Week 12 Jonathan came to church

Thanks for the update! Sounds like everyone is staying busy. I can't believe that Jared got the cleanest cabin award at shady creek. What is this world coming too. Josh, thanks! That means a lot that you said I was your hero, because when you are a missionary you are a superhero. Missionaries are Hereos because they are truly saving lives. Seth good luck with snowball, and Jacob you just need to shoot the ball more! Kayden did you go to class on Sunday? 

This is how my week went:

Martes - we studied a lot, then we went and talked to Maria about the importance of the temple, and what temples are for. She seemed really interested in learning more about the temples, so that is awesome. After our talk with Maria it started to rain so we went to Hermana Fanni's house and ate dinner. There was so much food I didn't think it would all fit on one plate. Then we met with Jonathan and had a recent convert go with us, and share his testimony which was super amazing and you could feel the spirit so strong.

Jueves was not that exciting, weekly planning and studying and washing clothes, always good to have clean clothes. 

Viernes- We went to Duitama to do service as a district that was fun it was like recycling on steroids, this lady had thousands of bottles. We then went on exchanges and that wasn't that great because I forgot my clothes and had to borrow some from my zone leader. The clothes were fine but the shoes didn't fit very well at all. My feet were pretty sore and tired at the end of the day. For dinner we had burritos so that was good. 

Sabado- we studied in the morning and then we had the baptism of Maria! She was finally able to get baptized. She was so happy, that she couldn't stop smiling😄. She bore her testimony, and we even sang a special musical number for her. After the baptism was over we went to a resturant and had fried chicken, it was so good! 

Domingo- Jonathan came to church!!!! That was huge, we have been trying to get him to come to church for a long time. He even canceled a trip he had planned to come to church. It is so cool to watch him exercise his faith and come to church. I wasn't feeling very good that day

So I drank this pedialyte drink to help me get better. I think it worked pretty well because I am feeling quite a bit better today. 

We haven't had much luck with a few of the families that we thought seemed pretty intersted in the gospel, but  we will continue to work with them! Thanks for all your love, support and most importantly thank you for all the prayers! I love you all so much! Keep being heros to all your friends in Chico and to all those around you! 

We had transfers today, I am staying with Elder Martinez here in Sogamoso, which I am very excited about! 

Love Elder Strong

Week 11 A taste of Mexico

Sounds like everyone is staying busy with school, basketball and church activities. I am glad that everyone is enjoying basketball, they should be playing soccer though. Sorry to hear that dad, Jacob and Jared didn't get to play in snow on their campout. I wish it would snow here, it has been really hot lately, and I heard this isn't even the hottest place in the mission. How is Seth doing? I am glad that you are able to go to the temple tomorrow mom! The temple is such an amazing place.

Alright on Lunes we met with Jonathan and showed him the finding faith in Christ video, which went well. Then afterwards we had some of his pizza, because he works at a Mexican pizza place. We ate Mexican pizza so hey Baily and Reilly I got a little taste of your food. Lol! I am not sure why Jonathan can never make it to church on Sunday when we show up to his apartment he is always gone, so that is frustrating.

On Martes we looked for a bunch of old investigators on a list we were given only to find out that half the addresses don't exist and the other half of the people don't live there anymore. So that day was pretty much wasted. Later that night we were able to teach an English class in our ward, that was nice because I was able to speak in English. I had to say the prayer in English. I struggled saying the prayer because for the last two and a half months I have been praying in Spanish. 

On miercoles we had a district meeting which was good. We talked about the ward council and compared it to the body how every part is important in the work of salvation. We also went with a member and found a less active member . Pacho seems super interested and wants to come back so that is cool. We also found another less active family they are super cool and still like the church, they still read their scriptures and everything. They just need to come to church, which we will be working on this week. 

On jueves we washed our clothes, always good to have clean clothes. We also gave two priesthood blessings, and later met at the church for ward council. 

On Viernes Maria set a date for baptism! She will hopefully get baptized this Saturday if everything goes well. 

Sabado we had a meeting in Duitama for leaders, so I got to hang out with Elder Tipton. Then we came back and talked about the importance of missionary work. Then we made Crepes that were super good! Oh it finally rained thank goodness , that made me happy, but we left the window to our apartment open so the floor got a little wet. Good thing we don't have carpet. Hermana Fanni this older lady in our ward gave us hot chocolate and Pan. 

On Domingo we talked about the importance of prayer. Then we had four lessons with members that was super cool to have members help us with our lessons. The members really do help when they come to our lessons, so I encourage you guys to help the missionaries when you can. 

Today on P-day we made tacos. I mean we made a lot of tacos. I ate 13!!!

That was our week here down in Colombia! I love you guys and keep up the good work! Please be good examples to all those you come into contact with! 

Love Elder Strong

Week 10 tender mercies!

Gracias por todo, 

On Martes we taught Jose and Luz about the atonement and Christ. Jose has a lot of faith and it is great to see him progress  every time we go over. We also gave him a priesthood blessing and he is doing a lot better. He was actually sitting in his wheel chair which is great. 

