A crazy week of cambios

Hello everyone in the US, Chile, and possibly elsewhere!

I hope everyone had a good week! This was a crazy week for us here in Punata with a finish that NOBODY was expecting.

So, this week was Punata's anniversary, which means that the entire town was a huge freakin' party. So, that made the work here really hard this week. We really had to take advantage of the work we could do on Tuesday and Wednesday, because we did a little work on Thursday, and Friday we had to stay in the house because of all of the drinking and drunks around the city. Also, sadly, we weren't able to get any baptisms this week like we had wanted to. We really wanted to baptize Mario this past weekend, but we went to try to find him all week, and we literally could not find him once. Ok, so on Saturday we were determined to go find him, so we went as early as we could and just about one block away from his house we see him riding his bike away, so we tried to shout and whatnot, but we never got his attention. Sooooo, we went back in the afternoon, and his workshop was open, and his son answered and said he wasn't home. Then later we were tracting a little ways off and his son passes on a bike and says that his dad's at home. And this was about the time that he shuts his shop, so my companion and I practically ran to go see him, but again as we got there, just one block away, his shop door shut, so we lost the opportunity to talk for the entire week.

We were able to helpone of the companionships in our ward to have a baptism. It's been MONTHS since they've had baptisms, so they were really excited for the baptism. And it turned out to be one of the most spiritual experiences that I've had in my mission. This baptism was really cool because the girl who got baptized was truly converted so the entire thing was an awesome spiritual experience.

So, we got out changes, and I am out of Punata. But things were wacky this time because they are merging my area with the area of the other elders here in Punata because there isn't enough missionaries in the mission right now to fill the space. And Elder Blackwelder(who's the only one staying from our house) is training in now the largest area in the mission. It was really unexpected that that would have happened. My "kid" is going to work in the mission offices as one of the secretaries, which is really cool. I am headed to Sucre to be a District Leader over eight missionaries, so I'm freaking out about the responsablility, but I think I'll do well, cuz that's where the Lord needs me right now.

Dad- Wow, I want a po-boy....sooooo jealous. Have a great week!

Mom- That's cool that you saw an eclipse! And no, I did not gain a million pounds. Just two. Hahaha, have a great week!

Aly- You read that Bible! I tried once here, but I failed. Also, have a great week at work. Just listen to my music, and it'll just fly by!

Emi- Glad your school did well in track! And I know you'll do well on all of your  tests. Don't you worry! ;)

Next week I'll be writing from Sucre! Until next time!

-- 
AEA


Elder Craig

Well, this is the week of transfers again!

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had a good week this past week! To be honest, this week wasn't good for me here. So, this will be a different letter this week, because the work was practically zero this week.

But, first, to clear something up, the baptisms that happened this week were not ours, they were from the other companionship, but I still did all I could to help out. I was asked to play a guitar piece, which I did( Reference the 1st pic). And on top of that, the President and his wife showed up for the service as well, unannounced, as they usually do. And, the baptism went really well for them. But, the sad part was that yesterday only one of the two baptisms showed up to be confirmed. So, the other missionaries are worried, because if he doesn't go this upcoming Sunday, they will have to repeat the baptism.

I really learned some interesting things this week. I really learned how I don't want to finish the mission. It's awful to have a companion who doesn't want to work at all for the companion who wants to work, because nothing gets done whatsoever, and I do not want to do that for my last companion(in 8 months). Also, I've learned lots and lots of patience, because it's requiered a lot of patience for me this week dealing with my very trunky (homesick) companion, and all of his missionary buddies who've all magically popped in to see their good ol' pal off. And lastly I know now what I need to do to get success here....and that's for me to know, and you all back home to see the results. ;)

Well, transfers are here and I have my results........it's a boy!!! I am one of 25 missionaries that are going to train brand spankin' new missionaries, fresh out of the MTC. I don't know who my "child" is yet, I get to find out on Wednesday. But the exciting thing for me is I finally get to help out more in the mission, something that I've been waiting very patiently to do for a looong time.

I'm sorry that this letter is so short this week. I promise that next week will be full of more of my explosive, exciting adventures here in Bolivia!

