Hello there.
So this week was a bit longer. Mainly because Elder Chavez was sick for a
couple days and I spent my time reading and reading and studying, which is
awesome but its super hard to do that for a long time. Time seems to stop, slow
down, and never move. But once he was better things flew by as always. Spanish
is hard. Especially when people laugh when you say something wrong and you are
standing there for 10 minutes while they get control of themselves not knowing
what you said. then they explain it to you and you laugh too... But after they
don't think its funny anymore. This happens daily. I'm now starting to plan on it.
Usually ever day around 5 or 6 when I'm really tired and my brain is staring to
slow down!
For example. We have huesos in our bodies (bones) and for breakfast we eat
huevos (eggs). We were talking with a MA (menos activo) about breaking bones and
how he had a friend that broke several bones in his face. I then proceeded to
say ´Pucha! Sí, tenemos muchos huevos pequeños en nuestras cadas´ when I meant
to say huesos...They got a pretty good laugh out of that. And for most of the
week too. But I learned this phrase this week. Lo siento, ya lo sabes. A hora,
tendré que matarte.
Also. Paz y gozo. Peace and Joy. 2 things we feel when we attend church.
But I didn't say that to another MA. I said we can feel pozo y gaz. Gaz doesnt
mean anything and pozo is a well or pit for water. I felt pretty dumb about that
one too. But I'm learning fast and my reading has gotten so much better. I'm
pretty much a Latin now to be honest. Except for a few things like my accent and
that I'm a giant here and that my feet don't fit in their sandalias and that I'm
white. But everything else I'm pretty much there. OH! Funny story about that
giant feet thing. I wanted a pair of the sandalias made from tires because they
literally never break and they are only like 2 dollars (20 Bolivianos). But they
don't make them my size. Anywhere. I had to trace my foot and have them custom
made. For 5 bolivianos more. About 75 cents in USD. I'm pretty pumped to get
them.
Shoes aren't the only things that are cheap here. Everything on the street
is cheap. I can buy brand new movies that haven't come out yet, in englisha and
espanol for 5 bolivianos. instead of 20 Dollars in the US. I think I'm going to
live here after my mission. Also the tshirts are cheap. But sometimes its
understandable because the English to spanish translations are sometimes off. Or
sometimes they are in english and people have no clue what they mean. Yesterday
in church the Sunday Shcool teacher, a wonderful hermana with a wonderful young
family had a shirt that was nice and very appropriate for church. But someone
here on the street had put on the front HOT GIRL with sparkles and diamonds and
swirls. I laughed a little. I also bought a soccer jersey this week from a
memebr. Its definitly fake... because it was 7 bolivianos but its cool to me! Oh
and grandma Lois. I promise that during my time here I will find you a
backscratcher. It is my second mission here.
Despite all the fun and laughs and cheap movies, the work is going forth
and I have a testimony that nothing can and will stop it. There are miracles
every day. Satan tries to cover them up with bad lessons, people not being home,
and ID cards being lost but I know that he will never win.
First off our marriage and baptism that was scheduled for this weekend is
going to have to be pushed back one week. We were pretty discouraged at first
but we are doing everything we can to help this family. The mom lost her ID
canet which is necesario for casarse. We now have to wait for this to get in and
then we can dejar papeles with the lawyer. Steps are slow but things are
progressing. We also had an awesome lesson with a new family. Julid and her
Husband Richard. They are wonderful. And he is intimidating. From the moment we
walked up to their house he made it know that he was in charge, and the jefe of
the house. He sat us down and asked us such sincere questions. He is such a
smart guy and asked such hard questions but we had the spirit and it was such a
beautiful thing to see his heart slowly open. In the end of the lesson he said a
prayer with his wife's hand in his and his daughter in his lap. It brought tears
to my eyes. We are going to work hard this week to get them to church, to read
the LDM, and to pray every night as a family.
Elder Chavez is an amazing teacher and trainer. He sees the good in
everyone. We had a lesson with a family that is interested in the church. Our
previous lessons had been hard but we were getting better. We walked up to their
house and the dad and son sprinted off. We found out they were drinking and were
pretty drunk. We were sad but my comp found the good in the situation as always.
He asked me what was so important about that situation and I said I didn't know.
And he told me. Their father respects us. And feels shame about drinking. He
sees us as representatives of someone important and he didn't want us to see him
drunk. He was happy because of this! I was shocked that he was able to see such
an important fact when satan was trying to cover that up. A miracle none the
less.
We have had so many lessons its hard to write about them all. We did get to
help a lady in our ward move. Moving parties here are a bit different. No one
has a pick up truck to throw all the stuff in. My comp and I carried mattress
after mattress and dresser after dresser down the street. I wish I had taken a
picture. It was quite a sight to see two missionaries with mattresses on their
heads walking down a muddy road with horses on either side of us. What a
powerful family and experience. I love it here. I don't know how to talk, I can't
understand anyone, and I feel like the weirdo because my feet are 4 times bigger
than everyone's, but I know I'm on the Lords errand. I feel His love in every
moment. I know He is always there. If you get the chance, read the book of Moses
and Abraham this week. There are wonderful things in those books about where we
came from and why we are here.
I love you all. I miss you all. But the work here is incredible. Hurrah for
Israel!
With Love,
Elder Gehring
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