On Mericoles, How was Jared's birthday? I wish I could have been there to help celebrate it with you guys. That is awesome that he has the preisthood now! We had a zone conference and talked about the importance of obedience. My companion made an awesome Oreo cheesecake for the conference. It was awesome! Then we met with Maria and talked to her about forgiveness, so hopefully she will be able to get baptized soon. She came to church on Sunday so that was awesome!!

Jueves, not much happened that I can remember. We stayed the night in Duitama, because we had to leave at 2 in the morning to go to Bogota to meet with the mission president.

When we arrived in Bogota' we went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. We got some hot chocolate and some awesome donuts.

We talked to the mission president about adjusting to mission life, and other things and a lot about the tender mercies of Heavenly Father. I hope that you guys can find the tender mercies of the lord in your lives! 

Domingo, church was good, then we went and had dinner with the Flores family. They made really good fries! Then we had a super awesome lesson with the mom of the Penagos family. She is not a member but has three daughters that are members. The lesson went well, we showed the finding faith in Christ video.At  the end of the lesson we asked her to pray and she said no. We all just sat there for a little while and then she started to pray. It was so awesome and the spirit was super strong! 

Anyways I am glad to hear everyone is doing well for the most part and continuing to be great examples to your friends. I love you all so much, and I am so blessed with an amazing family thanks  for everything! 

Love Elder Strong

Week 9

Well Alright so Maria didn't get baptized yet, she needs to work on some issues with forgiveness, but I guess we will keep working on that. She still wants to get baptized so that is good. We have another investigator Jimmy, who wants to get baptized but his parents are not very supportive. Hopefully their hearts will change so he can continue to grow in the gospel. The Tejedor family is doing well. They are growing little by little, still no baptismal date, but the parents did agree  to being baptized. We just need them to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. Reading the Book of Mormon is like one of the hardest thing to get people to do, I don't know why, but it probably has to do with the fact that it is a true testimony of Jesus Christ, so satan tries to do whatever he can to stop most people from knowing and asking if it is true, with simple things from being busy, work, school and other random things. Just READ the BOOK of MORMON! It is true and we can come closer to God as we do so! If any of you have doubts just read and pray!

Tuesday we had exchanges so I went to Duitama for the day, with Elder Dixon who is from Gilroy Ca. It went well. I invited someone to get baptized for the first time and they accepted, so that was super awesome! There were 4 of us staying in the apartment and we are all from Cali. Well the Latino was from Cali Colombia but still from Cali. Haha! 

Wednesday we had a district meeting and we talked about superheroes and how they got their powers, then my companion shared that we as missonaries recieve our power from being obident, so that kind of tied in to what you had to say mom and dad! 

Friday was cool we were able to give four blessings to people who weren't feeling well. We gave them all in Spanish which was a struggle especially the names. It was cool to be able to use the priesthood to help those who were struggling a little. 

Saturday we went to a town near by for Noche de Hogar or family home evening to teach a family about the gospel of Jesus Christ and my comp had a great object lesson with his pen, they seemed super intersted in it especially the mother so hopefully we can continue to work with them. Then as we left we passed a Catholic Church with a ton of Christmas lights on it which was cool. 

While we were waiting for the bus a guy asked us if we needed a ride back to Duitama so we jumped in and got a free ride and got to talk to him about the gospel. 

Sunday was a good fast Sunday. We were introduced to a guy named Jose . He is 40 years old and is interested in the gospel which is super cool. He is injuried right now I am not sure from what I didn't understand what they said. He is bed ridden right now, but has faith in God that he will be healed. 

P-day was today. We did laundry, went to lunch with our district and ate fried chicken and fries. I love fries!  Then we went bowling which was fun but a little different because they don't have machines that pick up the pins after your turn, they actually have someone that stands down there to fix the pins. I won with a score of 126 not super good but it was fun! 

I am glad that you guys are doing well, and sharing the gospel with people that is awesome! Mom I hope that you are able to go to the temple! Jared man that is awesome that you are going to be ordained as a deacon this Sunday! I wish I could be there to see it! Basketball  well that the best sport in the world but I hope that everyone has fun playing this season. I love you all and am grateful for all your support and love! 

Love Elder Strong

Week 8 Christmas in Duitama Colombia

Down here in Colombia they do most of their celebrating on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve we ate lunch at a members house and they made us homemade pizza with lots of vegetables on it. It was really good. On Christmas Day we studied for about 4 hours in the morning. Then we went to a resturant for lunch, the one we usually go to was closed so we went to a different one, it cost a lot more, probably more like what we are use to paying in the US. Then we went to a members house and he was going to give us some apple cider but it contained a little alcohol. My companion luckily read the label, and told the member that we couldn't drink it. He did give us some cookies instead. After that we went caroling to some referrals we had and gave them a wrapped Libro de mormon, that was how we spent our Christmas. 

