Clases de Inglés

This week was so short. There are only a few things I need to tell. 

1. Everyone thinks my companion is Latino. En consejo de Barrio, el obispado me asignó que empezara clases de ingles. Todo  el tiempo me hablaba a mi y ni una vez a mi compañero. Después, Elder Garcia y yo hablamos y decidimos que nadie sabe que él habla inglés.Everone thinks my companion is a Latin.  In ward council, the bishop assigned me to start English classes.  The whole time he talked to me and not even once to my companion.  Later Elder Garcia and I talked about it and decided that no one knows that he speaks English.

2. Jorge Carvajal. Lo encontramos a él en el ascensor hace 2 semanas y está progresando mucho y rápido. Él fue a Historia Familiar, ha hecho su librito ´Mi Familia´, y asiste a todas las actividades del barrio. Y también cada Domingo. Se va a bautizar el 6 de diciembre. Está leyendo, está feliz, y sus oraciones me hace humillar. Jose Carvajal.  We met him in the elevator two weeks ago and he is very well and rapidly.  He went to Family History class; he has made out his My Family brochure, and attends all the ward activities.  Also every Sunday.  He is going to be baptized the 6th of December.  He is reading, he is happy and his prayers humble me.

3. Imprimimos invitaciones a clases de inglés y las repartimos en una plaza de nuestro área. Vimos a dos hombres sentados y hablamos con ellos. Ellos vieron la invitación y empezaron a hablarnos en inglés. Nos dijeron que vivían en los estados. Ni modo, les invitamos que vinieran a nuestra clase para ayudarnos enseñar. We printed up invitations to the English class and handed them out in the park in our area.  We saw two men who were sitting down and spoke with them.  They saw the invitation and began talking to us in English.  They told us that they lived in the U.S.  That didn't matter, we invited them to our class to help us teach.

4. Cantamos en una celebración de los 50 años de la Iglesia en bolivia. Fuimos a un coliseo y después de la primera oración, todos los misioneros cantaron 3 himnos. Había una pantalla grande para que todos vean. La persona grabando todo la celebración enfocó la cámara directamente en mi cara. Ahora soy famoso aquí en Santa Cruz. We sang in a 50 year celebration of the Church in Bolivia.  We went to a coliseum and after the first prayer, all the missionaries sang three hymns.  They had a large screen that all could see.  The person recording the celebration focused the camera directly at my face.  Now I am famous here in Santa Cruz. 

5. Comimos KFC esta semana para el día de acción de gracias. Nadie nos dijo que no fue hasta esta semana que viene. We ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken this week for Thanksgiving day.  No one told us that it wasn't until next week. 

6. I'm allergic to mangas. It turns out that every time I eat mangas my face get super itchy, the inside of my mouth hurts really bad, and I get tons of sores all over my lips. It really is not fun because during the end of the year here is mango season. They are really really cheap to buy. You can buy about 50 mangos for 10bs. (1.25$) But I cant eat them! Because then I'm miserable for 2 weeks. 

7. Clases de Ingles. So we are staring to teach english classes this week. We will see how it goes. I hope people come. We are praying that people bring non member friends so we can find more people to teach about the gospel. 

Thats about it. This next week and the next next week will be much more interesting with cambios coming up. Love you all lots and lots.

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Gehring

Elder Bennett

District Meetings



La Semana de Milagros

This week was full of joy and gladness. 

A few things about what I want to share.

1. We met Jorge this week. One day we were running late so we ran to the offices. Our normal elevator that we take was broken so we went to the other side of the offices to take the elevator. We enter with a man. We talk to him. He asks us is we are from the Church of Jesus Christ. We tell him yes. We ask if he is a member. He says ''No, pero quiero ser''. We teach him the next day, he loves the gospel. He comes to our baptism. He comes to church telling everyone he is a member. He will be baptized the 6th of December. We are happy and he is even happier. 

2. One of our less active members baptized his daughter. It is amazing to see such a big transformation. He used to be an Elders Quorum president but has been less active for many years. We are teaching him and his family. He baptized his daughter this week and sunday he confirmed her a member of the Church. He was so nervous but the spirit guided him. He is a wonderful person. We will continue to work with the members so they give him extra support these coming weeks.

