La Catedral de Sal ~ Colombia MTC ~ 11/5/13

So on Saturday I got to go proselyting again and it was incredible. My companion and I went to a park called "Simon Bolivar Parque" I think. And it was beautiful. In the park, we talked to this one woman taking care of her baby cousin and we talked for a while. She seemed very interested and wanted to attend church on Sunday so we left her an address. She was the only one we talked to in the park, but we had a lot more success in the neighborhood right next to it. We found this guy reading on his porch and he invited us inside his house and we taught a short lesson to him and two of his friends. We left them a BOM and we got his contact info. It was awesome! Next we found a lady and this teenage boy who were working and taking a lunch break on the side walk. The lady seemed really interested in our message and we left her a BOM too. Finally, we got to my favorite investigator so far... It was this teenage boy leaving his house. He seemed like a really good kid. he said he´s prayed before, but he thinks it´s all in his mind. I felt so bad for this kid. Me and my companion bore our souls to this kid. And I know he really wants it! (keep that kid in your prayers) We left him a magazine and a pamphlet, so I really hope things work out for him.

The best part of my mission is getting to feel so much closer to Christ. I couldn´t ask for a better blessing than that. I´ve definitely realized how privileged I am to wake up each morning and snap on this nametag. There´s nothing more that anyone could want. I´ve been watching the new Bible Videos about The Savior and They´re awesome. I definitely recommend checking them out.

So don´t worry, I´ve been taking tons of pictures of Colombia and The MTC whenever, they give me my camera, (Which is rare) I just don´t know the WiFi Password haha.

So today, was our big adventure day. We started off at the temple. (Which was awesome as always) and they just got the new video so it was PACKED.

I was really bummed we didn´t go to the llama place :( but they took us to this mountain. This mountain had an underground Catholic Cathedral carved out. It was INCREDIBLE. There were all these ancient artifacts and Huge caverns, and caves, and trenches. The Cave system was insane There were so many tunnels and ancient carvings. I felt like Indiana Jones haha Its called the Catedral De Sal because it was in a huge salt mine. I definitely recommend looking it up. It was cool.

There were tons of dogs who were super friendly and were begging. i felt bad. We left the city and drove through farm country and the farmers didn´t even keep their cows fenced in. They would walk around wherever haha.

I want to get more pictures of the city. It is so cool! There are so many cars here though, that you can only drive your car every other day, depending on whether your license plate has an odd or even number haha

I love my district. We´ve grown so close and have become a family. I´m bummed because our district is splitting up tomorrow  and we´re getting Latin Companions. That should be interesting.... haha

Anyway, I´m having an awesome time, I love being a missionary. I´m so lucky to have such an awesome family who keeps supporting me. It really keeps me going! 

Thank you all so much! All is well! All is well!

Colombia MTC ~ 11/1/13

Well... things have been very different here in Colombia. The MTC Is SO much stricter here than it is in Provo. A lot of the people who work here are very condescending and rude and they treat us Americans like idiots haha. One of my teachers called me and my companion ugly haha. They treat us like prisoners sometimes and they smile while doing it. but I didn´t come on a mission to complain...I came here to WORK!

Truthfully, things aren´t all bad...The food here is really good (Courtney would be jealous) but super unhealthy and....let´s just say it doesn´t digest very well haha

I am learning a lot though. I´m not going to lie, I was feeling very down for a little bit, but reading everyone´s letters they sent me in provo really lifted my spirits. I need to focus on the work. It´s not about me, it´s not. It´s about The Lord and His children.

I´m working hard and I think I´m making some really big improvements. We went proselyting on Saturday and it was AWESOME. It felt so great to leave the gates they keep us locked in haha. Bogota is beautiful! it´s really colorful and the traffic is crazy. It´s so cool here. Me and my new companion, Elder Gallagher went and talked to people, it was really hard to get people to talk to us at first, but we decided to pray and after that we had some success. A lot of people believed in the trinity so, they didn´t want to hear anything haha However, we got 2 very promising contacts and we handed out a lot of pamphlets. We even gave  out a Book of Mormon to a guy who seemed really interested! It´s amazing that The Lord can use a gringo like me to communicate with His children and spread the truth. Some people were really hard to understand, especially with the traffic, but we were still able to get our message across. So overall, not too bad.

