Week 46

Ford and Elder .... Christmas Meal

(we did not get a letter from Ford last week, the skype call was WONDERFUL! here is his letter for this week :)
Dear Family,

This week was pretty crazy, I shall begin now.

It was wonderful talking to you all yesterday, to laugh with you and to meet the new additional member of our motley group. I thank the Lord, if not every day, then almost every day for blessing me to have my family.

Anyways, a few things about this week,

So Monday, we had a little bit of an adventure, our whole zone. A few weeks ago, our zone leaders proposed to do something different for our zone activity. We decided as a zone, to go caroling in the metro, or subway, of Santo Domingo! So we got 'permiso' from president, got some Christmas hats and prepared our vocal cords for this past Monday. We decided to ride to the end of the line, eat lunch and then sing the way back. The plan turned out really well. We put on our Christmas hats, and went at it. For ten missionaries who haven´t had a lot of vocal training it turned out pretty well and it was an awesome way to share our message, in a musical format. People actually took videos so I think you can find us on youtube, try la primer Navidad en el metro de Santo Domingo. I think President was fairly pleased with our efforts, the video may have been shared at the Christmas party on Friday, so half the mission got to hear our zone´s attempt of Cantan Santos Angeles, Hark the Harold Angels Sing.

The rest of the week went by like a blur. We had the Christmas party this Friday which was awesome. They fed us ham and cooked peas, it´s been a while since I had peas, they tasted great. we also got some gifts. I received a little first Aid kit and some cookies. Saturday, we visited some folks in the afternoon and then went to sup with the Familia Alburqurque. We had a great time and the food was delicious. We stuffed ourselves and then waddled home with Brother Alburqurque. 

Anyways, that´s a few things that transpired this Christmas week.

I love you all, Merry late Christmas and Happy new year!

Love,

Elder Call

Week 44

Querido madre y familia.

This twas rather busy week, lets talk about, shall we.

So life´s been kinda crazy this past week, We basically been working a double companionship which is cool. Elder Robertson and Elder Oliveira are the other elders in our district and they´ve been doing divisions with us to help us out. We are all in one house and it's sometimes a little crazy, but it's awesome. 

This week Elder Oliveira and I had an awesome lesson with a new investigator, her name is Omaira. She was a reference of a member and we meet with her this Friday. We taught the Plan of Salvacion, and about halfway through, Elder Oliveira felt impressed to share the gospel of Jesus Christ (another discussion, I assume.) It was a very spiritual lesson and Omaira felt it very strongly. She invited us to lunch yesterday and afterwards we finished teaching lesson 2 and invited her to be baptized. She agreed to pray about the 30 of December, we´ll know her answer this Tuesday!

It´s been a good, crazy, week.

Love, Elder Call

Week 43

Ford, Hansel and Elder Rivero

Hansel and Dad

Dear Mom,

This week, I shall speak a few words.

We had the baptism of Hansel this past Tuesday, a young man whose Dad is working on reactivation. I was able to do the ordinance which was really cool. He´s the second of my converts who I have been able to baptize. I momentarily forgot which side he needed to be on but quickly made the correction.

The week has been good. We had this really cool lesson with the Uncle of one of our investigators. We got there planning on teaching her and ended up teaching the aunt, Uncle and their little daughter who really wants to be baptized. We´ve invited Eliani to be baptized this weekend, for the Noche Blanca (white night) the stake is having. It´s basically a giant baptism of the whole stake. She still feels unsure but committed to praying about the decision.

It's crazy how it's already Christmas. The homes here are lit up with Christmas lights, when there is power (the city was without power yesterday, he didn't e-mail until today, Tuesday), and we're all working on the light up the world project the church is doing. Day two, said call your parents, We decided to postpone that assignment to the 25th.

Love you Mom,

Elder Call

Week 42

Dear Mom,

Thank you very much for the photos and the letter. I am doing alright. This special transfer has been a really good experience. Elder Rivero is awesome. He´s from Mexico, a town in the country called Hidalgo. I still can´t get over how cool it is that he´s from Hidalgo. He also is an awesome missionary who always looks for the positive in every situation and doesn't let stuff get him down. Here are a few photos of him.

The areas are doing good. We had a baptism in Los Polmares this past weekend. Her name is Chrismelyn, Elder Rivero and his latest companion did all the teaching but she´s awesome. We had a great experience talking with her parents, they actually received the missionaries a while ago but his job doesn't permit him to attend church, but he is still very supportive of his daughter's decision. Hopefully, Chrismelyns conversion will open the door for her family!

