April 26, 2010
A lot has happened this week. It’s been a really tiring and hard week, but also a good week. My companion is really depressed right now because he is having problems with his eyes. He was in Puntarenas in Barranca before coming here and the sun burned his retina. He now has parts across his eyes where he can't see clearly anymore. It’s like looking through drops of water on a window all the time. It’s been really hard for him and it’s been driving him crazy because he hasn't ever had any eye problems in his life, and one day he just woke up with this. It has really made it hard for him to concentrate on the work and he feels that no one understands him and that his family and others take the problem lightly. The worst part is that the doctors he has seen say that there is no cure. We are going to send the doctor reports to the states to see if anyone there knows of a cure. Please pray for him.
On Tuesday / Wednesday Elder Mitton came over for divisions and my comp went to Los Yoses with Elder Valerio. It was fun and we had some great lessons. We taught Javier and Vivianna, Ariel, Silvio and Carolina, and Familia Vega. Then we went to the mejenga and played in our church clothes for about 15 minutes. Then we went with the Hna's Bingham and Almengor to give one of their investigators a blessing.
This week we did service three mornings in a row. On Wednesday we moved dirt for Domasa (Sister's investigator). On Thursday we made cement and poured the foundations of a wall at the MA's, Fam Vega (Jose Luis, Byron, Paola, etc.). On Friday, we moved more dirt, this time up the stairs and to the back of Familia Fonseca's (cocinera / lavadera) house.
On Friday, the Hna's had a baptism. Her name is Fanny. Earlier in the week Javier and Vivianna, and Ariel told us they wanted to go. Since we were already in San Vicente we passed by Javier and Vivianna 3 hours before the baptism to remind them we were going to pick them up. When we got there they said they wouldn't be able to go because they didn't have money for the bus, and because Javier had to help his brother move a big dresser/cabinet thing from his house to his brother’s house. We insisted that we would pay for the bus passes, and we would help them move it. They seemed hesitant but we insisted and told them, "ok. Let’s go. Where is the dresser?” In my head I was thinking, "how are we going to do this", because Javier and Vivianna live high up the "Stairs of Doom" (some steep stone stairs) and we would have to carry the heavy dresser/cabinet thing down those stairs, up a steep cuesta (hill), down a hill, and then down the "Cuesta de la Muerte" to his brothers house. Luckily Javier, his brother Oscar, my comp, and I were able to carry it down the many stairs without falling to our deaths, and then carry it the rest of the way on the dolly, without letting it roll down the hills without us. And the best part is they came to the baptism with us.
Fanny's baptism was awesome. It was great for Javier and Vivianna to see and the members really made them feel welcome as well. Afterwards Javier thanked me for insisting and helping them come.
We climbed up to San Vicente again every day this week. On Saturday we woke up early and went to San Vicente to take Hna Dunia's daughter Renata on the bus to the church so she could go to a Multi-Stake youth activity in La Paz. We taught a guy named Luis English at the church as well. Gabriel Cervantes came over for divisions, but he had tried to cut his hair by himself right before coming over and he had left a hole in his hair, a spot where it was shorter than the rest. My comp decided he was going to try to fix it and he ended up making it worse. So divisions ended early and Gabriel went off to the barber to see if they could fix it, but I doubt it.
I had to give another talk at church yesterday. Every fourth Sunday of the month the Sacrament meeting talks are dedicated to the Obra Misional, so we give talks. My last talk was about all the blessings the gospel brings, and how and what we can share with people about the gospel. Yesterday my talk was about four points we have to do, to be prepared to share the gospel, and find the opportunities to do it. I talked about how sharing the gospel is not just a suggestion, it’s a commandment so we have to 1) Make sure we each have a Testimony (if you don't have one, get one. If you do, make it stronger) 2) Be Different (be examples and live the gospel) 3) Open Our Mouths (get to know our neighbors and invite friends to church activities) 4) Be Alert and Listen to the Spirit (recognize opportunities to share and let the spirit guide). Hermana Bingham also gave a talk before mine. We were going to sing but there wasn't much time because Fanny was confirmed, etc...
