Week 15

Wow it sounds like you guys had another busy week. I am really excited to hear that Jacob was able to get his eagle project finished. That is awesome!  Good luck with all the paper work! That takes a long time to finish. I hope that you are able to enjoy scouts because the youth down here in Colombia don't have a lot of these programs. 

That is awesome that Jared and Joshua both reached their AR goals, and that you took them out to lunch. I wish you could send me some in and out food! 

Way to go kayden, I am glad that you were able to go to your primary class this week. Keep up the great job because I know that you will be a great missionary one day! 

Valentine's Day! Glad to hear that you got the traditional heart shaped pizza for dinner. 

I can't believe that Jason ran into Trevor Skousen down in Chile. That is way cool! 

Alright so this week has been mas o menos, no mucho excito este semana at least with numeros 

Martes- not much happened we did have a lesson with Aldino about the Sabath day, so that was good. We invited him to church but he wasn't sure about it. He has a lot of faith so we will see if he makes it. We also had a lesson with the Camargo family, who is a recent convert. We talked with them about tithing. 

Mericoles- We went to  Duitama for a zone conference it was good. We had pancakes, fruit, hot chocolate and pan for breakfast. It was super good! After zone conference we went on exchanges. I came back to Sogamoso with Elder Castrejon from Peru. We didn't have a very good day. No one was home, we didn't have a single lesson. We did get 2 references and were able to set up lessons for the upcoming days. I felt bad because all our appointments fell through and I was with a zone leader. 

Viernes-Friday the 13.....yeah ....,,,

This was probably our best day. We were able to have a lesson with Elizabeth about the plan of salvation, it went well. When we left we forgot our phone there and didn't realize it until we needed to make a phone call later that night. We did get it back so that is good! We also had a lesson with Jonathan about the law of chastity which went well. Then afterwards we were able to give him a blessing because he is really struggling right now. Then we had Noche de Hogar as a Barrio which was super cool and it went well, too bad none of our investigators were able to make it. 

Sabado- Valentine's Day as a missionary! We had a good day! Elder Tipton and I shared a message about love with the leaders in the area and the assistants to the presidents we talked about the greatest love of Christ it was really cool because it was Valentine's Day. After that we did a lot of walking because our lessons fell through. 

Domingo- Salvador and Jenni came(less actives) to church. Then for lunch we had super good pollo, championes, papas, Fritas, and arroz. Then we had a lesson with the Tejedor family who is less active. We talked to them about the sabbath day . Jonathan wasn't able to make it to church this week so we will have to push his baptismal date back. 

Well I hope all is going well in Chico! I love you guys so much, you guys are the best. I couldn't have asked for a better family. I am glad that you finally got my letter 2 1/2 months later. 

Love Elder Strong

Week 14 service

Alright here are how things are going down here in Colombia. 

Martes- My companion made breakfast burritos which were super good! Then we had a lesson with Elizabeth about the Libro de Mormon which went really well, especially with the help of a member Hermano Patino and his great testimony. We haven't been back since so hopefully she is doing well, and keeping her compromisos. 

Mericoles- I wasn't feeling very well again. Later in the afternoon we helped a member move out of their apartment. 

Then we had a lesson with Jonathan that went really well. We told him to pray about the Book of Mormon and find out for himself if it is true, and then invited him to be baptized on feb 21 and he accepted, so hopefully. 

Jueves- We planned all morning, then had ward council. I also gave my first priesthood blessing in Espanol this week.  I am pretty sure I said some stuff wrong but the words aren't what matter the most, so that is good. 

Viernes- We were able to do service and help some less actives move. That was a lot of fun. Later that night we had divisions. I went with a returned missionary and we were able to have one lesson with a non member about the law of chastity, so that was good. 

Sabado- When we left our apartment my companion forgot the keys so we were locked out until 2 pm. We found someone who could basically break into the apartment and pick locks so that was good but kind of scary at the same time. We also had emapandas which are really good. We had paypaya too! Then We had a lesson with Maria and Jonathan in el campo. They are doing well. Oh it is also starting to rain here. That is really nice because, then it is not so hot. 

