Friday, March 21, 2014

The last days in the CCM

Hola Familia!!

I have a ton to write this week and its going to be all over the place as far as topics and stories go. I've started keeping a small notebook of things thoughout the week that I want to share with you all so all my stories will be chronological not by event. If that makes any sense at all. Also, sorry for my spelling. It is the worst now that I am half way into Spanish. And especially this week where I've had a Latin comp the whole time!

So I guess thats where I can start. Last Wed I got a Latin Comp!!!! Elder Arcaya is from La Paz Bolivia and is the coolest. The first couple days he was super shy but we couldn't be better friends now. He tells me all about Santa Cruz, that everything is green, its crazy hot, there are bugs everywhere and it rains one month of the year. Hes 22 years old and is a super awesome missionary. Everything is different with a Latin District (I'm the only English speaker) and a Latin comp. I can now understand most everything and I'm getting way better, after just a week of only Spanish, of coming up with things to say. I leave Tuesday for the field and I owe Elder Arcaya my life for helping me get ready to be out in the real world.

Okay tons of cool stuff this week. Number one. Hard Boiled Eggs. I have learned a brilliant way to take the shell off an hard boiled egg with out getting a ton of tiny pieces. I'll have to remember to take pictures of how to do it. But basically you make two holes on either end of the egg and blow into one end and the egg flys out. I have no idea how, but it is awesome. Okay, Venezuelans. There are 6 Venezuelans in my District and they have the hardest Spanish to understand. they don't say any of their ´s´´ so mas o menos sounds like ma o meno which makes trying to understand them really really hard. Also everyone here wants to learn English. Everyone. Well the Latins. The funniest thing is when they try to say the word ´Objective´ because they can't do it. I have no idea why. They just can't! Also another funny thing about the Latins is they love the series Twilight. I've had several of them ask me if I like it and then they explain to me that its the most beautiful Love story they've ever heard, seen, or read. I laughed pretty hard at that one. The Elders in my district are me, Arcaya, La Torre, Castillo, Bellorin, Henriquez and the Hermanas are Ramos, Mamani, and Morales. They are all great. We all have become super close. 

Oh! I gave a talk on Sunday which was quite the experience. All in Spanish of course and it was on the Earthly ministry of Christ. I feel like I did an alright job, and I've learned that even when I'm speaking in another language, its hard for me to only give a 4 minute talk which is what it was supposed to be. We also had the amazing opportunity to have a group of Primary kids come to the CCM on Saturday. I got to be the pianist for the entire program. They came and sang for us and then they had a whole devotional by president Dyer which was so amazing. There was this one little boy who came and sat by me at the piano and asked why I had a pencil behind my ear. I told him it was so I could always be ready to take notes and he thought that it was weird. Then he asked me if he could have it so he could have it on his ear. He was 8 years old and probably the cutest kid I've ever seen. Except for Melanie, Ethan, and Carly of course. 

We also got to go to the temple twice since I last wrote. And I had the amazing opportunity to go with Elder Bellorin as he went to the Temple for the first time. An opportunity I may not get again until I have a son. The temple is such a wonderful place and it kills me to know that today was the last time I'll get to go for 2 years. But I'll be doing the work of the Lord still so its okay! We also went street contacting again which was a much better experience this time in that I didn't get lost in the middle of the city. We met so many awesome people! One guy named Jose got super mad at me because he honestly believed that the US is invading Colombia, taking away the spanish culture and forcing the English language on everyone. I laughed a little seeing that I'm here learning Spanish.. not teaching English. We met a lot of really religious people who thanked us over and over again for the work we are doing. It was such a neat experience. 

OH! So I heard a joke this week. Did you hear about the man with the Book of Mormon in his front pocket when he got robbed? He was shot, but the bullet hit the Book of Mormon and stopped at the Isaiah chapters. Also this week we had a health class about what to avoid in the field. Not very exciting except I got a kick out of one of their `suggestions` The slide show said `Avoid eating raw meat` I mean really? You don't say? haha. Oh, and they have a candy here that tastes like those Cherry Halls. It was weird. I ate it and felt like I was eating a cough drop. I guess thats good to them. The latins also ask me to translate some pretty weird stuff for them. Like the other day my comp asked me to translate `I want to crawl` which was super strange to me. I have no idea where he came up with that. And they also asked me what it means when you make air quotes with your fingers. That was super hard to explain in Spanish! 

This week I came to realize how important `El papel del Espìritu Santo en la conversiòn` is. We spent a long time the other day focusing only on having the spirit in lessons. This is so cool to me because of the language barrier I run into every time I teach. It doesn't matter how well I teach a lesson. If the Spirit is there, the person can learn and still come closer to the Savior. Which in the end is our main purpose as missionaries. I have learned that the only way to have that spirit in my lessons is having effective study sessions with my comp and by myself. If I'm prepared I know I'll be able to teach with the power and authority of God. I know this can apply to my teaching but also to any aspect of anyones life. In a job, in school, in families, in making decisions, in everything. If you do your part to study and pray and have a desire to have the Holy Ghost, the Lord will do the rest. 

I love and miss you all! Hurrah For Israel! 

Love,
Èlder Gehring




These are the North Americans.
 

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