Week #45 - End of Change

Buenos dias familia y amigos!

Well this change has been very interesting, to say the least! I thought I had patience before, but I have learned to have even more. I have had times where I just wanted to yell at my comp but I never have. I don’t think he realizes that I have been that upset with what he has said or done. In the mission he is known as the "dundito" or dunce, which is sad but kind of true. I have been trying to have charity and find the best in him but it is so hard sometimes when he becomes super pessimistic and critical. He honestly has a lot of things he needs to improve and I thought that someone with as much time as he has in the mission would be more mature. Honestly I hope he can mature and change everything that he needs to change. He’s a good person, but he has certain qualities and "costumbres" that need to be fixed.

Well something funny is that we had divisions this week in order to get the baptismal interviews done and my house was a mess. Another elder came and stayed the night so all night we cleaned the entire house (I try to keep it clean but my companion doesn’t care and leaves everything everywhere). I have already talked to him about it, but it’s one of the things he doesn’t want to change. So when my comp came back he was super surprised! It was funny to see his reaction.

Well this week we finally had our baptisms! We baptized Jose and Yadira. Yadira is super awesome, the first time she went to church she knew it was the true church. So we taught them everything and they wanted to be baptized. They seem super happy and excited. When we were first teaching them they would walk from their house to a members house, which takes like 30 mins, just to listen to us, and then they would walk back. Incredible! They seem like they will be active and I can see Yadira as a leader here really soon. 

Zona Celestial Lunch

Today we went to President's house because we were the Zona Celesital for this change! We baptized the most people and the most families, so we went and had some real spaghetti for lunch. It was delicious! Also, today they told us that we will not find out who has changes until tomorrow night for a couple reasons. 1). Because everyone spends their last Tuesday saying goodbye instead of working 2).The mission nurse was finding out the changes and telling all her friends in the mission where they are going before the big meeting, so they just eliminated both problems at once. Anyway, I have no idea what will happen until tomorrow. I think my comp might have changes because the bishop here called our President because he hasn’t really changed or improved, but we will see what happens (my comp doesn’t know). I have grown to love this area and the people here. I don’t want to leave but I will go where the Lord wants me to go.

Well honestly I would like some letters or something from everyone! Kind of depressing to not get anything while other elders do. I know that everyone supports me, but a letter would be nice every once in a while! hint, hint :)  Thanks for everything and I hope everyone has a great week!

Nos vemos!

Elder Neher

Week #44 - Rain, Rain Come and Stay (Cerro Verde)

Hola familia y amigos!

Well this week has been another interesting one. At least it rained a bit, which made me super happy. The only thing is that it made everything else super hot afterwards! Something nice that happened is that this week we should have some baptisms! We have planned a family to be baptized, and they are amazing! They live outside of the area, but are trying to find a house in our area, and the two times that we have taught them outside of their home they walked to a members house, and I want to say it is at least a 45 min walk! They all love the gospel, but especially the wife and her daughter. The husband has been to church too but I can sense that he isn’t entirely converted, but the wife is something else! She is super interested and they love everything we teach. We taught them the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity, saying to her daughter and her boyfriend that they need to get married, and they took it really well.  They said that we were super direct and straightforward, and letting them decide, unlike other churches from what they said. They really love everything and we hope to get the other two married so we can baptize them. We have other families we are teaching but they aren’t progressing as we would like.

It has been pretty hard with Elder Mendez. I have pointed out things that he should change so that people will like him here, but he doesn’t do them. He makes the stupidest comments that just irk me and I really try to hint that stuff like that shouldn’t be said or done, but he doesn’t catch on. It is really frustrating. He is pretty immature and especially immature when it comes to spiritual things and I just have a hard time trying to help him fix it. Members have problems with him here and the bishop and ward mission leader don’t like him. It’s all been a pretty big mess. He just doesn’t understand when something should be said or not and he is totally baggie (trunkie for home) he doesn’t want to admit it but I know he is. Anyway, it’s been kind of hard, but one more week and I’m out of here. By the looks of it I might stay another change and he will leave, which wouldn’t bother me, but we’ll see what happens. Hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Neher

Week #43 - Cerro Quemado (Cerro Verde)

Hola familia y amigos!

Well it just gets hotter and hotter, and I feel like I am getting cooked out here! Haha I just think that it can’t stop getting any hotter, but then the next day proves me wrong. But it’s nice to see that I’m losing weight!