Friday we went to the country to teach an investigator. It was cool because it reminded me of home. The lesson went well and Maria wanted to get baptized the next day. She's scheduled for baptism this coming Saturday. It is so awesome!! After we left her house we needed to catch the bus back to the city, we saw it pulling away, we tried to run and catch it but it kept on going. We had to wait for about 30 minutes for the next bus, so that wasn't too bad. 

Saturday we helped clean the chapel. We had to move all the chairs out, so we could wash them all by hand. There were about 200 chairs so I got my exercise in for the day. We also fasted for the Tejedor  family, they are super awesome and have tremendous faith in the gospel and are progressing super fast, and hopefully will be baptized this coming month. We almost got attacked by a dog, good thing he was on a leash, but the dog took me by surprise and I jumped about 10 ft in the air. 

Sunday was good we had a super awesome lesson in gospel principles class. It was about eternal families. I am so grateful for you guys and all the love you have for me, and the examples you set for me. 

Today we played some Futbol at the church with some of the youth and an investigator, it was awesome to be able to play soccer finally. They don't have grass fields here so I don't need my cleats. 

I love you guys and hope you had a great Christmas it was really nice being able to skype you on Christmas Eve. Love, Elder Strong

Week 7 birthday

I was excited to hear that dad and Seth had the chance to go out and invite people to church with the missionaries. I am glad that Seth was able to go with one of the elders, who were able to give him some advice about serving a mission. I am excited to hear where Seth is going to be serving even though it is a little while away.  I was glad that joshua wanted to share one of my missionary experiences in primary. Joshua is a great example to me. Glad to hear that Jacob's basketball team is doing so well. 

Alright, everything has been going good here. My birthday was a little different, but still good. I really missed my seven layer chocolate cake, so if you wouldn't mind sending some that would be awesome. Haha! It was a really good day. My birthday was the same day as the ward Christmas party, so it was like my birthday party kind of. Lol It was exciting we didn't have ham or anything instead we had rice,and other things. It was great to be around members and investigators for the night so I wasn't by myself. Then after the party the youth and my companion and the sister missionaries had a cake for me and sang happy birthday in Spanish and English which was super cool of them!

So the members here are super cool and friendly. Every time we go to their casas they feed us a ton of food, so we usually don't eat dinner. 

We have a couple of investigators that are progressing. This week was a little slow. I guess probably because I am new and everything. During the lessons all I really do is bear my testimony, because I really can't communicate that well. I am understanding what they are saying for the most part just hard to respond. We had the chance to go sing in the plaza again and were able to get some contacts that way. Then afterwards we went to a hamburger and hotdog resturant it was nice to eat some American food again.

Today was P-day, so I did my laundry.  You have to rent a washer here to wash your clothes, you have it for a couple of hours. We have to carry it up three flights of stairs and then back down. It is good exercise. After we did our laundry we went on a hike up this mountain close to town. When we reached the top it had a cross on it. The view of the city was super cool. After our hike we went and bought a few groceries like cereal, eggs and milk. Yes I said milk! I am so glad I found milk!

I will hopefully get my packages tomorrow at our Christmas devotional.

Let me tell you a little about my apartment. It is on the fourth floor do we get our exercise. It is a three bedroom. The kitchen and bathroom are small. 

The ward here is pretty big about the size of a normal ward, but not the size of Chico 2nd ward. The people in the ward are super nice! It is just hard to communicate because of the language barrier.

Have a Feliz navidad everyone. I love you all so much! Keep up the great missionary work you will bless many lives and also your own. Thanks for all the love and support and everything else. You guys mean the world to me! Remember the best gift the world has received i Jesus Christ our Savior. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas week. 

With Love, Elder Strong

Week 6 finally out of the CCM

Alright, I am finally out of the CCM, and in the real world. I didn't end up staying in Bogota City. I am now serving in a smaller town in the Duitama area. It is pretty cool, a lot smaller than Bogota. It is about the size of Chico. It is pretty cool for the most part. My trainer is Elder Martinez. He is a pretty awesome missionary. He was born in Guatemala, but has lived in Provo Utah most of his life. He speaks great English, but we speak in Spanish the majority of the time so my spanish will improve. In our district we are the only Elders with two sets of Hermanas. My companion is the district leader. He has been out a while, and goes home in March. 

I had the chance to meet with my mission president, and he seems like a really cool guy. He is very enthusiastic about  for the work. 

When traveling to my new area, I was able to travel with Elder Tipton who was my companion in the CCM. The bad thing about it was that we traveled by ourselves and no other missionaries so we thought we might get lost. We arrived in Duitama area around 1 am. The first day in my new area we had a district meeting then we taught two lessons. I didn't really teach that much but said a few things here and there. For lunch we go to a restaurant everyday. It is alright. That night a group of missionaries sang Christmas hymns in the plaza, and then we did some contacting while we were there. We told them about the birth of Jesus Christ. 

There are a lot of dogs here. I haven't seen any big earth worms yet. I hope you all have a merry Christmas and remember the reason we have this holiday is because of the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. I love you all! Thanks for all your love and prayers! 

Con Amor, Elder Fuerte