Elder Zachary Gehring: We just think you look great in white...

Hello.

I have mixed feelings this week. My companion is going home (he's finishing his mission) this Thursday and its horrible when your first 2 companions in the mission field go home at the end of the cambios. Especially when you're just starting like I am. Its so hard to not think a ton about home when your comp doesn't talk about anything but home. But apart from the homesickness this week, I don't think I been so happy in my life. Let me explain.

First off, I love weddings. They are wonderful and happy and wonderful. And this week we planned a wedding and then went to a wedding!! They are a little different here in Bolivia. The music I can't understand and the speeches have to be in Spanish which is hard... but it was still wonderful. We decorated the cultural hall of the church on Thursday and all they had was a little ladder.. Dad, I think I broke every safety rule that I've ever learned from you about ladders. I was the tallest person there and the only person who could reach the ceiling... but I had to stand on the very very top rung and I've never had a fear of heights until this moment. On a wobbly ladder. With very little support. But I'm safe and I'm alive. I told the bishop's wife that I won't be able to do that ever again. Everthing turned out great in the end and I gave my first speech at a wedding. I got it on video too but its too big to send so you'll just have to wait 2 years to see it! Sorry!

Not only was this wedding wonderful, but the next day we got to baptize the husband! The couple that got married is Kelin y Jose Carlos and Kelin is a less active hace mucho tiempo and Jose Carlos was an investigator. They had to be married before he could be baptized but now hes a member and is preparing to recieve the preisthood. The baptism was wonderful and Jose had a smile on his face the entire time. The water was freezing cold and I'm surprised we both didn't have ice in our hair after leaving the water. There were tons of people who showed up and it was such a wonderful night that I nor Jose will soon forget. I'll send photos!! But the scripture in Doctrine y Covenants that says how great shall be your joy when you bring one soul unto me... is so true. To see the change in someones eyes and the happiness they have is amazing and brings you so much happiness. I can't wait to keep working hard.

Other than this wedding and baptism, the week was pretty normal... kind of. We had another day of flooding which Elder Beltran was pretty happy to experience but it was terrible for me. It was something that I only wanted to see once. I once again was dead tired. Also I had some of the worst food this week in ALL of my mission.

1. I ate what I believe is the closest thing to what the pioneers ate on the trail here. Flour, water, oil, and a tiny bit of sugar. It was gooey, powdery, and bitter all at the same time.

2. I ate these sausage things that I'm not sure if they were meat or plastic. I was sick for about 2 days after that.

3. More sasauge patty things that I'm almost 100 percent sure werent cooked fully.

I never eat in the street becuase thats just stupid but these three were pretty bad.

Also we had a weird day of service. We left at about 10 in the morning (with 4 of us missionaries) and drove with a member for almost a hour. I really am not sure where we ended up going but it was far. We got out and met a family who was cutting their grass to start a garden. For 3 hours we cut grass with machetes and shovels. I have never been so sore in my life after service. Then we ate these fried bread things and then left. It was a great opportuinty to serve but the whole situation was a bit odd. We had no clue who these people were, we just knew that they were family, or maybe just friends of this member. We got home and I could hardly move! But we had to finish our day of course but I slept really well that night.

This week I read a scripture too. Well I read a lot, but this one I like a lot and want to share. In Alma 29:14 it says "But do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi."

I love this scripture and the message it has. We can be happy even if we ourselves don't have perfect success. When we feel like our days are long and terrible as missionaries we have to find the good things. Maybe an investigator read one verse more than the pervious day. For him, he was successful! And we need to look at this and find joy in his success. Its so hard sometimes to find joy in the success of others, but we will be so much happier if we do so. I am so happy here but sometimes its hard to find that happiness, but I know that its always there. We just need to find it. So basically I'm saying you all should be so happy because I had success this week!! Just kidding, but seriously I love this scripture.

I love you all, I miss you all, and I love this work.

Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Elder Gehring