Also, the second pic is why Bolivian traffic is so horrible(the street light is showing red and green at the same time, if you can't see it)

Dad- Hey, I know Alaska isn't great, but I think it's the start of an uphill turn for you! And I'm super sorry that the season is coming to an end so soon...but just think, next season, I'll be home to rock it with you! And plus, Hawai'i is an awesome way to finish any season!

Mom-Glad your king cake turned out so well, sounds like it was delicious! My companion did leave today, so I'm technically alone, but I'm with the other two in the house until Wednesday. Yoga sounds nice (Yes readers, I like yoga.), so it'll be fun for you. And with the ID, if you go in consistantly, it takes 3 months to get it, but because of my work, it's taken 1 year and 4 months to get it.

Aly- Yes, 2 Nephi 9 is a great chapter, I just read it the other day. Orientation will be fine, no matter what happens, I promise! And with voice lessons, well, I guess I'll have to write a song so we can sing a duet when I get home. ;)

Emi-It's about time you've written! ;) And yay for track, I guess. And yes, your birthday will be celebrated by me here, with lots of green! :)

Have a good one y'all!

-- 
AEA

Elder Craig

Crazzzzy week + transfers= a baptism!

Hey everyone! I hope all had a great week! This week was absolutely long exhausting, but awesomely rewarding. So much happened this week, including my Mission President´s farewell, a surprise migration visit, and another baptism!


So, first thing. So, we had our farewell for our President this past Thursday. It was super cool, because all of the missionaries in Cochabamba(city, not the mission) got together in one of the stake centers in town and we got to take pictures with them, and hear them talk one last time.  I got the chance to be in a choir (along with my companion Elder Hull, Elder North, Elder Claybaugh, Elder Diaz, and Elder Antionetti) and sing Para Siempre Dios este con Vos(God be with you til we meet again) for the President and Hermana. They then talked to us and shared very cool experiences that they´ve had while being here. But, the only thing was, it lasted until 5pm, and we got there at 10am. That means that we lost the day for working, but Elder Hull and I were really freaked out because we had a baptismal interview that evening(and possibly three more), so we had to run to make sure they were ready. First we went to the potential interviews, the Familia Arteaga, and we quickly found out that they aren´t quite ready to be baptized. The wife expressed that she was afraid of baptism, because she was afraid her husband wouldn´t change. Apparently the father of the family has had the bad habit of drinking and running around with women for years, and the wife has been super super patient and forgiving with him, but he hasn´t changed. So, after hearing about this for 40 minutes, Elder Hull and I were able to talk to them and give them the advice that we felt. I felt prompted to give them both homework from the Book of Mormon. To the wife I gave Alma 38, and to the husband Alma 39-42. Both of the scriptures are the prophet Alma the Younger talking to his sons, giving them advice. I really felt that the Spirit really prompted me to give that to them to help them. Because of this problem, Elder Hull and I delayed their baptism until the 9th of July to give them(and us) time to sort things out and to regain their testimonies. Friday was crazy because we had to go do migrations and they ended up misspelling my name(Graig) on the paper, so they corrected it, and added "John" at the beginning of my name, so we had to go get all of that done again. That lasted forever. Then that night we had our last "Noche Misional" in the capilla, and we watched the movie "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration". When we started we had 12 people watching, but by the end we had over 40 people show up, including the Familia Arteaga. That is a super powerful movie, and one of my favorites, and I highly recommend it if you haven´t seen it.

Ok, so now about the baptism. We baptized Marco Pancorbo. He is a super cool guy who has talked to apparently 8 pairs of missionaries before us. His wife is an active member, and she´s been praying and praying about this for years.....and we did it! He was so happy to finally be baptized, and the coolest part was when he got out of the water, he was smiling! That´s saying a lot because he doesn´t show almost any emotion, so it was cool. Also, to make things better it was his birthday! It was such a spiritual day, and I´m glad to have had the honor of baptizing him.

Dad- Happy Belated Father´s Day! Hope you had an amazing day!

Mom- Glad things are going well in the office, and good luck on the interviews! ¡Suerte!
Aly- Glad you´re staying busy and well. Good luck on the job hunt today and tomorrow. I´ll keep my fingers crossed and pray!

Emi- Hope your summer´s good!. Work lots!

And by the way, my transfer is to Tarija! I´m leaving Cochabamba. My new area is 4 de Julio, so I´m gonna be writing from there next week!

I hope everyone has an amazing week!

-- 
AEA


Elder Craig