Ariel came to church again yesterday. So did our investigator Carolina and one of her friends. Ariel is really progressing and the other day he said he was thinking about baptism and actually was talking about how he hopes his family and friends can be baptized as well. It’s really awesome how he has progressed. Before he didn't even really know much about who god is or what his purpose is and know he is praying all the time and thinking about baptism.
I was attacked by three big dogs yesterday. We were taking a shortcut through a cafetal to get from El Monte to Calle Mesen like we always do, but evidently there are some vicious dogs guarding the way now. There are no signs or anything saying we can't walk through, and it’s a path I’ve seen many people use, but maybe they don't want anyone walking through anymore. Anyway, after walking through the cafetal, on the other side was a dog that was tied up but wanted to eat us. When it saw us it howled and two other dogs, that weren't tied up, came running over. The two untied dogs just got close to us and barked and growled, but I could tell they weren't going to bite so I kept walking ahead calmly. They followed me as I tried to walk around the tied up dog. Since I had the two dogs on my right side and the other dog on my left and since the rope the dog was tied up with was longer then I thought. The one dog managed to reach me and jump on me. I just kinda pushed it down but then it tried to bite my leg. Luckily it only got a hold of my pants, and I was able to get loose and keep walking. The other dogs kept chasing me, but they didn't bite me. Since all three dogs were attacking me, my comp was able to make it safely to the other side as well. By the way the owner basically saw the whole thing, and all she did was calmly say, "Bruno", basically after it was all over. So anyway, now I have a hole in my pants, but I can fix it. The biggest problem is that now we'll have to go all the way around, to travel between Calle Mesen and El Monte, unless we want to try to get around those dogs again. I think we might have to try it one of these days to save time.
Jose Luis Jr. and Jazeline had their baby on Friday night and yesterday they went home from the hospital, and the Vega family was really excited to see the new member of the family.
I'll tell you next week about Mother's day phone call!
A lot has happened this week. It’s been a really tiring and hard week, but also a good week. My companion is really depressed right now because he is having problems with his eyes. He was in Puntarenas in Barranca before coming here and the sun burned his retina. He now has parts across his eyes where he can't see clearly anymore. It’s like looking through drops of water on a window all the time. It’s been really hard for him and it’s been driving him crazy because he hasn't ever had any eye problems in his life, and one day he just woke up with this. It has really made it hard for him to concentrate on the work and he feels that no one understands him and that his family and others take the problem lightly. The worst part is that the doctors he has seen say that there is no cure. We are going to send the doctor reports to the states to see if anyone there knows of a cure. Please pray for him.
On Tuesday / Wednesday Elder Mitton came over for divisions and my comp went to Los Yoses with Elder Valerio. It was fun and we had some great lessons. We taught Javier and Vivianna, Ariel, Silvio and Carolina, and Familia Vega. Then we went to the mejenga and played in our church clothes for about 15 minutes. Then we went with the Hna's Bingham and Almengor to give one of their investigators a blessing.
This week we did service three mornings in a row. On Wednesday we moved dirt for Domasa (Sister's investigator). On Thursday we made cement and poured the foundations of a wall at the MA's, Fam Vega (Jose Luis, Byron, Paola, etc.). On Friday, we moved more dirt, this time up the stairs and to the back of Familia Fonseca's (cocinera / lavadera) house.
On Friday, the Hna's had a baptism. Her name is Fanny. Earlier in the week Javier and Vivianna, and Ariel told us they wanted to go. Since we were already in San Vicente we passed by Javier and Vivianna 3 hours before the baptism to remind them we were going to pick them up. When we got there they said they wouldn't be able to go because they didn't have money for the bus, and because Javier had to help his brother move a big dresser/cabinet thing from his house to his brother’s house. We insisted that we would pay for the bus passes, and we would help them move it. They seemed hesitant but we insisted and told them, "ok. Let’s go. Where is the dresser?” In my head I was thinking, "how are we going to do this", because Javier and Vivianna live high up the "Stairs of Doom" (some steep stone stairs) and we would have to carry the heavy dresser/cabinet thing down those stairs, up a steep cuesta (hill), down a hill, and then down the "Cuesta de la Muerte" to his brothers house. Luckily Javier, his brother Oscar, my comp, and I were able to carry it down the many stairs without falling to our deaths, and then carry it the rest of the way on the dolly, without letting it roll down the hills without us. And the best part is they came to the baptism with us.