3. Grace and Mercy. Mostly this is for you dad but also for Chelsea and Emma and Mom and everyone else!

I studied a lot this week on these 2 topics. I learned a lot too. This is what I understand. It was hard to only study these topics alone. A lot of it goes into the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement and everything really.

First off. The Fall.

When Adam fell, 2 deaths entered the world. Physical and Spiritual. Before being born we knew that upon coming to earth we would die spiritually and be subject to die physically. We are not responsible for the fall but we suffer from the effects of said fall. 

When we were born we died spiritually (separated from God) and now are mortal. Everyone in the world is spiritually dead because we are not in the presence of God. 

Second. The Atonement. 

Christ suffered, died, and resurrected. These 3 acts payed for in full the effects of the fall. Every person, independent of what they do in this life will 1. live forever and 2. return to the presence of God (only to be judged) thanks to the atonement of Jesus Cristo. Then because of the atonement, we can also repent and develop more attributes of Christ.

Third. Judgment.

In Alma 12 we learn a lot. verse 16 talks about a 2nd spiritual death. After being saved spiritually and temporally from the atonement of Christ we will be judged according to our works. If our works are not in accordance with a celestial law we will die spiritually again because we will chose to be separated once again from the presence of God. Thanks to the atonement, we can appear at this judgment ''Sin mancha''. (without stain? i think is how you call it in english)

Now the grace and mercy. 

Grace is the power which makes it possible that we receive the blessings of the atonement. Then, after all we can do, it is also the power that gives us exaltation. This power was and is provided by the mercy that God has toward us. Mercy is the spirit of compassion. Mercy is an attribute of God. God showed us mercy by sending His son. Christ offers mercy through the power of Grace and atonement. Yes, we are resurrected and brought back to the presence of God by grace alone. BUT! We are only exalted and given eternal life with God by his grace AND after all we can do. We need to develop the attribute of Mercy as part of the ''all we can do''. Along with faith, repentance, saving ordinances etc. 

Scriptures.

Gía para estudio de las escrituras (GEE En español) Under Gracia y misericordia

Mateo 9:36 (mercy is compassion) 

Juan 1:17

Acts 15:11

Efesios 2:8

Alma chapters 32, 32, 12

2 Nefi  2:8, 10:24, 25:23

Ether chapter 12:26-27

Moroni chapter 10:32-33

I learned that through the Grace of God, because he has mercy toward those who believe in his name, we are resurrected and brought back to his presence. I know that, only after all we can do, can we be saved (eternal life with God). Because God sent his Son Jesus Christ to suffer, die, and resurrected for us, we are given the gift of immortality and the ability to repent. 

Well thats what I understand. I hope it clears some things up for you if you didn't understand it before! I still have a lot to learn but I´ll keep studying. 

Love you all lots and lots. 

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Gehring

Parrots

Baptisms

A very nice house

'' We love you president '' for his birthday.

Omar and Diana

 

Sunday

Chapter 1

Weeks smudge together and it seems as though this has always been and always be my life. I wouldn't mind that really for as each day passes, my love for these people grows. Living is different here, but it has a sense of simplicity that is intriguing to one who has never lived such a way. 

Sundays are different. The empty streets roam the city, silent bell hang from every church, and buildings, that usually are crowded with people, stand still on ever corner with eyes shut as if they were trying to hide from the emptiness that surrounds them. We wake up, as we should - 6:29am. There is never much conversation in the mornings, but on Sundaythere seems to be less. With buttoned shirts, ironed slacks, and a ruggedly knotted tie, we leave the empty house. I hear it whisper ''Goodbye'' as we quietly lock it´s door. Our first stop is not the church. We walk swiftly and with purpose to the investigators' houses that are scattered around the city. We knock, call, and invite everyone we can. Unfortunately, there is no success. 

 

 

We do not have to walk for long before arriving to the only place that seems to be smiling. The chapel is located at the center of the city and gives off a warm inviting glow that is brighter than the sunlight of the early morning. We enter, greet the incoming members, and anxiously await the arrival of our investigators. Sweat slowly forms on our brows as we faithfully wonder if the people we had previously invited will come. We lightly chat with some of the faithful ones that always arrive on time though our minds are in another world.

 ''Will they comes?'' ''Who will sit by them?'' ''Will they make it in time for the sacrament?''