My investigators in La Victoria are doing well. Traveling between area´s we´ve lost a lot of proselyting time which is not good but we´ve managed alright. Were working with Hanzel, a young man of ten whose Dad is in the process of reactivation. We arrived a bit earlier to the appointment and talked with Hanzel a bit which was great. He´s a quiet little boy but has a big heart and I think is a lot more attentive than he gets credit for. We asked him what he remembered about the plan of salvation. He flipped open the pamphlet and showed us the picture of Jesus in the Garden of Eden. We talked to him a little bit about Jesus and how he is super important to us. In the end, the main thing that we each need to understand is how important the Savior is in our lives. How through him we can be healed, feel peace and happiness in our lives. Anyways, he also reminds me a little bit about a certain strawberry blond, blue eyed boy back home. 

I love you mom, hope your week is amazing with everything. Thank you for your love, your patience and long suffering, and your example of loving and trusting in the Savior,

With love,

your Son, Elder Call

Ford and Elder Rivero in front of their apartment?

A heater? No clue.....

Week 41-Una Semana Loca (a crazy week)

Saludos mi Familia

Entonces...

This week was a bit of an adventure. So, Elder Cruz and I recieved a telephone call Wednesday evening with some shoking news. Elder Cruz se va (he left), and president is joining La Victoria with the area of our district leader, Los Polmares. Elder Cruz left Friday morning along with Elder Teixiera, Elder Rivero's comp. The mission is a bit short on missionaries right now and president is rearranging a few areas.

Hopefully, this shall last until the end of the transfer. This news was a bit crazy, and I was sorry to say goodbye to Elder Cruz, he's a boss, but Elder Rivero is too and is ready to do this. We are now juggling the two areas but thus far are managing things alright. 

Diomedes came to church again, we had a great lesson this week with him and he's doing good. Now we just have to convince his wife to talk to us!

Alright, I love you all, have a great week

Love, Elder Call

Tres Ojos

Week 40-Hi Mum

Dear Family,

 Yesterday at church Diomedes came for the second time. We stopped by his house again. We called out buenos dias and heard Me Voy, (I´m going.) After priesthood meeting we walked into sacrament meeting to find him sitting in the back with his hymn book. He stayed the second hour too, we had a great class in Gospel principles. He had a ton of questions and said he´s coming back next week to learn more.

Elder Cruz is a boss. He´s always hungry and invites everybody to church, the kids in the street, the evangelist lady, everybody. He asks me many questions and after I answer him, he says tiene razon,( you have logic.) He´s very smart for a greenie from Panama, he speaks great English.

One of the photos below is chicken that Elder Cruz cooked, it reminded me of your´s mom, t´was not the same, but it was good. The other two are from the trip to the tres ojos, the Elder on the left is Elder Cruz and on the right is Elder Rivero, our district leader.

Have a good week

Love Elder Call

Week 39-Mucho Lodo (mud)

Dear Family,

Por medio de mucho agua y lodo nosotros hemos terminado este semana, pero hemos visto cosas asombrosas. (Through much water and mud, we have finished this week, but we have experienced amazing things.)

So this Sunday we received some miracles.

Yesterday morning we were heading to priesthood meeting and decided to pass by Diomedes, an old investigator who we´ve been working with again. He has finished reading the Book of Mormon but never has come to church. We invited him again and lo and behold when we came to his door, there his was all ready for church! It was truly a tender mercy. He´s accepted the invitation to be baptized in December.

We also working with a Family, La familia Cruz. We had an awesome lesson with them last night and their three children have baptismal dates, Albert and Claribel need to get married and promised to talk about the decision. This family is awesome, they have been prepared. 

The rest of the week was good. much biking and much mud, and it is awesome.

Love

Elder Call

Here's a little more, I asked him some questions and he was able to respond to my e-mail for a little bit.  I asked him about the all his Latin companions and if they are different, the language and pictures. Ford is not, actually, a trainer.  He was made Senior companion, but it sounds like Elder Cruz just finished being with his trainer:  The language is okay. Elder Cruz is great and actually is learning English, so we switch back and forth. We didn´t celebrate Halloween, Witch craft is an actual problem here so they don´t do the costumes. The Latins are all a bit crazy, Elder Cruz and I are getting along pretty well, he´s a great missionary, he has some strange cooking ideas but thus far we are okay. Hey mom I got to go. The pictures are not loading, I shall send picture next time. 

