My week in a trio!

Well, hello everyone!

This week was a pretty good week for me here. I hope for all of you back home it was a great week!

Ok, so the first cool thing that happened this week was we took one of our investigators, José, to the temple here in Cochabamba. When we got there we took him for a short tour of the temple grounds, and explained why we have temples, and about some of the work that we do inside. We then got permission to take him as far as the waiting room. We just let him sit there for a while and just feel the Spirit in there. My companion went to the restroom, and I took the oportunity to ask José how he felt inside the temple. He responded " I don't really know how to describe how I feel, but I really like it." I then went on to explain to him that that was the Spirit, and how the Spirit of the Lord resides in the temple, and how it testifies how things are true. Then the three of us left and we went into the temple hotel and got a chance to teach José the Plan of Salvation, and incorporated the temple into it. It was a really spiritual experience, and I hope that José really starts to progress now

Ok, the next cool thing happened on Saturday. We had a ward activity where we were headed about an hour and a half south of Punata(which is already forty minutes south of Cochabamaba) to a town called Jantunpama, or in Spanish, Pampa Grande to have a ward barbeque. And, man, the drive out there was AWESOME; I have not seen such gorgeous countryside here in Bolivia. Everything was green, rolling hills, and just beautiful. Well, about 20 kilometers from the village, the truck we were traveling in got stuck in mud. Like really stuck. It took us two hours to get it out of the mud. When we got done, I was up to my knees in mud, my companion had fallen into the mud, and we were all tired. So, we turned around and traveled a half an hour to a gorgeous waterfall that I didn't even know exisited. There we ate, hiked up a stream to get to the waterfall, got eaten alive by bugs, and got sunburned. But, it was an amazing day. I  hope that I get another chance to head back there again before I go.

Now to explain the title of this email. This week I was in a trio with my companion and an argentine named Elder Nieve. E' Nieve is my district leader and roommate here in Punata. Well, he had a companion until that companion got into a fight with our dinner pensionista( a hermana who cooks us dinner every day.), and she called the bishop, who called the mission president with several complaints, who moved this said companion out of the area a week early. So, we did everything as a trio this week.

Dad- congrats on the snow! i told you that the snow dance would work! And, yes, life is funny, so we just need to laugh it off and continue! I hope you have a great week!

Mom- Sounds like craziness back home....And we're studying the Book of Mormon too here in Punata this year( I think its a global thing. ;) ) Plus, I read that everyday, so we doing pretty well :P Luv ya!

Aly- Well, a book could be good, but your first two ideas sound like oatmeal articles to me(jk, love ya!), but the health and fitness one could be good. But as for more ideas, can´t help you there. But hey, enjoy your day off and have an amazing week!

Emi- You probably haven't seen your grades, because they're too awesome to post! Oh, and prom's overrated, so don't worry too much.....just kidding, you'll probably be asked, just be patient!

Hope you all have a great week!

-- 

AEA

Elder Craig

I Shook the Hand of an Apostle!

Hello my dearly beloved family and friends!

I hope everyone had a fan-diddily-tastic week! This week was one of the best of my mission. 

So, this week started off pretty good. That hermana that I told you all about last week, well we were passing her house to go knock doors and she came out and asked us to come in and talk. So we went in, and she apologized to us for how she had been acting and asked for our forgiveness for how she had been acting. I thought that was pretty cool of her, she seems to really be repenting of starting to inactivate in the church. What I really want now is for her to get a calling in the church to really help her and keep her active.

So, the best part of the week started when on Tuesday night we found out that we, as a zone, were being flown out to Cochabamba to hear Elder Neal L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speak! And, man, what a weekend that was! They flew us out on Friday, and we were there until last night, so we spent the weekend in Cochabamba! One of the cooler parts was seeing the ENTIRE mission together. I was able to take a pic with my padre and my abuelo(my trainer and his trainer), whick was really cool. Then we were able to hear him speak, plus ask him questions for about whatever we wanted. The first Elder to ask a question went straight for the big guns and asked him if he's seen Christ. Well, needless to say, Elder Anderson didn't say yes or no. Just said that the testimony of an Apostle is enough, and he testified that He lives! I think the answer is pretty clear there. But the best part for me was when he was explaining on how we can keep the Spirit as strong as it is now after the mission. He said that in the mission that we are preparing to recieve a greater blessing afterwards, and if we aren't faithful during and after the mission, that we won't receive those blessings. Pretty deep stuff. He said a bunch of other awesome things, and finished the meeting reading MY mission scripture( Moroni 10:31-34), so I was pretty much sobbing at the end, I was feeling the Spirit so strong. The only disappointing thing is is that we weren't allowed to take pícs with him, but I still took one of him as evidence that I was there :). 