Fanny's baptism was awesome. It was great for Javier and Vivianna to see and the members really made them feel welcome as well. Afterwards Javier thanked me for insisting and helping them come.
We climbed up to San Vicente again every day this week. On Saturday we woke up early and went to San Vicente to take Hna Dunia's daughter Renata on the bus to the church so she could go to a Multi-Stake youth activity in La Paz. We taught a guy named Luis English at the church as well. Gabriel Cervantes came over for divisions, but he had tried to cut his hair by himself right before coming over and he had left a hole in his hair, a spot where it was shorter than the rest. My comp decided he was going to try to fix it and he ended up making it worse. So divisions ended early and Gabriel went off to the barber to see if they could fix it, but I doubt it.
I had to give another talk at church yesterday. Every fourth Sunday of the month the Sacrament meeting talks are dedicated to the Obra Misional, so we give talks. My last talk was about all the blessings the gospel brings, and how and what we can share with people about the gospel. Yesterday my talk was about four points we have to do, to be prepared to share the gospel, and find the opportunities to do it. I talked about how sharing the gospel is not just a suggestion, it’s a commandment so we have to 1) Make sure we each have a Testimony (if you don't have one, get one. If you do, make it stronger) 2) Be Different (be examples and live the gospel) 3) Open Our Mouths (get to know our neighbors and invite friends to church activities) 4) Be Alert and Listen to the Spirit (recognize opportunities to share and let the spirit guide). Hermana Bingham also gave a talk before mine. We were going to sing but there wasn't much time because Fanny was confirmed, etc...
Ariel came to church again yesterday. So did our investigator Carolina and one of her friends. Ariel is really progressing and the other day he said he was thinking about baptism and actually was talking about how he hopes his family and friends can be baptized as well. It’s really awesome how he has progressed. Before he didn't even really know much about who god is or what his purpose is and know he is praying all the time and thinking about baptism.
I was attacked by three big dogs yesterday. We were taking a shortcut through a cafetal to get from El Monte to Calle Mesen like we always do, but evidently there are some vicious dogs guarding the way now. There are no signs or anything saying we can't walk through, and it’s a path I’ve seen many people use, but maybe they don't want anyone walking through anymore. Anyway, after walking through the cafetal, on the other side was a dog that was tied up but wanted to eat us. When it saw us it howled and two other dogs, that weren't tied up, came running over. The two untied dogs just got close to us and barked and growled, but I could tell they weren't going to bite so I kept walking ahead calmly. They followed me as I tried to walk around the tied up dog. Since I had the two dogs on my right side and the other dog on my left and since the rope the dog was tied up with was longer then I thought. The one dog managed to reach me and jump on me. I just kinda pushed it down but then it tried to bite my leg. Luckily it only got a hold of my pants, and I was able to get loose and keep walking. The other dogs kept chasing me, but they didn't bite me. Since all three dogs were attacking me, my comp was able to make it safely to the other side as well. By the way the owner basically saw the whole thing, and all she did was calmly say, "Bruno", basically after it was all over. So anyway, now I have a hole in my pants, but I can fix it. The biggest problem is that now we'll have to go all the way around, to travel between Calle Mesen and El Monte, unless we want to try to get around those dogs again. I think we might have to try it one of these days to save time.
Jose Luis Jr. and Jazeline had their baby on Friday night and yesterday they went home from the hospital, and the Vega family was really excited to see the new member of the family.
I'll tell you next week about Mother's day phone call!