XXXXOOOO

Elder Call

Week 38-Una semana loca (a crazy week)

Querido Familia,

This week has been crazy, but awesome. I shall speak of the companion.

Elder Cruz is from Panama, not here, he is an eighteen year old missionary and is ready to go. (It appears Ford is training a new missionary.) He arrived Tuesday morning and we´ve basically been biking all over La Victoria this week contacting and visiting members. He´s awesome, has a great testimony, and is sensitive. 

We had an awesome (he likes this word, maybe it the only adjective he remembers in English?) lesson this week with a family of investigators. Familia Cruz, the Dad is crazy but awesome. We taught him and his two kids the gospel of Jesus Christ. The lesson went great, the daughter asked a lot of questions and we felt the Spirit. In the end, we invited them all to be baptized and they accepted! This is one of many blessings we have received this week.

We are both a little tired but are thankful for the tender mercy´s of the Lord this week.

Love, Elder Call

The picture is from the Tres Ojos where we went this morning with our district.

Week 37- Transfers

Dear Family,

Last week of transfer, has come to an end very quickly. This week we´ve kept working with Samy. He´s a big trouper and is attending church every Domingo. He still doesn’t feel ready for Baptism but were hoping this week he can have a change of heart. This week we also started teaching a lady named Yasilda. She´s a very happy women and loves how the family is super important in the gospel. We had a great second lesson with her and invited her to attend church. She accepted, but didn´t make an appearance Sunday morning, :(. But someone else did, Sunday morning we entered the sacrament hall to find Roencio Rincon, sitting with his family in the middle row. This is the second time he has a attended church! After a great sacrament meeting Hermano Freddy apparently pulled him aside and talked with Roencio about his family and about his Baptism. Roencio accepted the invitation to be baptized the 25^th of November!

Transfers came in this Saturday evening. I am to stay in La Victoria and Elder Velasquez se va (he´s leaving)! My new companion is Elder Cruz and he is Dominican. This is all I know for now. I´m grateful for my time with Elder Velasquez, he´s a bit crazy but he has a big heart for the people here and has a strong testimony. 

Love, Elder Call

P.S. The dinero is good, we have food in la casa

Week 36 - Saludos de La Victoria

Dear Family

Elder Velasquez and I had a solid past seven days. This week, we made it a point to search for new investigators and we've been blessed with some fruit! Tuesday morning we were contacting near the new cemetery (there are two here) and we found Hector. He is a middle aged Hermano who received the missionary discussions two or three years ago. He likes pancakes,(Ford's favorite breakfast is pancakes, I would fix MUCHO and then he would eat them as snacks for a couple of days! :) so we had a pretty great first conversation. He stopped progressing because the two missionaries both got transferred. He told us how much he and his wife loved the missionaries and invited us to come teach him! It´s awesome finding someone whose life has been touched by the gospel through the love of two missionaries. It reminded me of a sticky note I found in Boca Chica, my first area. It says, "they may not remember all you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel." That´s more or less what it says, but it’s true! Hector may not have accepted the gospel then, but his heart was touched by these two missionaries!

We think we're gonna have to drop Sambel. He hasn't attended church the past two weeks and he´s almost never home.

We are also working with our investigator Sami. Sami contacted us last month and has been progressing rapidly. He´s been attending church almost every Sunday the past month and is eager to learn. He´s super ready but he doesn't feel ready to be baptized. We had a great lesson with him and a recent convert in the ward. The brother shared his baptismal experience with Sami and we shared Mosiah 18. We talked about how you don´t have to know everything to be ready for baptism. He accepted the invitation to pray about the 22 of this month.

Transfers are this next weekend. I believe I will be departing la Victoria, but only the Lord knows, and President Corbitt.

I love you all

Sincerely,

Elder Call

Week 35

Dear Family,

Elder Velasquez and I are alive and well, thank you all for your prayers. Sunday night we received a call from our District leader that President was calling a 72 hour shut down of the mission, no body leaves the house and be prepared to depart if necessary. But they called a while later saying that the storm apparently wasn´t going to be as fierce. Monday we had our zone activity, which involved a lot of futbol in the rain. The rain kept up for the next two days and then ceased. The two rivers here in La Victoria overflowed and there were a number of houses that got flooded. Our neighborhood was untouched but there were many homes that were not so fortunate. Thankfully, the water is now receding and people are starting to return to there wet houses. Truly we were blessed and protected. Apparently, the storm did a lot more damage in Haiti. Cool story that is related, during the dedication of the temple here about thirty years ago (he actually means 16 years ago.... :), President Hinckley( then an apostle- actually President Hinckley was the prophet at that time and he did dedicate the Dominican Temple- just correcting our beautiful missionary boy- isn't that what moms do best.... correct/nag their children!) stated that the country would not experience another really bad storm (Hurricane George, I think) until the coming of the Savior! We've been very blessed!