Well, that was my amazing week- I hope everyone has an amazing one!

Dad- Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. have an amazing week!

mom- Sounds like things are going great! You'll have to wait for next week for the pics of everything.

Aly-Wow, NY sounds amazing. Maybe we can go and rock it there someday together. ;)

Emi- Well, I only send as much as happens, and every week'll be different. Glad you had fun with Jana. I met Aubrey with Cherene once, she's her best friend.

Scriptures of the week:
2 Nephi 2:8
2 Nephi 31:20

Luv ya all!
-- 
AEA

Elder Craig

Finally .. a baptism! (6-13-11)

Why hello dearest family and friends!

I hope everyone had a great week! This week for me was awesome, as
usual! The best part was the baptism!

Ok, so first thing was earlier this week we went to go visit one of
our best investigators who is going to be baptized this weekend, and
we didn´t find him there. We talked to his wife, and he was involved
in an accident of sorts. He is a truffi dirver(truffis are the public
transportation here.), and he was stopped at one of his routine stops
which is in front of a chicheria(a bar of sorts). He started to leave,
and he hit a one year old little girl who ran out from the
chicheria(Her mom was inside getting drunk). Unfortunately, the little
girl died. He was completely traumatized the entire week. But,
somehow, this has increased his desire to be baptized. In our lesson
with him yesterday, he gave an awesome prayer, and he totally is
changed. So, he´s for sure going to be baptized this Saturday. Our
other family that´s going to be baptized might not be baptized this
Saturday because the mom traveled to Villazon(a city on the border
with Argentina)for some judicial hearing, and she might not be back
for Saturday, depending on when the hearing will be....so keep your
fingers crossed.

Now, about the baptism. We baptized Angel Gabriel Abán(well, he was
baptized by his uncle), and it was an awesome day. He is the smallest,
but one of the spiritually stongest investigators that we´ve had. he´s
been wanting to be baptized for sooo long. He´s been coming to church
with us for the past five weeks, and he´s super cool. He was baptized
along with three other girls(Elder North´s investigators). He was so
small in the water, it was hilarious! But, he´s a good kid, and will
be a very good member.

For this upcoming week, we have one, maybe four baptisms. I really,
really hope that these go through. We also have our President´s
farewell. He´s leaving at the first of July, but this is his last full
cambio, so we´re doing it this week. Also, this Sunday, we find out
the cambios, and this time it´s 99.999% sure that I´m leaving, so I´ll
be letting you all know what happens.

Dad- Hope all is well and hope the job search is going good.

Mom- I´m postive you´ll find someone for the office(I´m crossing my
fingers), and the sale of the house will go through.

Aly-I´m sorry you´re so tired(I know how you feel), and about the
getting fat thing......lol. I´m exercizing every morning so it´s not
too bad.

Emi- I hope you have fun in your classes! Study hard!.


That´s all for now!

-- 
AEA


Elder Craig

Week of Intercambios ...like crazy!

Hello family and friends!

I hope everyone had a great week! This week was completely exhausting
for me....what a week!

So, we were planning on a baptism this week, but that fell through.
It´s going to happen this weekend for sure! My companion and I are
super stoked for it. We are going to baptize a kid who really, really
wants to be baptized, so we are working hard to make it super special
for him. So, at the beginning of this week my companion and I had one
intercambio(exchange) with our District Leader planned. So, we just
had that in mind. Then on our district meeting on Tuesday, our zone
leaders walk in and announce to us that we were going to have
intercambios with them on Wednesday! Talk about a shock for us! We
were not expecting that. So, I went on my first intercambio with a
zone leader ever! I worked with Elder Guirado in my area. He´s from
Argentina(Mendoza), and man, is he a beastly teacher. We spent most of
the day knocking on doors, and we found some great people. But the
best part of the day was when we went to our best investigator family,
the Familia Arteaga. One thing that my companion and I had failed to
ask was if the mom and dad are married or not. Well, Elder Guirado
asked....and they are! I was sooooo relieved, because they have a
baptismal date for the 18th of this month, and that would have created
a bunch of problems. Also, we taught them the Word of Wisdom, and we
got the mom to stop drinking coffee, their daughter to stop with
drinking tea, and we got the dad to drop(and spit out) coca! It´s been
soo cool. This family is just so receptive to listening and obeying
the commandments, it´s unbelievable.

