Tarija

Dear Mom and Dad and Emma and Chelsea and Family,

So I got transferred. I had been in my other area for 6 months. I didnt want to leave. I loved my ward and the people we were teaching. I know the Lord had something else in mind though. He moved me to Tarija. My area is called ''Paraíso''. Paraíso in english is Paradise. I literally am in Paradise. I love it here. To start, the weather is so much better. Its dry, sunny, and cold. If you are in the shade you need a sweater. If  you are in the sun, its pretty warm. I really feel like Im in Provo during October. Im in the mountains and the people here are wonderful. Ill send you some pictures.

Im still getting to know the area so there isnt too much to tell. I did get to know the Sosa Family. They are investigating the church and are wonderful. There are 10 in total. The dad is in the campo working until June 15 but when he gets home, all of them want to be baptized. Pray for them! They need it. 

We also are working with the Rocha family. They were inactive for about 10 years. The mom is now active again, their kids now are baptized and we are working with all their family members who arent members. Pray for them too.

Other than that the work is great here. We see miracles every day. My companion was bit by a dog my first day here. It was pretty funny. Luckily it had all its shots and everything. We washed it out with a lot of soap and water and then with alcohol. My companion is named Elder Murillo. He is from Equador but has lived in Spain for the past 15 years. He has a sweet accent. 

The Zone is great, and we have 22 people in total. Andaluz is our name. A huge zone. We are excited. We have great district leaders and they all work hard and love the Lord. 

I gave a talk on sunday. It was about humility. Sometimes I am not very humble. I often have to repent. 

I love you all. The Lord lives and is my and your Savior. 

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Gehring

 

Airport to Tarija

Elder Murillo

A giant tree

Tarija

 

A Poem

Dear family,

 

Here are some fotos. 

This week it rained a lot. 

We also served a little bit. I wrote a poem to help illustrate what happened. 

Once upon a rainy day, we were very very wet. 

Walking down the slippery road, a nice young fellow we met.

Very distressed was he, so we asked him there, what it was we could do.

He did not answer, but was assuring us, his car, he bought brand new.

We told him ´´Brother! we will help! Alone you´ll never leave this mud!``

We started to push for many miles, the path stained with blood.

With tired arms and weak legs, we told him who we were,

``We`re missionaries who serve the Lord``, we told him we had a cure:

Not only for broken cars and trucks, but also broken men.

Come and He will heal your heart, but we said it all in Spanish... ``Ven!``

Love,

Elder Gehring

Bolivian House

Full Zone Pirai

Truck Stop

 

Another letter from Sister Thayer

He's doing great. I fed them roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, chocolate cake. They shared a message with my friends. Great Sunday.
Sister Thayer

K'jaras

Hello Family,

There's not much to say but I'll tell you about the k´jaras. 

K´jaras is a typical friday night activity in Bolivia. It consits of a large group of people basically have a bbq together. In the plate there is a bunch of corn, sliced cheese, pig skin, and then a pig steak, and a sasauge. Its sooo good. We cant eat pork here in the mission so mine was the same just with chicken. Oh and you eat it without utensils. 

Also they eat it with soda. There is no such thing as a meal without soda. 

The coolest part is that an investigator came with us. His name is Wilber and he works for the Choquevilca family (where we live). He is awesome. Has tons of friends and is progressing little by little. I just hope I don't get transferred this next week so I can see his baptism. 

I miss you all lots and I love you tons. 

Dont forget to pray. God listens.

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Gehring

Demetrio, Reynaldo, and I

Jungle area

Las K'Jaras

Miguel Bruno and I

The Choquevilca Family and Wilber

 

Rain

Dear Family,

Its staring to be cold again. And rainy. It rained last night a lot. I thought the water was going to flood into our house. Luckily it didnt. It did start coming through the roof a little but only the wall and a little bit of the techo got wet. 

A lady in our ward made us cookies this sunday. They were a blessing after a day of walking in the rain. My shoes got wet but thats okay, we had cookies. 

We also bought protein powder this week. Just wait about 6 weeks and I'll be huge. 

I held a duck this week, it was yellow and very fluffy. I took a picture of it in my pocket. It didnt like very much to be in my pocket.

We talked about faith this week. I learned a lot about it. I found a secret recepie for faith in Moroni 7. 

Chairty ---> Humility ---> Meekness ---> Hope ---> Faith

Read the whole chapter side by side with Ether 12. Itll teach you a lot.  

Love you all lots and lots and lots and lots. 

Jesus is the Jehova of the Old Testament and the Mesiah of the New Testament. He lives and is the First Born and Only Begotten of the Father. I love Him. 

Love you lots,

Elder Gehring

Duck in my pocket

Duck leaving my pocket

Mass XXX

This is President, his wife, his son and his nuera. 

Protien

Shoes

Sunday  morning walk to church

Ward council

 

A letter from Sister Thayer

I'm in your son's ward here in Bolivia. He's doing an awesome job and you should be very proud!
I only have a couple months left here before I move back to Utah, but I'm trying to spoil them with a few treats like chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies and American candy.

Diane

Sister Thayer