This past Friday, we had the baptism of Noelia De la Rosa. Noelia was a reference we received from the young women's president Sugeidi. We´ve been teaching her throughout last month and had the service Friday night. 

This week we´ve still been working with Sambel, he had a date for September but he hasn't attended church the past couple of weeks. We´ve been stopping by his house Sunday mornings but he's either not there or is profoundly asleep. We are considering investing in an alarm clock! Not really, but we may have to discontinue working with him.

Love, Elder Call

P.S.The second picture is our super clean apartment, were a little low on dinero, so we spent the day cleaning.

Week 34

Dear Mom, (I asked him how he is really doing)

I am trying to trust in my Savior and move forward.  I am trying to take Grandpa´s advice and keep on keepin'on. I really appreciated General Conference this weekend, there were some powerful talks given. I really appreciated Elder Bednar's points on how to know the Savior. His ultimate point I really appreciated, believing in him, how we have got to believe on him on a personal level. I believe that through striving to learn of the Savior and trust in Him and His atonement, we can feel peace amidst our afflictions. I am thankful for the opportunity to listen to the words of the prophet and the other leaders of the church. I love you, mom

Love,

Elder Call

Week 33

Mom here- I am sorry for missing a post.  

Last Monday, my father and Ford's grandfather, Jim Fox, unexpectedly passed away while golfing.

It has been a tough week.  Ford sounds good though, here is his e-mail this week.

 Querido Familia,

This week has passed quickly and has been full.

This Monday I recieved the news about the passing of my Grandpa Fox. It was completely unexpected, but I know he´s where he´s supposed to be. 

This Thursday we had our Zone conference. President Corbitt talked about Exceptional Faith, how with great Faith we can do miracles in the mission. I especially appreciated Sister Corbitt's message about overcoming fears. She talked about the different fears we face here in the mission and we studied different scriptures and principles about overcoming these fears. I especially appreciated the scriptures that talk about love casting out fear. There are many fears we face in this world, but if we are filled with the love of Christ, we shall be able to bear them. 

Love,

Elder Call

Week 31 Dear Familia

The news arrived late Saturday night concerning transfers.

Elder Velasquez and I will continue working here in La victoria. Elder Velasquez knew it would be so, he won't tell me how he knew, only that he "has his contacts", whatever that means. We spent the day cleaning up the apartment, I used some acid on the sink this morning which was interesting. I almost burned my nose hairs off and changed the color of the sink. Elder Velasquez was very impressed, not really, but it was a good learning experience. Afterwards we had a hearty lunch of fried chicken and rice, I am planning on implementing a few healthy meals into our diet.

This week we've been working with the Familia Rincon. We challenged the Dad, Roencio, to live the Word of Wisdom and be baptized this past week. He accepted and told us that he hasn't been drinking for a week. We are planning on having a lesson with him one-on-one with Hermano Freddy, to help motivate him. 

Sambel is doing good. We been visiting him in the mornings, he's doing great with his commitments, but didn't come to church yesterday, he has trouble getting up in the mornings, so we'll shall pass by for him this next Sunday.

The Ward is great here in La Victoria. We've got some great brethren that we've been working with. We're working on leaving (saliendo-which means that a person will accompany them) with priesthood every day this week.

Have a good week 

Love,

Elder Call

P.S. Please wish Joseph happy birthday and congratulations for his baptism

Week 30- Ultima Semana (last week)

Querido Familia (Dear Family),

Here we are in the final week of the transfer, it seems twas only yesterday that Elder Velasquez arrived at our pink apartment building... anyways. 