There ar e really cute cats and dogs all over. Brooke would love it! haha

I got to the Bogota temple and it was beautiful. It was such an awesome experience! I gotta admit though, when it came time to enter the Celestial room, I really had to mumble my way through it haha!

My district got split and all the new people are really cool. They all have such inspiring stories of overcoming challenges in their lives through Jesus Christ. It[s incredible.

Hey mom, thank you so much for the pictures and for all you[ve done. it[s really made everything a lot easier for me.

The Lord has been guiding me and teaching me. I love being a missionary! There is nowhere else I[d rather be.

Sorry I only get my camera once a week and there´s no wifi. so no pictures for now. 

Look up granadia it´s a really weird fruit down here. Some people love it, I´m not a major fan haha.

P.S. on Tuesday I get to tour the city and ride a llama, I´ll be sure to take TONS of pictures! Love you!

Also, I get a Latino companion on Wednesday, so that should be interesting.....

It´s just been such an adventure! I can´t wait to serve! I´m so excited for Tuesday because we get to tour the city! Things are going very well, The Lord has been molding me every step of the way! I Love This Gospel!

aaaah, I miss halloween :( Thanks so much for the candy, I love it!

Safely Arrived in Colombia

Hi Mom! I arrived safely in Colombia! Things are a lot different here. The pictures i saw of the armed guards weren´t true. My P Day is either on Tuesdays or Wednesdays I think. I can´t write for very long, sorry. I get to go proselyting every Saturday which is cool. The MTC is really really small. They won´t let me use my camera except for a couple of hours on P day so I don´t know how pictures will work out :( I´ve noticed the people at this MTC are a lot more impatient and not as warm and friendly haha But I think I can survive a month. I just can´t wait to serve! Also, I guess the total baggage I can bring to Bolivia is 68Lbs Combined or else I´ll be fined like 1,000 $ But the church will reimburse me, apparently. I don´t want the church to have to pay that, so I don´t know what I,m going to do. but All is well, all is well. 

Provo MTC ~ 10/18/13

So this week has been phenomenal! I have learned so much! Everyday feels like I'm taking one more step closer to The Lord. I feel him with me all the time, it is so cool! Sometimes I swear it feels like I can feel him embracing me, it's just the most comforting feeling. I KNOW this church is true and I will give everything I have to share the joy I feel in knowing that. I know it with my entire being. I KNOW The Lord loves all of us and He wants us to be with Him more than anything. My testimony of Him has increased substantially. His love is the greatest feeling I've ever felt. Whoever is reading this, He Loves You.

My Zone and my District are really cool. My District has become like a family. There are 4 Elders and 8 Hermanas. All of us are going to Bolivia, except for 2 sisters who are going to Ecuador.

My Branch president is incredible! He is hands down the wisest man I've ever met and he has such a big heart. His knowledge of the gospel and the scriptures is unbelievable.

I'm so glad, you're liking the pictures! That camera is awesome!

My teacher is pretty funny, but extremely awkward haha. This whole week we've been teaching a fake investigator in Spanish. I'm surprised at how quickly the Spanish is coming, but I still have a lot to work on!

Tuesday night's devotional was really cool. I was able to sing "Praise to the Man" in a choir to Dallin H. Oaks and it was broadcasted to every MTC! How Rad! (If you look it up, you might find me haha)

I'm sorry I don't have much to say. I know how much that sucks, but the MTC is mentally exhausting and I've mostly been studying, so not that much has been going on.

I'm just so grateful for my Savior and His Love. I feel the spirit with me always. It's the best. I know The Lord wants me here. I've never felt like I've belonged somewhere more than on my Mission. I feel/know I was born to do this. I've never felt like that about anything before. It's weird, but awesome...I can't really explain it well.

I can't I've leaving for Colombia in 4 days. I can't wait to go to the temple there!

Anyway, I miss everyone so much, but I know The Lord is watching over all of us and all is going according to His plan!

I Love You So much! Happy Birthday Mom!