Domingo- We went to church! Then we had lunch with the Camargo family, and they served us pasta which was super good, plus it wasn't rice. Next we went to visit Jonathan and he has been struggling. He said he couldn't sleep the night we told him to pray and see if the Book of Mormon was true. He also said he has been having a painful feeling in his heart as well. We explained to him that God is here to help us, and then he got super emotional. We shared the Joseph Smith experience how at first he was surrounded by darkness but then came the light that was beyond description , so I think that helped. We are having Noche de Hogar con el este Noche, so hopefully  it will go well! 

5 things I am grateful for.

1) the gospel of course, and the blessings we get from being obedient. 

2) families especially ours! I love you guys so much! 

3) rain!!

4)packages the ones you sent came. I love the slippers, candy, and photos. 

5) letters

Things that made me smile

Pictures from the packages, little kids here, Hermana Fanni always making sure we have plenty to eat, and the Nutter butters! 

Love you all so much! Have a great week 

Love Elder Strong

Week 13 We had a great week!

Martes- We had a lesson with Elizabeth, we invited her to be baptized, but she said that she didn't feel like she was ready yet. Don't worry we not giving up on her. We took a member with us, to the lesson, it is always nice to have a member go and share his or her testimony.  Also Gibertos mom passed away on Monday so we shared with him some of the plan of salvation with him. Then we told him that he can do the temple work for his mom. It rained today!! That was so awesome because it has been so hot here. 

Mericoles- We had a district meeting, we got new sister missionaries. Then we had Noche de Hogar with the Camargo family . We talked about light and truth and how every decision we make increases or decreases our sensibility to the light of Christ. 

Jueves- We did a lot of planning, then after lunch we went and help Hermano Fabio with his English. We couldn't remember how to spell recipe, go figure because my spelling is terrible if you can't tell from my emails. Then we had a lesson with Aladion and his nephew about the plan of salvation, it is so crazy to hear all the different ideas that people have about where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going after this life. Later that night we had ward council, it was good but long. Afterwards we ordered Chineese food, so that was good. 

Viernes- I was sick again. We did our laundry so that was good. We walked up those long stairs so we could go teach a lesson to an investigator. I felt like I was going to pass out because I didn't have any fluids in me. I didn't so that was good. Then we had a good lesson with Elizabeth about having faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. She accepted our invitation to be baptized but wasn't sure about the date. We told her to pray for strength to prepare to be baptized. 

Sabado- We had interviews with the President. They went well not much to talk about, but he did mention that there was a sister missionary in this mission who is from Chile who went to the states and is getting married to someone who works for Deseret Farms. Dad might know who I am talking about. I just thought that was cool!

Domingo- on Sunday morning on our way to church we stopped by Jonathan's place to walk with him to church. When we got there he wasn't there and we couldn't get a hold of him. That was a big  bummer, so we went by ourselves. Now pause for dramatic effect...... So 5 minutes before church started Jonathan walked in the chapel. It is so awesome to see him exercise his faith and come to church by himself. Then we helped a member with his talk on self reliance. I realized that I don't know a whole lot about it, but I am learning. After church we took Arnoldns( a member who is getting ready for his mission) with us to teach the rest of our lessons for the day. We had a lesson with a new member we met in the street because her kids came up to us and wanted us to speak English. We were talking to them but they didn't understand anything, so then their mom came and we were able to set up a date to meet with them to share the gospel, so that was cool! 

Hoy- We bought food, made chicken strips and hot sauce. Well I basically watched and learned as my companion made them but they were super good. I even found a Dr. Pepper in one of the stores, it was about double what we would pay in the states but boy did it taste good! 

My favorite food so far is pizza, but it isn't as good as American pizza. They also have this food called empanadas which are good, and there is a lot of rice. Advice I would give Seth is to really get to know preach my gospel, also reach out to your friends who aren't members or less actives. This is something I wish I would have done more of before my mission. Also work a lot with the missionaries. I love you guys and am grateful for all the prayers! 

Love, Elder Strong