Mar. 17, 2010

I can't believe that the wedding is tomorrow! So much has happended since the last e-mail. I have to be quick but I wrote some of the same things in my letter to Nikki and I asked her to send the details to you in the letter. So the most eventful days were the last two days. Thursday, I found out that my old companion was coming here so I'm in a trio companionship now. Starting Saturday, we have been out talking to real peolple. It was really hard and I felt bad because this was the real thing. The past two days we went to the center of the city to contact people with latino companions. Yesterday went much better than Monday for me and yet I still couldn't really participate. We talked to 6 people and one of them, I forgot in my hand written letter, so I'm going to talk about him here. This was in between the one old man who had a complete change in his expression as we talked to him, and the young woman whose husband was murdered. We were walking by the not working fountain and a man came right to us and asked us if we could teach him what we were teaching other people. So we went and sat on the curb and taught him. I didn't understand much but I do know that a car ran over his foot and he had to get it amputated and that he has a family. He was really excited about what we had to teach him and was surprised when we offered him a Book of Mormon. We taught him a little about the restoration, about the Book of Mormon, and a little about the plan of salvation. Again I was only able to see the change in the faces of the people we were teaching but I really wish I could do more than just bear my testimony. My Spanish is to the point where I can understand what people are talking about and somewhat about what their opinions about them are, but I don't know what they're saying and I don't know how to say what I want to say. It takes me forever to bear my testimony because I don't have one memorized. I refuse to memorize a testimony because then it doesn't feel like a testimony. I just say what I can with the words I know. Last night I had one latino elder try to teach me a couple of phrases in Quiche or Kiche or whatever that one native language is called. None of it makes sense. I think it'd be fun to learn but I have my hands full with Spanish right now. If I get assigned to go somewhere where I have to speak that language, then I'll deal with it when I get there. Anyone who gets called to a place like that needs a TON of patience though. Thanks for the e-mail. Good luck and congratulations Ashley and Zac!
Companion trio - Elder Dixon, Crapo, & McGuire