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

Happy Bolivian Mother´s Day!

Hey everyone!

Hope eveyone had a good week! This week was awesome for me. It was the best week that Elder Hull and I have had to date. We´re really happy with the people we found, and the number of lessons we´ve taught, but the best part of the week for us was the new baptismal dates that we´ve gotten. We´ve been teaching this 9 year old kid named Angel Gabriel. He lives with his grandma, aunt, uncle(bro of aunt), and cousin. The weird thing is that his mom lives in Cochabamba, but lives in another part with her husband(not the father of our investigator).

So, this kid has been coming to church for months and months, and we´ve been teaching him for the last month. He´s an awesome kid, and has told us many, many times that he wants to be baptized, but our Zone Leaders have told me and my companion that we need permission from his mom since she lives in Cochabamba. That means that we´ve had to wait for his mom to come visit our investigator. So, we talked to the grandma, and found out that she goes over randomly, but usually in the early afternoon. So, two days later we went over to the house....and we found her there, just getting ready to leave. So, Elder Hull and I talked to her and got her to sign the permission! So, we´re planning on baptising him this weekend! We are so stoked, and this kid is really excited to be baptized. He´s the kind of awesome kid that, as his grandma has told us, he´s ready for church on Sundays when the rest are just getting up for church. So, that´s one of my stories. he next involves our family that we´re teaching. They are the familia Arteaga. We´re teaching the dad, Bruno, the mom Shonya, and their two daughters, Primavera and Mayo. They´ve been such a great family to teach! They are super receptive to the Gospel, and are actively reading and praying as a family. The problem with them so far has been getting the chapel on Sundays. Well, on Friday, the ward put together a Mother´s Day party, and asked us to help run it and what not, so we invited the family to go. Well, when Elder Hull and I got to the chapel....they were inside! They were early and stayed for the whole party, and loved it. Hermano Bruno commented to me that he loved how he felt at home inside the capilla, and how everyone was so welcoming and friendly. And on Sunday, yes, they went to church as a family. I am soooo excited for them. They have a baptismal date set for the 18th of June, so keep your fingers crossed! Finally(last cool story for the week, I promise) yesterday we had a district activity called Distrito(District) Blitz. This is where we go and work in someones area if they haven´t reached 12 news for the week. So, this week we went to our District Leader´s area, which is situated on Alto Cochabamba, the highest point in the city. Well, Elder Hull and I were knocking doors and a young man answered. Well, we taught him and his little sister the first lesson, which basically talks about the Restoration of the Church and the First Vision and what not. Well, when we were done teaching, we asked if they had any questions or comments. The young man said to us "Well, I don´t have any questions, but I would like to say that I really like how that José Smith prayed with faith and received an answer. That gives me hope that I´ll receive an answer too." That had to be the cooled reaction that I´ve ever had to the First Vision. I appreciate that the Spirit touches people´s hearts like that. It´s the best part of the mission for me, to see the Spirit testify to people that what we teach is true.

Also, in my scripture reading, still trucking through the Old Testament. It´s really interesting to read the story of David and Solomon and see how spiritually strong people to be(this is me overlooking the fact that they fell pretty hard).

Dad- Congrats on finding a buyer for the house! Plus, they haven´t said that Dr. Pepper is against mission rules or the Word of Wisdom.

Oh, and I´m sorry about your car. Hope you have an awesome week!

Mom-Ditto for the finding the buyer. I hope you had an awesome time in St. George!  BTW, I still have another three weeks until the transfer, so don´t worry yet. Have an amazing week!

Aly-Good luck on the big-girl job search! Have an amazing week!

Emi- Just remember that summer does mean more work, but more work means more money. And that equals less stress when college rolls around. And a tip for Laser Quest- Use the mirrors,

Have a great week everyone!

AEA

Elder Craig

I got a Dr. Pepper!!!!!

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone had a good week!. I was a good week for me.

