner, a Peruvian dish called "lomo saltado". It consists of potatoes (french fried), onions (sliced), and beef. It was really tasty and the fat content is probably going to kill me someday (hard to see how, I am the skinniest missionary here in the mission). I made dessert....rice krispy treats! It was so good, but I stuck using chocolate rice krispies, funny thing is it actually turned out better than normal. We watched a movie too about and Italian pastor who finds a Book of Mormon without a cover and becomes converted after reading it and praying. He eventually gets kicked out of his church for preaching out of it and refusing to destroy it. He spends the rest of his life looking for the church who published it and finally gets baptised by a mission president......about forty years after first reading the Book of Mormon. Now I ask, how is my testimony? Would I be willing to do that?
Don't know how many of you know, but here in Colombia we are going through a very wet season. Here in Cuindinamarca (the department in which I live, it is the Colombian equivalent of a state) there are more than 2500 acres flooded from the torrential rain. Some small towns to the south of Zipa have incredible levels of water. A university near here (la Universidad de la Sabana in Chia) was flooded up to the second floor. That's like nine feet of water. I am really getting sick of all this cold rainy weather. I am really missing nice, dry, warm, Arizona...
We had zone conference yesterday and due to the difficulty of traveling as half the roads are flooded, we had to leave on Tuesday night to get there. The bus we were on was crazy. I felt like I was on that bus out of Harry Potter, the one with the shrunken head that guides the driver. This bus accelerated faster than a Ferrari, and put on the brakes like no other. I think we reached like 120-140Km/h. Not that fast by American standards, but here, that is FAST. We got from here to Bogota in under 45 minutes, a trip that normally lasts an hour and 15 minutes. I don't think even Brother Kennedy drives quite like that...
Zone conference was great, and we had a special visitor, a newly called mission president and his wife, Pres Amaya and Sister Amaya, who are going to preside over the Ecuador Guayaquil North Mission. It was a great conference, with a ton of practices. One just had me rolling on the floor laughing. So Elder Olvera had set up a baptismal date for me and my companion. He said " As Jesus was baptized by one who had authority, John the Baptist, you too will be baptized by one having authority, John the taxi driver." "John the TAXI DRIVER!?" "Yes he's the Elders quorum president in our ward." LOL. Even funnier as in Spanish, the words "bautista" and "taxista" are very similar. I almost laughed out loud but realized that Pres Hacking was just ten feet away. But yeah, that was way funny. We ate well too. Subway sandwiches for lunch, and heading back to Zipa we stopped by McD's for dinner. Now to you, that may not seem like much, but here, for a gringo, that is the flipping holy grail. But yeah, that is all, I think. We will be talking soon.
Love Y'all,
Elder (Gabe) Rallison
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Zipa Zipa Zipa
Wow, what a day, and what a week. Life for me lately as been incredibly busy as I am working to get this area working at full speed as well as the rest of my responsibilities. I love this work though. It is really the best thing I could possibly be doing with my time. I love the people here and I love working here in helping them all to succeed in life and in the eternities.
It has taken some getting used to as last time I was here I only had to follow my comp around, now I'm stuck with a little more responsibility. I'm figuring it out though. It shouldn't be too hard....I hope. Most of the people here remember me as that gringo who couldn't hardly talk. Now, what a difference. A year of it. And really, in the mission, due to the Spirit and the work, a person changes, and changes fast. I've had people tell, me that they don't recognize me and doubt that even my own mother would recognize me now. LOL. Funny right?
Apart from this stuff, I haven't had any grand events this week, but I believe I will have a lot to share in the weeks to come.
Love you all!!!!
Elder Gabe Rallison
PS One of those events...Elder Scott (yes, that Elder Scott) is coming on to 24th to talk to the mission!!!!! Will keep you posted.
It has taken some getting used to as last time I was here I only had to follow my comp around, now I'm stuck with a little more responsibility. I'm figuring it out though. It shouldn't be too hard....I hope. Most of the people here remember me as that gringo who couldn't hardly talk. Now, what a difference. A year of it. And really, in the mission, due to the Spirit and the work, a person changes, and changes fast. I've had people tell, me that they don't recognize me and doubt that even my own mother would recognize me now. LOL. Funny right?
Apart from this stuff, I haven't had any grand events this week, but I believe I will have a lot to share in the weeks to come.
Love you all!!!!