This week much has come to pass. This past Sunday was fast Sunday. The meeting was coming to a close, and I jumped up and bore my testimony. I testify a lot during the week, but I still feel a bit nervous sharing in sacrament meeting, especially in Spanish. I finished and sat down, and a dear brother in the ward sat down and informed me that familias pueden ser eternas, no eternos (Mom here-Families are able to be together forever, but the final syllables need to match, according to whether the noun is masculine or feminine: thus familias eternas there is a little information on Spanish) ...I appreciated the instruction. But the meeting ended great with Deibi Coca getting up and sharing a powerful and simple testimony.
Elder Velasquez and I are doing well. I bought a few veggies to add to our beans and Rice diet. He's not a big fan of the greens, apparently they don´t eat such things in Honduras, but that's ok. I shall press forward, feasting on my cucumbers and carrots...and beans and Rice.  

Right now, Elder Velasquez and I are working with a youth named Sambel. He´s 17 and has two sisters who are less actives. He´s reading the Book of Mormon and praying too. The other lesson he told us he prayed about the invitation to be baptized and felt this feeling of peace. I was like, Fruits of the Spirit! peace, joy. He´s still not sure but were gonna help him.

I love you all, have a fantastic week

Love,

Elder Call

Week 29

Querido Familia

This weekend we had the Baptism of our investigator Yocally! The Baptism went smoothly (by Dominican Standards). We planned to start the baptism at 6:30 and commenced at 7:00, approximately. The Baptism was good. The young women's president gave a short talk and I sang a short musical number. It was a far cry in comparison to the musical number in my home ward yesterday, but I gave it my all. :) Elder Velasquez and I served as witnesses and the Bishop baptized Yocally.  Afterwards Elder Velasquez and I gave a brief message of the restoration.

Yesterday, Elder Velasquez and I talked in sacrament meeting. We were both rather nervous but it was great. The first three speakers left us with five minutes each, he talked about the importance of members in missionary work. I talked about the power of service in missionary work. I talked about Ammon serving King Lamoni, how through his diligent service he won the hearts of the King and his servants. Service is so important, especially in missionary work, I love the scripture in Matthew when Jesus Says he that would be your leader, let him be your servant.  It is a privilege to be the Lords servant out here, doing his work. 

Love,

Elder Call

Mom - Here is some a little more from Ford, I asked him specifically how he was doing and what his companion and area is like:

El area  esta bien madre, Los traslados estan en la proxima dos semanas, El companero esta bien. Elder Velasquez es un Hondurano y tiene  ahora mas que 13 meses in el mision. El es muy, muy limpio, cual es muy chevere, Cada lunes en la manana el esta swapiando el piso de nuestro apartamento. Hoy quedamos en la casa, limpiamos un poco y descansamos. Este noche Nosotros vamos a visitar nuestro converso, Yocally. Translation: The area is good, mom. Transfers are in two weeks.  The companion is good.  Elder Valasquez is Honduran and has 13 months in the mission.  He is very, very, clean, which is great! (I liked hearing this, Ford is a very clean Young Man... :) Each Monday, in the morning he is sweeping the floor of our apartment.  Today, we stayed in the apartment, cleaned a little and rested.  Tonight we are going to visit our new convert, Yocally.

Week 28

Dear Family

This week was super fast, but good. Elder Velasquez and I are working with our investigator Yocally, She´s 16 and is awesome. We had a great lesson with her yesterday with the Bishop. This is the first time we´ve left (went out) with the Bishop and wow, he´s awesome. He was super easygoing and amiable (friendly) with Yocally and her mom. Yocally´s got a baptismal date for this weekend and we are thinking of challenging her mom! 

We had stake conference yesterday. President Corbitt gave a brief but powerful message about the importance of humility. Humility is so important in the gospel, especially in missionary work!

¡Yo los quiero!

Elder Call

This was a note to me: I love you mom, Please give a hug to sister Call for me when she gets home! (Priscilla gets home on Thursday)

Week 27 A thousand apologies

Mom here- we did not hear from Ford yesterday, here is what he sent today.  I am grateful he is busy, focused and not sick...  :) But, I would still like some more details.

The week was great, Elder Velasquez is from Honduras and he´s awesome. I´m sorry I don´t have time to write, I shall do better next week. Yo siento bien padre gracias. (I feel fine, Dad, thanks.)

¡Yo los quiero! (I love you all!)

Disculpame (Pardon me) (I am sure he is referring to not writing....)

WEEK 26

Querido Familia,

Another first week of a transfer has flown by. Elder Diaz headed out tuesday morning and my new companion arrived in the Afternoon. His name is Elder Velasquez, he is from Honduras! He is a convert of 4 years and has a great testimony and a big heart. He is awesome and I have much to learn from him.

