Week 62- Saludos

Elder Cruz, a previous companion,
sent these to us.

Alright folks, week 62,

Elder Eleuterio and I had a good week this week, it was solid.

This week Elder Eleuterio and I found a new area, it's called Cohobal, it's a bit far out there, but it's basically untouched and we are hoping to find much fruit.

We found a Haitian family and had a really great lesson with them. The Dad and Daughter speak great Spanish. We talked a lot about the family, and it's importance in God's plan for us. It was great, they live pretty far out, but we could find a way to get them to church.

The district is doing great, we've got some great missionaries. My district is all sisters, which is great. Sister Howard, Sister Malovich, Sister Pereira and Sister Pelico. I don't know if it was an Apostle, but some wise man once said that one sister is worth three Elders. That may not apply in most cases but does in this one. 

I've continued my study of the Book ofMormonn. I've finished Alma and am working on Helaman. I've made the goal to read the whole Book of Mormon in Spanish. It's going great. 

I'm sorry this one is super short, we got to get going.

Have a great week you guys.

Love,

Elder Call

I was able to email back and forth with him a bit, here's our conversation

I'm doing alright, this week's been ok. Elder Eleuterio and I have started running which is good, it helps me be more awake in the mornings. He might try teaching me a little bit of futbol, but we shall see. I've also been trying to only read and write in Spanish, which has helped me to improve a lot. I made a goal to only speak Spanish for a month.....I haven't kept it super well but I'm definitely speaking a lot more Spanish.

Is it difficult to teach in your area with your leadership responsibilities? How are the missionaries? Are you having headaches? How is the comp? We love you so.

My district is fantastic, I have these two sister missionaries, Hermana Howard and Hermana Malovich. They are on fire. They are both working super hard and have a great positive energy. We've also got Hermana Pereira and Hermana Pelico in Bayaguana. They are doing ok, Hermana Pereira is going home pretty soon but is still trying to work hard, they don't have too many people they're teaching, so tomorrow we are going to do a cosecha, a harvest. It's where all the zone goes to one area and goes contacting hardcore. Hopefully, we shall quickly expand their pool of investigators tomorrow.

My comp is great. He's pretty sassy with me but I know how to handle that. He's got a super big heart, Elder Eleuterio is a convert of a little over two years, and he has a powerful testimony of his conversion.

We're doing good, we do need to work on time management because it flies by really quick. Our area is really, really big and we it up a lot of time in traveling. we found a new area outside of Sabana Grande, it's called Cohobal, it's like 40 minutes walking. We've found a couple of people but we shall see, it's pretty far. But apparently we're going to get bikes pretty soon so that will help a lot.

XXXOOO

Week 61- Saludos Familia

Hi Family,

To start, Saturday we received transfers. Elder Eleuterio and I are staying together here, and I´m happy, he thought he was going, but I felt we might be together a little bit longer. Elder De la Rosa, who was also working here in Sabana Grande, is finishing his mission, so is Hermana Pancake who was in my District, they both did a great job keeping strong until the end.  I´ll miss them both, it was a privilege to serve with them this transfer.

This week is called the semana Santa, Holy week. I believe this is a practice among the Catholic church and is still practiced very strongly here. The last Semana Santa I was in the MTC so I didn´t experience too much. I´ve heard it gets a little crazy sometimes but we´ll be careful.

I´ve been reading in the Book of Mormon this week in Alma, about Captain Moroni and the wars. I found it interesting that both sides used stratagem and sometimes trickery and the Lamanites always outnumbered the Nephites. But the majority of the time the Nephites came out victorious. Sides had intelligent leaders, Amalickiah was brilliant and through intrigue became King of the Lamanites, Moroni prepared and fortified his cities to compensate for the lack of strength. The difference between the two sides, and the two men, really is just one, Their purpose. Amalickiah and the Lamanites fought for power and earthly conquest. Captain Moroni and his Pueblo fought in defense of their families, their Country, and their God. There is one battle, in which the Lamanites were fighting ferociously and many of the Nephites were being slain and they were afraid, but Moroni began to remind them of their purpose, to defend their families and their faith. After Moroni had spoken, there is a verse that says "they began to stand with power¨, and in the end, they won. In the end, the Lamanites had the greater numbers and perhaps greater physical strength, but the men of Moroni had something much greater, that is the desire to fight to defend their loved ones and their God.

I am very grateful for the Book of Mormon, I know it is the word of God. I know that we have the greatest purpose in this life, I am thankful for the inspired scriptures and a prophet who helps us remember the importance of studying and learning from the Book of Mormon. I am grateful to be here doing the work of my Father in Heaven, helping others to receive all that our Heavenly Father has in store for them.

I love you all, hope you have a great week and enjoy easter. I hope your all reading the Book of Mormon, if you're not, start reading, and I invite you to share it with others.

Pasen buenas a todos,

Love,

Elder Call

The picture is our Zone.

Week 60- Conference is Awesome

My dearest Family,

I trust you all had a wonderful General Conference Weekend. We swiped a projector from a school here in Sabana Grande and were able to watch all the sessions in the Chapel. It was great, I felt a little bit at home listening to all the great messages and scribbling notes. Conference has always been a special time; I´ve always enjoyed spending time with the family and listening to the inspired messages. I am very grateful for president Monson, his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve. Each man is different with a different history and personality, but each one is a servant of the Lord. I appreciated the talks given by President Monson, Charity, and the importance of the Book of Mormon. Short, simple, and powerful. I appreciated what was said in a different talk, that through small and simple means the Lord brings about grand changes. I appreciated the talk given by Elder L. Whitney Clayton, he talked about the importance of doing the simple things, he gave the example of Naaman the Syrian who went to the prophet to be healed of his leprosy, and was told to bathe seven times in the river Jordan. The solution was so simple, his pride was stung a bit, but nevertheless, through this simple action of obedience, he was healed. I´ve thought a lot about this principle, and how it applies to me and the mission. Sometimes we may think that certain rules aren´t that important or that some seemingly small aspect of our life isn´t that essential. I believe when we think this way we are very much in error. When we do the small things, like Elder Clayton explained, we are strengthened spiritually.

I hope you all were able to enjoy conference. This weekend helped me to realize how blessed we are to have living prophets and Apostles to lead and guide us. We truly are greatly blessed to have these men who are called of God.

Love,

Elder Call