Busy times

Things are moving along swiftly here in Colombia. My companion and I have been working like crazy. Our zone leaders presented a plan so that we look at and measure our progress on our weekly goals day by day.


My comp and I have been doing that and wow, our success is shooting through the roof. We are going to be shooting to break the mission record for contacts this next week. Wish us luck!!!

Our investigators are all doing very well, but are having a few problems with their families. Yeah, that's a first, everyone has the same problem. It is the whole idea that well....my family is Catholic (or Cristian) and what would they think if I were to go and change..... How do you work with that? My best answer is ....Who is more important? What is more important? What God wants? Or what your family wants?..... Well, we are doing our best. Either they will do it or not. We are here to invite, but they are the ones who have to accept the invitation.

Today, being prep day, we had a district activity. We went to Monserrate, a 17th century Catholic church built on the top of mountain. We had to take the good ol' TransMilienio (Bogota's metro) and then walk about eight blocks to get to the base of the mountain. Then, we had a very enjoyable cable car ride to the top. We walked around the top of the mountain enjoying very much the shops (one of which was selling coca leaves....yes, those coca leaves) and checked out a very creepy old church. Really, there is something about this place that just left me with goosebumps. All in all though, it was a fun activity with some great views of Bogota.


And that's all folks! Love ya all!
Chao!
-Elder Rallison

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

Pues

Bueno, to start, sorry that this message is a little late. I'll be explaining why in a moment.

This past week, we had a zone conference here with president hacking. It was really cool, with the focus being on.....well....focusing. He and the assistants talked about how we need to focus ourselves, much like a pair of binoculars, so that we can have a clearer vision of where we are going and what we are going to do. To help with that, we've had a change of P-day from Monday to Wednesday so that everyone is more focused on Sundays. For that, I am writing today. We had a great activity where we took little paper sheep and wrote on them what we are going to "sacrifice" in order to be better missionaries. Each of us then took them and burned them on an altar that had been constructed outside. Really cool idea, I think I´ll have to use that in the future...=)

Also, we baptized Daniel Cruz this past Saturday. The service was a little rough and we started about half an hour late, but in the end it all turned out really well. He is a great kid, just a little quiet. Reminds me a lot of myself.

So, lately we've had to put a lot of focus on finding and on setting baptismal dates. We've been having a lot of success in that realm, now we just have to make sure that they all come to church. That will be the moment of truth.

Well, not much more to say, the rain continues, it has let up a bit, but it still continues. Hope you all have a great week and most of all that Skye has a great B-day tomorrow.

Love you all!!!!
-Elder Rallison

Same Old...But with a New Year!!!

So, all is well here in Engativa. Everything continues as normal, without any real changes to report. Just a few cool things.

We celebrated New Years in Dorado as a district. We ate hot dogs in two different styles, Chilean Completos and American Chili-Cheese Dogs. Yeah, only 3 of the 6 were from Chilie. As such, THEY had their celebration a little early, at 10. Man they were crazy. The rest of us just celebrated with the Colombians. Happy New Year!!!!!

When we got to church we had a surprise. Jonathan has now bought a new suit and has had a haircut! Really, his hair is now really short, almost as short as mine is! And better yet, he blessed the Sacrament. I love being able to watch my converts progress, it is really something special.

So, really, there's not much more to say. The rain continues here in Colombia, Elder Mendoza is great, I'm healthy, um..... really....Not much more than that. Hope you all have a great new year!!!

-Elder Rallison

Christmas went well....

So we really didn't do much last week. What we did do was enjoy a great Christmas. For lunch we ate a kind of sancocho (a soup) and played with a pair a rabbits that the family had as pets. My companion to this day has plns to eat them. He says that rabbits as well as guinea pigs are very popular foods in Peru.


Oh before I forget, transfers are in!!! I, and my companion are both staying here, but I am getting a new zone leader, Elder Porflit!!! He's one of my best friends here in the mission. When I started here in Zipaquira, he was the companion, and son, of my district leader. How cool that now he's in my district again. =D

Back to Christmas......we celebrated in the normal fashion....if you're Colombian. Here, Christmas is celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve. I was so tired that I almost slept through it all. But celebrate we did. Oh and we also ate ajiaco (another Colombian soup...and one of my personal favorites) with the Hermana Baquero.

My favorite part by far was talking with my family on Christmas day. I got to talk to them by webcam and everything! So much fun. I really can't belive how much everyone has grown and changed in the last year (especially Eli,....man he's gettin' big). It was really something special to see them and talk to them.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year...that is, Un Feliz Año Nuevo!!!!

-Elder Rallison

Merry Christmas to All!! (o mejor dicho, ¡Feliz Navidad!)

It´s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, here in Colombia. Really, there is more and more Christmas stuff each and everyday! But to start, my week!

So on Tuesday we had a lot of fun! If you could call fun going to Cairo (an expression here in Colombia for a place that is reeeaallly far away....commonly used in an expression such as "Vete al Cairo!!!"-"Go to Cairo!").We had to go to district meeting. A pie (By foot). Yeah, we realllly enjoyed that. But arrive we did, and better yet, after we had a baptismal interview for our favorite...Jonathan!!! After the interview he and our beloved district leader, Elder Ponce, came out and Elder Ponce just shook his head and said "We need to talk" Those words made my stomach drop to the floor. Then he started to laugh. DON'T DO THAT TO ME!!! Seriously, almost gave me a heart attack. Yeah, Jonathan passed. And better yet, he asked me to baptize him. =D

Apart from Jonathan, we also have been doing a ton of contacts. We figured out that outside of the bus station here, a lot of people walk by. So, we made a line between us, you contact that side, I've got this side. Doing this, we made a ton of contacts and now have found several new power investigators.