This week we´ve been working a lot with the ward and the Bishopric. The meta for this month is to work in unity ward in missionary work. So the past six days we´ve been meeting with the members, and less actives and its been awesome. Turns out there´s a whole bunch of less active members here that we didn´t know about! This week were gonna go find them. I´m beginning to learn how important it is for us to work together with members, because they are the ones who remain to sustain and continue to help the converts in their path of conversion, and to help those who fall from the path. 

This week I´ve been reading in First Nephi. It is interesting to see the stark comparison of Nephi with Laman and Lemuel. His older brothers continually murmur and doubt and so don´t progress. Nephi on the other hand is a powerful example of faith and humility. With his faith he progresses and is able to do miracles whilst his brothers remain unchanged. Nefi´s example shows that we all have the capacity to change and do the miraculous if we but humble ourselves and trust in the Lord. I am so thankful for the scriptures and the examples of great faith like Nefi.

Ford and new Companion Elder Velasquez

I love you all

Love, Elder Call

Week 25- Trasladas

Dear Family,

Wow, changes here in the mission. So the news came out Saturday night, Elder Dias is leaving me to be a district leader in Osama! Don´t know where that is but I´m happy for him. I shall stay another transfer here in la Victoria, my new companion is from Honduras, his name is Elder Velasquez. Elder Dias spent the day saying goodbye to everyone and packing.

This past weekend was a bit crazy, We had a baptism scheduled for yesterday, his name is Yoandri and he´s awesome, but his Dad is Catholic and isn't to hip about his son being a mormon. Were working on contacting him this week and help answer his questions about the church.

Ford's District in Victoria?

Crazy pictures, we fed a cow and did some mudding this week

Love,

Elder Call

Week 24 Hola

Querido Familia,

This week was good,

We saw multiple blessings this week. This past Sunday we had five of our investigators come to church! One of them we met on Friday, her name is Maria and received the lessons two months ago. We don´t know why she´s not baptized already cause she´s super eager to meet with us. She came to church and was super involved in the gospel principles class. We also had a tender mercy, one of our fechas for this months fell, her name is Chantal and she´s eight, so she's a ward baptism, but her brother Joandri listened in during the last lesson, he´s eleven and was rather serious during the lesson. He accepted the invitation to be baptized!

Sorry this one is way short.

The first photo is us and Deibi, the second is Chikiti, he´s the son of our investigator Quisqeuya and is awesome!

Love you all!

Love, Elder Call

Week 23 ALREADY!

Dear Family,

Yesterday I hit month 5! Wow time passes quickly, truly this time to serve the Lord is so short,

So lots happened this week. This Wednesday we did some service for the familia Rincon. Hermano Rincon got robbed the other day, he was unharmed but decided to take some precautions. We cleared his yard and his field of shrubbery and trees so no ladrones (thieves) can sneak up on him again. Wielding a machete, I was very cautious, I felt of bit like Clayton from Tarzan. It was awesome to serve and afterward we shared a brief message with the family. The whole family is members menos Hermano Rincon. He´s had multiple baptismal dates but struggles with his addiction to alcohol and smoking. His family wants him to be baptized badly, We have faith that in time his heart will soften.

This Friday we had an intercambio, Elder Dias went to Los palmares and our district leader Elder Rivero spent the next twenty four hours in la Victoria. It was awesome, Elder Rivero and I had an awesome lesson with this new family Elder Dias and I have been teaching. We shared a message about the Book of Mormon and its importance and the spirit was super strong. Elder Rivero and I testified of the importance of the Book of Mormon and then invited them to be baptized, and they accepted! Now we just have to get them to come to church! The rest of the day was super busy but great!

The first picture is with Deibi, the awesome converso reciente (recent convert) whose been working with us a ton

Number two is the intercambio, Elder Rivero is the one on my right

Number three is me.....yah

Love, Elder Call

 

Week 22 - Semana 3 en La Victoria (week 3 in Victoria)

Querido Familia,

Already we are halfway through the transfer, time is flying by very quickly. This week we´ve worked a lot with our friend Deibi here, he´s the bloke on my left in the first picture. He´s a new convert of two or three months and this past sunday he blessed the sacrement for the first time. He was super nervous but he did great. He´s still very new in the church but he has a strong testimony and takes the gospel very seriously. The other chap is Alberto, a new convert too.

We had a cool experience this week. We went to contact a reference of Deibi´s this week and she wasn´t there, But, there is a colmado(little store) right next to her house and Elder Diaz engaged the owner in conversation. We shared a part of the restoration with him, he told us that he´s been wanting to meet with missionaries for a while now and is very interested. We are meeting with him and his wife later this week. The Lord is preparing the people here to recieve the gospel, we just need to find them!