So, now on my intercambio with my district leader, Elder Claybaugh (1st
gringo LD in 5 years). We were knocking doors early that morning, and
we found this lady named Darlin. She seemed super excited to hear the
Gospel, and invited us back the next morning to teach her husband, who
is in the Bolivian Air Force. Well, Elder Hull went back the next day,
and Darlin answered and said her husband got called out early that
morning on emergency. We asked if we could do anything to help, and
she just broke down crying, saying that she felt so alone because she
was so far from her family and she felt her husband didn´t understand
how she felt. I bore my testimony to her about how we are never truly
alone, and that we have a Heavenly Father who´s always there, and
willing to listen. Then we  gave her a Book of Mormon, and asked her
to read it, and then invited her to church. We then passed on Sunday
to pick her up, and she and her husband were there and ready to go. It
was super cool, and I am so grateful that they went. Then to top it
all off, she told us she prayed to know if the church is true, and she
recieved an answer that it was! So, we´re shooting to baptize her and
her husband on the 25th.

Well, that´s about it for this week.

Dad- Hope you have a good week! Good luck on the job search!

Mom- Thanks for your email! Hope life isn´t too crazy at home.

Aly- I know things are crazy, but you can do it! Good luck on the job
search, and good luck with work!

Emi- Happy summer to you! Work as much as you can to save up!

That´s all for now. Have an amazing week!
--
AEA

Elder Craig

And so it begins.....Cambio nº 4!

Well, hello everyone(Everyone:"Hello, Elder!")

I hope everyone had a fantastic week, because mine was pretty good!

Well, this week started off with a good P-day, but it was kinda bittersweet. This was the last day for us to see a bunch of the members of the zone who were being shipped out to other areas, namely my district and zone leaders, and one of the members of my group that´s been with me forever, so it was sad to see them go. Luckily, I´ll see most of them at the temple this week. Then, one of the members of the ward invited us over for lunch, and she made me my favorite Bolivian dish for my birthday. It´s called Pique Macho. It´s a traditional Bolivian dish that starts with a base of steak fries, then pilled on top with ground beef, sausage, onions, a spicy pepper called coto, and topped off with ketchup and mayo. It sounds like a heart attack, because it is.....but it´s really good. So, be ready to have some when I come home. :) 

So, then we had English class the next night, and it was better than usual, because we had people actually show up( We haven´t had anyone for the past few weeks, which sucked.) So, one other crazy thing that happened is that my companion and I have a goal of finding 12 new people to teach every week, and this week the doors were not opening up....so, needless to say, we were totally freaked out that we were not going to reach our goal. But, luckily, and patiently, we were able to reach the goal and not feel so stressed out. Then on Friday night, we had our bi-weekly "Noche Misional" or Missionary Night. What happens is that members of the ward, and investigators come to the church, and we play a couple of games, then give a spiritual message. This week was about  forgiving others. It was really cool, and well attended. And then on Sunday, we had the coolest thing happen. We have a reactivated member, and she´s married to this die-hard catholic man who wants nothing to do with the Church....¡and he came to church! It was so cool! The member was so excited, and she was telling me and my companion to invite him to Sunday school, and then to get a cita(which we got!) to teach him the Gospel. It´s really cool, and I hope good things come from it.

Dad- Have a great week. Hope you get super muddy mountain biking! Good luck with the doc appointment, too.

Mom- Glad to hear you´re super busy with work! Have an amazing week!

Aly- You should try going to bed early...lol. I know you can do it!

Good luck with the job search!

Emi- Have fun with your band stuff this week! Enjoy it while you can.

P.S. I want a pic of you in your work uniform!

That´s all for now

AEA

Elder Craig

The Day After ... My Birthday!

Why hello familia and friends!

I hope everyone had a fantastic week! This was a really good week, and not just because I got to talk with my family!

My companion and I spent monday playing soccer with our zone versus another zone. It was sick. We lost but it was fun anyways. I was the only defender too for most of the game, so I was running ALL OVER the field. I was exhausted afterwards. On Tuesday we found a awesome new couple to teach that seem really interested in the Gospel. Then later that night, we had a Family Home Evening with a family of less actives, and it was SO COOL! We taught a lesson on the difference between the talents we´re given and spiritual gifts. Then we played a game with dice called Snake Eyes, which was awesome. Then we finished the night with cheap Bolivian ice cream. It was a really good night.