On Saturday we had to go to Alamos, the area of of our leader of district, in order to do one of the things the missionaries do best, Christmas caroling. When we started out for Alamos, all was well, but then, the bus was late, we had to change buses and ended up taking the wrong one, and in fin, it started to rain. But in spite of all this, we arrived in Alamos, whole and only a little wet (okay we were soaked to the bone). We went by one family and sang a few Christmas hymns and also a traditional Colombian Christmas song, Mi Burrito Sabanero. For those of you who are not familiar with this song should go to Youtube right now and look it up! NOW!

By far my favorite day of the week was Sunday the 19th. Why? Because it was my 20th birthday! Yeah, I'm old now!!!! So, to start out the day was the baptism of Johnathan. It was way cool ( and in more way than one), you see, the water wasn't exactly heated. And here in Bogota it is cold. Anyone who thinks that all of Colombia is a hot sweaty jungle is very mistaken. So, to combat the cold, I resorted to heating up water in the kitchen and pouring it into the font. That made it so it wasn't ice cold, but just cold. The baptism went off without a hitch (for the first time ever I didn't have to repeat it!) and Jonathan got so choked up that he could hardly bear his testimony. That was amazing. He is going to be a good member, and better yet, he wants to serve a mission (he has 24 years old, there is still time!!!).

After the baptism, several members (including the newest one) ambushed me in the hall and sang "Feliz Cumpleaños" to me. Then came the best part, my talk. I shared a Christmas message and tied it into missionary work. It really does work well when you use Luke 2:17-18. Also, I had my testimony shared as part of the Chirstmas program in my home ward in Phoenix, so technically, I talked in two different sacrament meetings in two different continents in the same day!

After church, we had lunch and then had to go to the house because my companion had to use the bathroom. While we were there we got a call from the Sister Baquero that we had to go to her house because she wasn't feeling well and had to have a blessing. We rushed over there to find her perfectly fine and with a cake on the table. Then, my whole district burst out the bathroom! I was surprised birthday-ed. Then, one of the elders said I had to pluck a strawberry off the cake with my mouth, a.... quote- Latin tradition -end quote. Of course, in doing so I had someone push my face into the cake. Thanks a lot guys....
After enjoying the cake and cleaning all the frosting out of my nose, we went and sang carols to the Baquero family.

After having finished all with the Baquero family, we went over to Jonathan's house because we had planned a "lesson" with him which was in reality...caroling. But lo and behold, I had another surprise for me! Another surprise birthday from that family. Yeah, twice in one day. We finished that day, in the end, with another rousing round of Mi Burrito Sabanero (if you still haven't looked that up, you really should).
What a way to celebrate your birthday. A talk, a baptism, and two surprise birthday parties.

Today was still fun too. We played football and I made some awesome Mexican haystack type things. It was rice, refried beans, fajita stuff, sour cream, guacamole, and Mexican salsa all piled as high as possible. And it was so, so good. I don't think you all appreciate how good you have it.

Well, how the time flies. I've got to go, again. But before I go I just want to wish each and every one of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

With mucho cariño,
-Elder Rallison

It's Begining To Look A Lot Like Christmas

So, the life moves along here in Colombia. Very quickly. Too quickly.

Tuesday was a little crazy. It was a holiday here in Colombia. It is called, Noche de los Velitas ( The Noche of the Candles). On this night, everyone is in the street with candles. We went to one appointment and there wasn't anyone, when we came out, the streets were full of people. The people hold candles, set up rows of candles along the street, in the windows, etc. They say it is to light the way for the virgin Mary so that she can get to the inn. Idk, but all the candles were cool =D.

Had intercambios with Elder Thomas, one of our beloved zone leaders this past Thursday. It's always really fun to have intercambios with other gringoes because you can speak English with them. =D We worked, and we worked. It was fun, and I enjoyed very much the opportunity to work with him. He actually has a laugh that sounds a lot like Uncle Gary. Crazy. But really fun.


We had a mission activity for Christmas this Friday. We played football, Frisbee, and basketball, watched Toy Story 3 (really fun movie btw...all the Latins agree that Buzz Lightyear is a great dancer), ate a great dinner, had a fireside, had skits by each of the zones (we did one in which the missionaries found a million dollars), and best of all, Santa came!!!! He even gave us sweets and ties. I got an awesome blue and gold one. I'll have to send you the pictures.

We had another activity on Saturday, this one with the ward. As part of the activity,we, the missionaries, presented a fireside. We watched "Joy to the World" and then, using Luke 2:17-18, related that to member missionary work. Then we gave each family a gift wrapped Book of Mormon to give to a friend. In all it went really well. I also got to try lechona. That is a pig that is stuffed with meat, rice, beans, etc. It is a traditional Colombian Christmas dish.


We also baptized after all that. We baptized a kid, Juan David. He has such a testimony, because he is always asking questions. But he is really good. =D

Don't have time to write any more, see you all next week.

-Elder Rallison

TO COME.....Pictures.