Love, Elder Call

Week 21 Feliz 4th de Julio

This week we have had rain, rain, and a bit more rain, it´s raining right now actually, not your stereotypical 4th of July but Elder Dias and I are acclimatizing to this new aquatic environment, though we are unsure how long it shall last. 

This week we´ve been working with members, that´s been the game plan this week and we´ve achieved the fruit of our labors.

We had a lesson with our investigator Yoana, and Hermano Abad accompanied us. Thing were going okay, Hermano Abad started talking.... and talking. He gave a discourse on the seed of faith and why it´s super important, not super pertinent to the message of the restoration but his heart was in the right place. This week were going to work on communicating beforehand what to share. My health has been restored thanks to Elder Dias´s filling dietary plan of rice, rice, rice. He really likes rice.

This week has been a bit long but we are aiming higher this week.

Sorry this one is short!

Love, Elder Call

Week 20- Semana una en La Victoria

Querido Familia,

La Victoria es el Campo de Santo Domingo. Scenery here consists of Trees, arboles (trees) and more trees, and the occasional hindquarters of a cow. It's beautiful. Many cows here, I have thought often of my mother and her love of this animal. Elder Dias is great. He is Brazilian but studied in Venezuela for 14 years so speaks Spanish fluently, everyone thinks he´s Dominican. Then there´s Elder Call whose still on the greeny side and is still white! We arrived in Victoria Tuesday morning and that afternoon we went to an area about twenty minutes outside Victoria called La sin Estrellas. Our area is very big...big. 

I had a great first lesson with a family that lives there, Familia Pena. The daughter is menos activo (less active) but the parents are receptive to the message. Hermano Pena offered us coffee upon sitting down and we politely declined. We taught the Restoration and Hermano Pena seemed really interested, we committed him to reading the Book of Mormon and his wife told us he´s been reading!

The picture is of our Baptism this week. The investigator is named Ruth, a new convert Deibi baptized her, it was awesome. He missed a word the first time, but he nailed it the second. Elder Dias sang a child´s prayer in Portuguese, English, and Espanol, it was good.

Love you al!

 Elder Call

Week 19 Adios Boca Chica

Dearest Familia,

So this weekend was transfers and I am leaving Boca Chica! Elder Carias and I thought we'd be together for a little bit longer, but apparently the Lord has different plans! My new area is La Victoria and my new Companion is Elder Dias! He's Brazilian. I leave tomorrow morning! La Victoria was Elder Carias's last area were he served for four transfers so he's filled me in on the area. They've got bikes!

Anyways, Agh! I'm gonna miss Boca Chica and the people here, but the investigators are in good hands and yah!

This week was good. 

This first picture is our district and the second is for you mom

 For this transfer we got Zone shirts, Misioneros Caribe (it was supposed to be Del Caribe but it's still cool). Also this week Elder Carias and I were a little under the weather. We spend some time on the Porceline throne, a lot of time, :(  but were doing a lot better.

Sorry this one is short

Love, Elder Call

Week 18

Querido Familia,

This is the final week of my second transfer here in Boca Chica and wow has it flown by. Elder Carias and I will probably stay here a little longer because we're basically white washing our area, We split Boca Chica with Elder Frogely and Elder Calle, taking Andres. But who knows, We shall see this weekend. 

This week we had a really good lesson with one of our new investigators, his name is Jochi and he is awesome. We started teaching him about two weeks ago and he is very receptive to the gospel. He is fulfilling his compromisos and has a sincere desire. This week we taught him Lesson 2 the Plan of Salvation, he asked us what he has to do to be saved, and we told him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, how through the Gospel we can receive Eternal life. He attended church this past Sunday with his ¨wife¨ and has a baptismal date for later this month.

We did a little bit of walking this week under the Sun. This week I've had two or three people hand me napkins because I was perspiring and Elder Carias has been informing me that I have a pila de sudor. (A ton of sweat) Its good incentive to get into peoples houses, and to ask for water. 

Elder Carias is awesome, this week I learned he likes Halo, the videogame. Videogames aren´t something I´m really acquainted with, but he´s been more than happy to fill me in on all that I've missed the past 19 years of my existence, 

During companionship study Elder Carias and I have been doing practices. This is not something I enjoy but I know it's good. We practiced being one of our investigators and ask questions that they would ask, it's not easy but something Elder Carias taught me this week is that there is always an aspect of truth in what they say, listen for that truth and bear testimony of it. Elder Carias is awesome, he is my favorite Guatemalan! 