Well this week was kind of normal, a whole bunch of walking and preaching the gospel.  We have three families that we are teaching now, and we put a baptismal date with one of them! She is super excited and loves everything, the husband is interested as well, but not as much, but we put a date for them and so we should have a baptism this change! This week was pretty normal, we did try to have a ward activity, but everyone went to a girls birthday party instead, but it was fun to throw water balloons at everyone!

My comp is still really interesting and hasn’t really changed much after talking with him about some of the things he needs to change. He worries too much about his hair and stuff like that. When we get home he listens to a whole bunch of rock and super weird music, and when he puts it on a put on my motab, haha! Oh well, there aren’t many days left in the change and I am positive I’m leaving.

We are working hard and trying to help the other families we have to progress and go to church. The heat has really gotten to me lately and I feel super tired, but I’m trying to hang in there, haha! Well we have 2 cooks, one for during the week and the other for the weekends. Yesterday the cook was making sandwiches and I made a grilled cheese sandwich and everyone loved them. She ate four of them, it was pretty funny! This week we should be expecting to put more baptismal dates, so I hope it works out! I also hope everything is going great back home!

Hasta luego!

Elder Neher

Week #42 - Gypsy Magic (Cerro Verde)

Hola familia y amigos!

This week has been interesting once again, but I really enjoyed the Multizona we had with Elder Clark. To start things off, the members here in the ward do not like my comp at all. It’s been pretty hard on both of us. He is a pretty awkward guy and has problems with his social skills. I get the feeling he wasn’t too social before the mission and it’s really hitting him hard right now. I feel really bad and I keep saying tips and stuff to help him, but I think that this is something more that he needs to fix within himself, kind of like me dealing with confrontation.

This week we were preparing the converts and investigators we have for the fireside with Elder Clark. It was in Barrio Benque (in San Pedro) and we told everyone on Wed. that there would be a bus ready and everything, and everyone said they would go. Thursday comes around and we got back to the area around 5pm (we spent practically the whole day in SPS at the Multizona) and we went to let one family and a few others know, who said they would go.  We get to the bus, which was scheduled to leave at 5:45 and no one was there, except all the youth cause they had a separate fireside. But no one went, so we had to take a rapidito with our cook to get there (she went because her husband was getting his Priesthood restored and needed an interview w/Elder Clark). We get there and it’s packed, and we didn’t find our family. The fireside started and I was super bummed. I had been praying the entire bus ride that at least they would show up. As Elder Clark was starting, I don’t know why I wasn’t looking at him, but I saw the wife of this family turning around. We were in the back, so I grabbed my comp and we moved up to sit with them and they really enjoyed the meeting. Elder Clark talked about some of the "Mormon traditions", like family home evening, we get good grades, we graduate, we work hard, and he talked about the 7 steps to conversion, Knowledge, Faith, Testimony, Repentance, Baptism/Sacrament, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Obedience. It was an awesome meeting! After we caught a ride home with the bishop, so he got to know the family, which was great.

The Multizona was great as well. Elder Clark talked about the 7 steps of conversion, as well as other things that we can do to help those we teach, help them teach themselves, and to stay focused in the mission. I took a whole bunch of notes. I don’t have them with me, but it was a bunch! :P At the Multizona I saw Elder Contreras, who doesn’t seem to hold anything against me. He was really cool about everything and is a Sr. Comp again. I saw Elder Nelson as well, and Elder Elison wants me to train already haha!

We have been trying to help the members here but its hard with these feelings against my comp, but Sunday we took the other investigator family we have, which are 4, and 4 more investigators showed up, making 8, the most I have ever had! It was awesome to see that many people there, so we should have baptisms lined up soon. It’s going to be a hard change but I know we can have some success here if we work hard.

Alright, something funny. Well we got to the Multizona early and I left with Elder Hafen (an awesome elder from CA) to get some breakfast. We go to a baleada place nearby and are eating with some other elders and this gypsy-like lady comes up and hands one elder a comb and another a pen. We sat there a little dumb-founded, and later she came up to me and hid something in my hand, which ended up being a pair of those noise-making magnets, haha! We have no idea why, but it was really weird but funny. Oh and Elder Mendez finally cleaned out his rice that he had made 2 weeks ago and was dying because of the smell (tons of mold)! It made me laugh haha! Well I hope everything is great back home and that as the summer vacations start everyone stays safe. See ya next week!

Elder Neher