 

 

Our hearts beat faster and faster as the Bishop starts with the announcements. I am called on to play the piano and I take the long walk to the front of the chapel. With each step I feel as if there were weights dragging my shoes to the ground. I heart begins to sink deeper and deeper into my chest as I begin to accept the reality that no one will come. I play the opening hymn, but it is over before I can even blink. In a daze of frustration and sadness, I return to my seat. My companion and I do not speak. We pass through the sacrament and the speakers being to give their prepared and unprepared talks. For us, the ticking of the clock seems to be the loudest noise in the room. 

Still in a fog of misery, I am startled by a vibrating in my pocket. Forgetting I have a cell phone I wonder what it could be. I reach in, realize it is my phone and, making sure no one was looking, I read the message.

''Ya llegó''

I looked at the sender and begin to read. 

''De: Elder...''

Before I could even finish reading the name, I look up and see that someone had made it. I quickly nudge my companion who was almost asleep and read him the message. Now with smiles, we both look up and see our investigator witting with a member, following the talk with scriptures. 

It ended up being a great rest of Sunday. We taught an amazing lesson Sunday night to a less active from Brazil and then came home and were able to ''rendir cuentas'' (not sure what that is in english) to our District leader. The whole week leads to Sunday. Sunday is when all your work from the week with investigators comes together. 

We also had Zone conference this week which went really well. We talked a lot about the importance of the Spirit in our lives. We talked about our goals, plans, and desires for this transfer. With Elder Garcia, we are going to organize a Christmas Choir with a ton of people and practice during all of December. We are hoping it will help us find more people to teach while focusing on the importance of Christmas.

To finish I invite you to read Moroni 7-8

Everyone knows these chapters for their verses about infant baptism and charity but I read them this morning and realized that it talks a lot of faith. Read them. You´ll find something new too.

Hurrah for Israel!

Lots of love,

 

Elder Gehring

 

Someone gave us a watermelon.

My companion turned 1 this week.

 

La semana de milagros

Hello my family,

I have a goal: To see more miracles. Sometimes I'm not very good at it. Sometimes the other stuff gets in the way. Sometimes its just hard to see them.

We work in the offices and we don't get to work all day like normal missionaries. Sometimes that's hard. 

We are teaching a less active member named Fabio. He showed us his certificate of ordination to the priesthood so we know he was baptized. The hard thing is when our ward here asked for the ficha (I'm not sure how you call that in english) they couldn't find it. He doesnt exist in the church records. We have a few more things to verify but I'm not sure how to tell him that technically following the records he isnt a member. But the miracle inside all of this is his goals and plans to get better about the word of wisdom. I know now how powerful support from other people is. His home teachers, his nephew, us and his friend all signed a paper to agree to help him achieve his goals. I know he felt our support and I know he felt our love. It was a miracle to see the influance of members in the ward.

Also this week we sent all the old people home. I realized that I would have gone to the airport with Chelsea if she was in my mission. I still don't like going to the airport. I did the first time but now its just a long drive. And one time a taxi driver covered me (im not sure if thats how you say it) 100bs to get to the airport. I told him I wasn't going to pay that and then he said 90bs. Still a ton of money for a ride to the airport. 

Also I am going to start taking more pictures. 

Also we went hammock shopping this week. Hna Willard slipped me a secret note saying she needed my help looking for a hammock for presidents birthday. We went with hno Pedro (one of the members in our ward) and we went hammock shopping! It was filled of laughs and smiles. We took pictures and we found one that I think president will like! Ill send pictures when we gift it to him! Tell me what color you want and I'll buy one for you. They are pretty.

We are teaching a lady and her family. She has a daughter that has 5 years and reminds me of melanie. I'll send you fotos when I take them. The mom is going to be baptized this month and then her sister and her brother in-law will enter the water soon after. 

We have entered the hottest time of the year. I give off at least my own body weight in sweat every day. Some places it hits like 50 degrees (celcius). But here in the city usually only about 43.

Also I love mangos. In about a month there will be so many that people will give them away because they have so many.

Our chapel was remodeled. We now have 2 rows of chairs in the front and a moving pulpit!!!! Its a huge blessing here. 

Love you all lots and lots. 

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Gehring

A toddler throwing a fit in the airport and I had to take a picture!

Bowling

Halloween pizza

His name is Ian. He has 1 year and 6 months.

Our chapel in the center.

Pedro and Elder Garcia with a giant hammock.

What my street looks like.