Wednesday was just a boring, normal day. Thursday was disappointing too, but we did get a surprise call that morning....we had migration at 8:30am(We got the call at 7:30am)! So we practically ran to the middle of the city to go to what we found out was to get our blood drawn.  That was a nice surprise to start the day. Then practically nothing that day. But Friday was a huge turn around. We found 7 new people to teach on Friday! That was so awesome! Friday, nothing happened. But Saturday was a exciting day....We were double-booked with lessons, and we had a baptism to go to(the elders that we live with had a baptism). Most of the lessons went through, but the funny thing happened when we were heading to our lessons. To get to a certain part of our area, we have to pass a gas station. And these gas stations are full-serve, so they gave these skimpy dressed girls that put gas in the cars. Well, two of these girls started WHISTLING at me and my companion. Yup. So, it was pretty awkward to pass by again to head to the capilla. And Sunday, my birthday, was an awesome day. I went to church, then got to talk to my family, then my companions surprised me with cake(no pics)...then my pensionista(the member who feeds us) also had a cake! It was an awesome birthday!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

AEA

Elder Craig

Greetings from Bolivia!

Hello family and amigos(that´s spanish for friends.... XD) !!!!

Wow, this week just flew on by, it´s crazy! I can´t believe that I´m half way through this transfer, either.

Well, this week was a good week. We started off the week alright, with a family home evening with a part member family, which went alright. This family is an inactive mom, who has a daughter that we´re teaching, and this daughter has a kid. Well, we challenged the daughter, and she has a baptismal date for this next weekend, April 30th. We´re really hoping that this baptism goes through. We haven´t had a baptism in this area in four weeks, so we really, really need one right now. Also on Monday we played futsal(street soccer) as a zone, and that was fun( I scored three goals!!!!). Then we just chilled until our FHE, so it was a good relaxing day. Tuesday didn´t go entirely good. All of our citas fell through, so we spent most of the day knocking on doors. And we found some awesome new investigators! The only problem is, is that they told us that they don´t have a ton of time to listen to us( I know you´re thinking that they´re giving us excuses not to listen, but I can tell the difference, and they were sincere.), which totally blows, because they would have been awesome. So, we´re planning to pass by sometime to see if they´re there. Wednesday was a looooong day. We got up at 5:30, because we had Zone Conference! It was a great conference, and we talked a lot about how our desires can shape our destinies, and how what visions we have can determine our lives. And then they decided to show us how a desire can change everything by showing us a good chunk of that new movie about the guy in Utah who got his arm stuck under a rock, and after five days, he cut his arm off because he had a vision of him having a son someday. Yeah, it was cool. It´s definately on the mental list I have of movies to watch when I get home. It was a super cool conference. One other thing that they taught us was to focus in sharing about the Gospel from the first lesson, and boy has it worked! It´s awesome. I´ve definately changed the way that I teach now, and we´re getting more results from it. Thursday was a normal day, but something cool did happen. We were teaching one of our investigators, Dennis, and he decided he wanted to read the entire Book of Mormon before he gets baptized. He told us this three weeks ago. Well, he´s in Alma now, and he asked us about Alma 5:38-41, which talks about being a part of different folds, whether the Savior´s or Satan´s. He thought that they were judging people right away, but I studied it, and read him Matthew 6:24, which talks about how you can´t serve two masters. Man, you should have seen his face! It was awesome. We hope that he finishes soon, so that we can finally baptize him. Then for the rest of that day and the next day, I was on exchanges with my district leader, Elder Cespedes. It was a super cool experience, and we worked a lot! We ended up getting seven new investigators and challenging a bunch to baptism. Saturday, my companion and I were out working all day long(like we should) and boy was it HOT! We were sweating all day long.But we still ended up teaching a bunch.....and we have a baptism for this Saturday! His name is Oscar Sierralta. He´s 14, and he´s been coming to church with this grandma and aunt and uncle for a while, and he wants to get baptized! So, this week we´re going to focus on him, and he´ll be ready by Thursday! I´m super excited! Well, Sunday kinda sucked. We had one investigator in church, and we had to drop an investigator. It´s super sad when we have to do that, but sometimes it´s necessary.

Dad- Hope you had an awesome birthday! Mom sent me a picture of you at Texas Roadhouse, and you look like you had a great one! Have a good week. And good luck on the job search!

Mom- hey, I´m reading the Bible right now for the first time, and I´m almost finished with Exodus! I´m glad you like your yoga program that much!

Aly- Have a good week in school, and good luck on the big girl job search!

Emi- That totally sucks about your knee. And about your date.....I can´t believe you´re old enough for that. I guess you still seem super young to me....Well, have a good week!

Until next week!

AEA

Elder Craig