Elder Gabe Rallison
PS One of those events...Elder Scott (yes, that Elder Scott) is coming on to 24th to talk to the mission!!!!! Will keep you posted.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
"Elder you've got a transfer." "What?......WHERE?!?!?!?!?"
The first thing that all must know is that I've had transfers. Yep. I was told that they were going to be a week late, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear that I was being transferred. The crazier came next....the where. I actually didn't believe it at first. Zipaquira!!!! Yeah, I'm now back in my first area. It actually feels really weird being here. I really don't know what President did it, but ah well, I'm here.
So I got my transfer on Monday, spent all day on Tuesday running from door to door saying goodbye to all in Engativá. That and packing. I had to go to the house of the district leader to spend the night there and then I had to go the next day by taxi to the zone leaders house, which just so happens to be on the other side of Bogota. Got there, and then I was stuck there all day waiting. My companion finally got there at three in the morning (he came in bus from Bucaramanga). We had to go and pick him up. And then get back to the house. It was an hour in the taxi each way. How enjoyable. So I finally got to sleep a bit a five in the morning. I am dog tired right now.
My companion is Elder Yarlique. He's from Peru. He's cool and I know him from somewhere......from when I was in Cañaveral. My luck. I have a lot of that. He worked in another area with his trainer while I was with Elder Godoy, but we all lived in the same house. So that´s all real cool.
We got out of Bogota this morning, finally got to Zipa, and went to the house. They had changed houses since last time I was here and the new one is huge. Love it. We unpacked a bit and got everything arranged, then we went to lunch with the Trujillo family. It was way weird. We were talking and I understood everything. Everything. Last time I talked to them I was so lost.
So right now I am feeling way nostalgic and very weird. Like I'm in a weird dream or something. I've thought of visiting or something like that, but really I NEVER thought I would be back here again. So weird.
I don't really have much more to say...I'll be seeing all you l8tr.
Love ya,
Elder Rallison
So I got my transfer on Monday, spent all day on Tuesday running from door to door saying goodbye to all in Engativá. That and packing. I had to go to the house of the district leader to spend the night there and then I had to go the next day by taxi to the zone leaders house, which just so happens to be on the other side of Bogota. Got there, and then I was stuck there all day waiting. My companion finally got there at three in the morning (he came in bus from Bucaramanga). We had to go and pick him up. And then get back to the house. It was an hour in the taxi each way. How enjoyable. So I finally got to sleep a bit a five in the morning. I am dog tired right now.
My companion is Elder Yarlique. He's from Peru. He's cool and I know him from somewhere......from when I was in Cañaveral. My luck. I have a lot of that. He worked in another area with his trainer while I was with Elder Godoy, but we all lived in the same house. So that´s all real cool.
We got out of Bogota this morning, finally got to Zipa, and went to the house. They had changed houses since last time I was here and the new one is huge. Love it. We unpacked a bit and got everything arranged, then we went to lunch with the Trujillo family. It was way weird. We were talking and I understood everything. Everything. Last time I talked to them I was so lost.
So right now I am feeling way nostalgic and very weird. Like I'm in a weird dream or something. I've thought of visiting or something like that, but really I NEVER thought I would be back here again. So weird.
I don't really have much more to say...I'll be seeing all you l8tr.
Love ya,
Elder Rallison
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Quick this will be...
So, in summary, we did a lot of stuff. We went on interchanges with the zone leaders, had a great family home evening, painted, got wet, had an open house in the church, went to work with one of the assistants, went hiking, got tired, scaled a mountain, saw a sacred lagoon, took pictures, and we worked our tails off.
Interchanges were really good, I got to work with Elder Vitola in Alamos. We talked, taught, and went to teach some more. I also spent a lot of time explaining English slang (for example, "What the heck does heck mean?".....Ummm.....) Yeah, I had a lot of fun with that.
The family home evening was a blast, we taught this lesson about the importance of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everyone really participated well and afterwards, we ate completos chilenos (those hot dogs with avocado and tomato...sounds weird but is really tasty).
We also did a service project helping a family paint their house. The only downside was that in route there was quite a cloudburst and I was stuck in the middle of it, without my umbrella!!!! Note to self: when in Bogota, ALWAYS carry your umbrella. So we got there wet, but in the end we were able to help them get a few walls painted. I was very proud of my work there. I even rebuilt a windowsill using patching plaster!