Love,

Elder Call

Week 17

So here is  our brief message from Querido (beloved) Elder Ford...... 

We wrote back and forth in Spanish,.... his Spanish is already better than MINE....

I asked him how he was doing, how the Spanish is coming, how was his new Companion, Elder Carias, and if he has been sick..... (Mother's questions!)

     Elder Call:

Bueno, entonces el espanol es bien. Es a veces dificil para Elder Carias y yo, El habla algo muy muy rapido y yo tengo que pedirle a hablar un ching mas lento, pero el es muy bien y tiene paciencia. Yo necesito dar mas tiempo a mi estudiar del idioma, este es un meta yo tengo por la semana. Yo he tenido un ching de enfermedad este dos dias pasado pero no muy mal.  El area es bueno madre, mucho mucho caminando pero estamos encontrando muchas personas! 

Como Esta Hermana Call?!

XXXXOOOO

Translation: I am good, the Spanish is good.  At times, it is difficult for Elder Carias and I, he speaks soooo fast and I have to ask him to speak a little slower, but he is good and has patience. I need to spend more time studying the language, this is my goal this week. Y have been a little sick the past two days, but nothing very bad. The area is good, Mom, lots of walking, but we are finding many people.  How is Sister Call (Priscilla)?

I asked him a few more questions...told him a couple of things....

     Then Elder Call said:


 Madre, Yo te Quiero, yo no tengo mas tiempo hoy! Lo siento, Yo voy a escribir mas en la proxima, con la foto, lo siento!!!

Yo te Quiero!

XXXXOOOO

P.S. Decirle a Talitha ella es loco asombroso!

Translation: Mom, I love you, I don't have any more time today! I'm sorry.  I am going to write more next week with a photo, I'm sorry!

I love you

P.S. Tell Talitha she is an amazing crazy.  (I had previouslly told him that Talitha had won, with her Debate partner, the district Middle School Debate Tournament.)

That's All Folks......

Week 16 Saludos y Buenas

Dear Family,

This week Elder Carias and I did a lot of Contacting. Our investigators were pretty scanty so we hit the muddy roads, got lost once...or twice, but we´ve seen the fruits of our labors. This week we taught the Talavera family, they're the second family we are now teaching. They are really open to us and the wife Carmen is super animated about the gospel. She had a dream in which she was told the evangelists are her church...So were gonna work on that! Elder Carias and I are doing good, I´m coming to appreciate his wit and appreciate his great testimony and example. Sorry this one is so short again!

Love, Elder Call

P.S. We have our new chapel, pictures shall follow!

Week 15- A rather warm week in the DR

Dear Family,

This week has been hot! No one quite knows why seeing as its spring, but I've been told it's like this most of the time! Boo ya! This week we divided our area, Boca Chica, in twain. Elder Frogely and Elder Valle got one side of the highway, Elder Carias and I have the other. This week Elder Carias and I have been working on getting organized and finding new investigators! Neither of us really know the area so it makes each day interesting! We're working on getting priesthood to accompany us and teach us the area, apparently there's a couple hundred menos activos in our area, we just have to find em!

Muy muy Chevere, (chevere means cool), experience this week. So we went looking for a reference on Wednesday, her name is Carmen de Jesus and we were told she was really, really ready for the gospel, So off we went to find her! We kinda had an address, so we left around 4 and picked up Hermano Yayo along the way. We kinda got lost two or three times but at last we found her house at the end of this street called Agua Alamo! The afternoon was a bit crazy but it was worth it to finally find her. We sat down with her for just a few short minutes and listening to her I could see that she had a hunger for the gospel. It was a testimony to me that the Lord is preparing people to receive the gospel here in mision este!

Elder Carias is awesome. He is a convert of about five years and he has a powerful testimony. He is very humble and understands the importance of listening and is teaching me a ton. (Ford told me that he and his sister are the only members in his family and that he is from Guatemala.)  He´s kinda a goof ball, still don't understand his jokes, but he teaches the gospel with boldness and is an awesome example. The language is progressing too, I still ask him to repeat himself once or twice, but he is very patient with me and is always ready to laugh.

I love you all, have a great week. Adios!

Love Elder Call

P.S. Sorry no pictures today, I might have forgot my camera