So, Monday was a super-good p-day. We started the day off with going to play wallyball(volleyball with walls. It´s sick), where I did just ok. But it was fun anyways. Then Elder North and I went to go find a
new grocery store that´s supposed to be cheaper than the huge ones around town...and we found it! It´s called Que Barrato(How cheap), and it was pretty cool. I like it a lot....mainly because I found Dr. Pepper there! I was soooo stoked. It´s been six months since I´ve had one, and it tasted soo good!

But then we went back home where my comp Elder Hull was feeling pretty sick, so we stayed in the apartment for the rest of the night, which sucked because we had a family home evening that we missed out on. Then the next night in our English class, we had ten people! That´s a lot because we usually only have three or four people show up, so we were super stoked to teach that many people. Then Wednesday and Thursday were just normal days. On Friday, we had exchanges with my District Leader(They usually happen every other week so that he has a chance to work with each of us.) And things started off hectic. We got a  call at seven twenty in the morning from my Zone Leaders saying that I had to go to Migrations....and that I had to be there in ten minutes(it´s a fifteen minute taxi drive). Plus, I was about to shower. So, that meant a very crazy morning. We hurried as fast as we could to get there...but we weren´t on time, at all. But I still made it in. Then Migrations took until noon..mainly because of the lines, which were very long. Then, I spent the day(again) climbing the highest hill in Cochabamba teaching lessons, which went pretty well. Then Saturday.....well, not to freak you guys out or anything, there was supposed to be a 9.0 earthquake in Cochabamba. And, tons of people(lots of preachers in town) were claiming last Saturday to be the end of the world. Well, needless to say, nothing happended, and I´m ok. Sunday was a great day as well! We had two of our best investigators finally make it to church! We are so excited! Two more and they can be baptized. We´re hoping it happens. Also, we had District Blitz, where all of the district work in a area to help find more people to teach. It was in my area, and we ended up with three more news. So, that´s about it for the week.

Dad- Hope you have a great week, and good luck on the job search!

Mom- Glad you had a good ALC conference. Can´t wait to hear from you next week!

Aly- Just relax and enjoy your time now.....good luck on the job search!

Emi- Have a great week!


That´s all for now, folks!

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

Six Months!

(This letter was sent May 2)
Hello family and friends!!!!!

Hope everyone had a fantastic week. Mine was ok....well, it was still
good, but not the best.

First thing...I complete SIX MONTHS tomorrow! That´s absolutely crazy!
I cannot believe it. It has flown by....but there´s still so much
left. So, it´s totally weird. Also, only six days until my birthday!
I´m totally excited! I can´t believe that I´m turning 20 years
old....I feel old! Hahaha.

Well, this week wasn´t totally exciting. Monday was a pretty boring
day because we had nothing to do because our zone leaders let us down
again by telling us that we were going to have soccer...and it didn´t
happen. The rest of the week we were just working. Wednesday was sweet
because we found three new people to teach, and that´s awesome. One of
our goals as a companionship is to find at least twelve new people to
teach every week, and that´s been something that we´ve been pretty
good at. And it´s not just a numbers thing. We´ve found out that the
more people we find, the more we´re going to end up actually teaching,
so it´s pretty sweet to see how the Lord prepares people for us to
find. Also, we had splits with the district leader again, so I went
and worked in the highest point in the entire city for a day. It was
TOUGH! But, the view was amazing(I´ll have pics next week). And the
split went well.

Things here are becoming a little bittersweet. We found out this week
that two of our investigator families(one of which are our best
investigators that we have) are moving out of our area. So, my
companion and I are sad about that. Also, there´s a good chance that
I´m leaving the area next week(we find out the changes this sunday- my
birthday!), so I´m pretty sad. I love my area and the people in it.
I´ve seen so many live change for the better, and it´s going to be
tough to leave them if I do this next week. But, as the prophet Joshua
says in Joshua, to keep relying on the Lord for strength, and move on.


Dad- Hope you have a good week! You should send me pics of the dummy downhill.

Mom- Thanks for your email! I´m glad to hear all is well at home. Love you!!!

Aly- Hey! I can´t believe that you graduate this week! That´s nuts!
And I only have a year of college under my belt.... oh well. Send me
plenty of pics!

Emi- Glad to know you´re doing well. Have an awesome week!

Have a good one!

AEA

Elder Craig