Running from the service, we changed into suit and tie and went to the chapel. We had an open house inviting the whole world to come and enter, to see what we are all about. A lot of people here pass the chapel during the week and never see it open. But this day we were walking through the streets, grabbing people and herding them into the doors. It was quite a success. Each organization had a room and each went explaining what they were all about. In the end we got 15 references in only two hours. Very cool and very well done.
On Sunday we were eating lunch when we got a call from Elder Huaita, one of the assistants here. He told us that he would be in our house in twenty minutes! Yikes. We ate everything as fast as we could, and went running to the house to meet him. We got there and set to work. We taught several people and, really, I can say that I learned a lot in that one afternoon. New examples, better questions, and, most important a better understanding of how to work with the Spirit. That Elder knows how.
Today we went to the Lagoon Guatavita, a lagoon that according to legend, is probably the origin of the story of El Dorado, the city of gold. Anciently, the Indians who lived there had a ritual in which they threw gold into the lake. It was quite a sight, the lake that is, but it took a bit to get there. Two buses, and about four miles walking. But it was worth it and a very pretty sight. Got some great pictures, but don't have time to send them now.
Love you all,
Elder Rallison
Interchanges were really good, I got to work with Elder Vitola in Alamos. We talked, taught, and went to teach some more. I also spent a lot of time explaining English slang (for example, "What the heck does heck mean?".....Ummm.....) Yeah, I had a lot of fun with that.
The family home evening was a blast, we taught this lesson about the importance of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everyone really participated well and afterwards, we ate completos chilenos (those hot dogs with avocado and tomato...sounds weird but is really tasty).
We also did a service project helping a family paint their house. The only downside was that in route there was quite a cloudburst and I was stuck in the middle of it, without my umbrella!!!! Note to self: when in Bogota, ALWAYS carry your umbrella. So we got there wet, but in the end we were able to help them get a few walls painted. I was very proud of my work there. I even rebuilt a windowsill using patching plaster!
Running from the service, we changed into suit and tie and went to the chapel. We had an open house inviting the whole world to come and enter, to see what we are all about. A lot of people here pass the chapel during the week and never see it open. But this day we were walking through the streets, grabbing people and herding them into the doors. It was quite a success. Each organization had a room and each went explaining what they were all about. In the end we got 15 references in only two hours. Very cool and very well done.
On Sunday we were eating lunch when we got a call from Elder Huaita, one of the assistants here. He told us that he would be in our house in twenty minutes! Yikes. We ate everything as fast as we could, and went running to the house to meet him. We got there and set to work. We taught several people and, really, I can say that I learned a lot in that one afternoon. New examples, better questions, and, most important a better understanding of how to work with the Spirit. That Elder knows how.
Today we went to the Lagoon Guatavita, a lagoon that according to legend, is probably the origin of the story of El Dorado, the city of gold. Anciently, the Indians who lived there had a ritual in which they threw gold into the lake. It was quite a sight, the lake that is, but it took a bit to get there. Two buses, and about four miles walking. But it was worth it and a very pretty sight. Got some great pictures, but don't have time to send them now.
Love you all,
Elder Rallison
Monday, April 25, 2011
Semanazo
So this weeek has been great, but with a ton going on.
To start, on Thursday, we were having our normal weekly planning, right? Well, we were finishing up when we heard a knock on the door.... who could that be? To our shock and surprise it was the....Zone Leaders...BUM BUM BUM!!!!! At first we were thinking uh oh, this cannot be good. But in the end, turns out all they wanted was to see how we are doing as a companionship and participate in our comp inventory (the whole evaluation of the strengths/weaknesses of the companionship and its members). Phwew. A bit of a shock that. Having your leaders come unannounced.
Not much on Friday or Saturday. On Sunday though, we had a baptism!!!! Stefanie finally got baptised. And better yet, my companion was the one to baptize her! Sweet. Nothing in the mission is quite as cool as seeing your investigators change into the newest members of the church. The Young Women organized the service and did an awesome job. They had an amazing musical number, a talk about the importance of following the path from baptism to the temple. Really cool in all. And in and of itself it was a bit of a miracle. When we got to the church, there was no water. At all. That is not usually a good sign. Then, when we were about to give up, after having tried almost everything, the water started shooting out. We didn't do anything. It just happened. There are miracles.
That night we had an experience a little less enjoyable. We had to move a sister from our ward to another house because the one she was living in was leaky. She is now living in a room with half functioning electricity, a room that is full of mosquitoes and is about half the size of my bedroom at home. Wow. I was left with a grand sense of gratitude for all that God had blessed me with. To me now, our mission apartment seems like a place. We have water, electricity, gas, everything. It's moments like this that really help a person to appreciate all that they have.
On Monday we did a big service project as a zone. We went to a farmhouse about fifteen miles outside of Bogota and spent the day weeding, moving literally a ton of sand, cleaning out a room full of food storage and floor tiles, pulling out a planting terrace, and more. The sister was really nice and made us pasta. Homemade pasta. She had one of those little pasta makers that flattens out the dough and cuts it into strips. Really was a lot of fun making that. After we walked to a nearby lake and enjoyed the weather, until it started to rain that is.
Tuesday...interviews. It was funny, we were told that we needed to be there at 9:30. We got there at 10:30. I was so nervous, afraid that President was going to cut my head off. But thankfully, he was taking a long time with the zone leaders and we actually ended up waiting awhile before we got in to see him. The interview for me is always a great morale booster. And this one was no exception. I am so pumped to work now!
Last, but not least, the temple trip today. We went to the temple really early, getting up at about four-thirty to get ready to go. As always, an amazing experience. We almost didn't make it into the session, and when we did, we almost didn't fit. They actually had to bring in several folding chairs so that there was space for everybody. All in all, it was amazing. Got several questions answered today. After, we ate in the temple cafeteria, and upon leaving, ran into another zone. One of my coolest companions ever, Elder Godoy was there. So cool to see him and several of the other missionaries again. Great experience.
Well, that was very long and I am now out of time. So, I will see you all next week. Love you all!!!!!
Elder (Gabe) Rallison
To start, on Thursday, we were having our normal weekly planning, right? Well, we were finishing up when we heard a knock on the door.... who could that be? To our shock and surprise it was the....Zone Leaders...BUM BUM BUM!!!!! At first we were thinking uh oh, this cannot be good. But in the end, turns out all they wanted was to see how we are doing as a companionship and participate in our comp inventory (the whole evaluation of the strengths/weaknesses of the companionship and its members). Phwew. A bit of a shock that. Having your leaders come unannounced.
Not much on Friday or Saturday. On Sunday though, we had a baptism!!!! Stefanie finally got baptised. And better yet, my companion was the one to baptize her! Sweet. Nothing in the mission is quite as cool as seeing your investigators change into the newest members of the church. The Young Women organized the service and did an awesome job. They had an amazing musical number, a talk about the importance of following the path from baptism to the temple. Really cool in all. And in and of itself it was a bit of a miracle. When we got to the church, there was no water. At all. That is not usually a good sign. Then, when we were about to give up, after having tried almost everything, the water started shooting out. We didn't do anything. It just happened. There are miracles.
That night we had an experience a little less enjoyable. We had to move a sister from our ward to another house because the one she was living in was leaky. She is now living in a room with half functioning electricity, a room that is full of mosquitoes and is about half the size of my bedroom at home. Wow. I was left with a grand sense of gratitude for all that God had blessed me with. To me now, our mission apartment seems like a place. We have water, electricity, gas, everything. It's moments like this that really help a person to appreciate all that they have.
On Monday we did a big service project as a zone. We went to a farmhouse about fifteen miles outside of Bogota and spent the day weeding, moving literally a ton of sand, cleaning out a room full of food storage and floor tiles, pulling out a planting terrace, and more. The sister was really nice and made us pasta. Homemade pasta. She had one of those little pasta makers that flattens out the dough and cuts it into strips. Really was a lot of fun making that. After we walked to a nearby lake and enjoyed the weather, until it started to rain that is.
Tuesday...interviews. It was funny, we were told that we needed to be there at 9:30. We got there at 10:30. I was so nervous, afraid that President was going to cut my head off. But thankfully, he was taking a long time with the zone leaders and we actually ended up waiting awhile before we got in to see him. The interview for me is always a great morale booster. And this one was no exception. I am so pumped to work now!
Last, but not least, the temple trip today. We went to the temple really early, getting up at about four-thirty to get ready to go. As always, an amazing experience. We almost didn't make it into the session, and when we did, we almost didn't fit. They actually had to bring in several folding chairs so that there was space for everybody. All in all, it was amazing. Got several questions answered today. After, we ate in the temple cafeteria, and upon leaving, ran into another zone. One of my coolest companions ever, Elder Godoy was there. So cool to see him and several of the other missionaries again. Great experience.
Well, that was very long and I am now out of time. So, I will see you all next week. Love you all!!!!!
Elder (Gabe) Rallison
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