Una Vision al Senor

Hello.

I want to start by saying that I was wrong about Santa Cruz. Its not hot all the time. In fact, its sometimes very very cold. And sometimes its even colder when its raining. And I can't lie, I never thought I would need to buy a jacket here in Bolivia. But I did. Friday I went with Elder Bel Tran to a street market to look for a jacket. And it was a weird experience. 1 because I am a gringo and everything is very expensive for me. And 2 because all of the clothes they have are donations from the USA to Bolivia, but the people here need money so they end up selling it all. I bought 2 sweatshirts to wear while we are in our house. 1 from a highschool somewhere in the States and another from the Utah Utes. I'm definitley not going to wear the second one ever, I only bought it so someone else wouldn't have to wear it. Just kidding.... kinda. Oh we also taught a lesson to a Pastor of a church here in Bolivia and he was wearing sweatpants from BYU. I told him it was a sign that he needed to be baptized. He didn't think so.

 

This week was cold but it was really great. We had a lot of success and yesterday we finally had investigadores attend church!! It was such a rewarding feeling to see them so happy during Sacrament Meeting.

 

But as always it was a week full of adventures. I would like to tell you about them now. 

We are always looking for service. And this week we found some! A part member family needed help cutting down a tree. I was happy to help! Espesially after several weeks working with Grandma cutting up wood!! But the thing I didn't know was that they only had machetes. And if you don't know, its very hard to cut down a tree with, well, a sword pretty much. After about an hour they borrowed an axe and things went a bit faster. Then they hooked up a rope to their car and ended up pulling the tree down with a taxi. I got it all on film. We were so tired afterwards. But the good news is that the mom of this family attended chuch this sunday! And she's not a memeber! Service really does work! So you should all do it more.

 

Now a secret about my companero. He loves to use his onda (sling shot). And he likes to brag about his accuracy. Yesterday we were leaving lunch and he told me to look and he shot in a flock of gallos and killed one. It was really bad... because this guy started yelling at him. I understand spanish but not when its really loud and full of curse words. He ran.. so I ran. It was just a stray gallo and the streets here aren't going to miss him but he felt so bad. It was pretty funny afterwards though. I told him hes not allowed to bring it (his onda) outside of the house anymore.

I also found a llanta this week. A huge one. I think its from a giant tractor or something. I rolled it all the way back to our house (a good 3 km) and now in the mornings we use it to work out. It almost wasn't worth it but its at least something different to do every morning. Push ups and sit ups get less and less appealing every day when your bed is very very comfortable.

OH! And I met a gringo this week. He is a student on a mission trip for his school and he preaches false doctrine about the mormons. He is very nice but he doesn't say nice things about us. He came up to us and asked us some questions. He doesnt know a lick of spanish so it was pretty cool to be able to speak with my companero when he couldn't! He is only here for 2 weeks and when he heard that we are here for 2 years he was very shocked. I was very proud to be a member of our church in this moment. He left and didn't say much else. It was pretty weird to speak in English too. Spanish is much easier here.

 

Tuesday we had Zone Conference. It was even better than my first one. The theme was Christ. To start, we studied about the atonement and after we talked about his life here on the earth. I can't even begin to describe and tell all that I learned and now understand about the atonement but I am here to tell you all that you can never stop learning about the Atonement of Christ. There is no act more great and more selfless than the Atonement and we can never stop studying it. But while I was reading in Mateo during the conference I came to learn something new about the story of Christ walking on the water. Go get your Bible and then come back and read the rest of this letter so you can follow along.

I'm serious. Go get your Bible.

You still don' have it...

Good. Now turn to Matt. chapter 14.

If you dont have your Bible. Get it now.

Good. Now read verses 25-30.

 

Now. There is soo much we can learn from this story. I Love the part in verse 25 about the 4th watch. Its hard at times, and sometimes we don't think He will come to help us but he always will. Even if its in the 4th watch. In the 11th hour of our pain. But I want to focus most in verse 29. And I want you to think about where Peter´s vision was. In this verse where was he looking?? At Christ. He had faith, he knew his goal (Christ) and he was able to walk on the water. Then in the very next verse. In spanish is says ´Mas al ver el viento...´ In this verse now, where is he looking? For a split second his vision changed. He lost sight of his goal (Christ) and later in the same verse (30) what happens? He starts to sink.

This hit me hard. That the second. The very instant we lose sight of Christ in our lives is when we will start to sink. The wind in so terribly stong in the world right now. There are temptations, problems, death, sickness, sadness. But if we look at these things and take our eyes off of Christ, we will sink. Si­ o si­. It is so crucial and so important that we focus in Christ and never look away. I know that when we have a clear vision in Christ that it doesnt matter how strong the winds are, we will be able to make it. There is so much more we can learn from these few verses but I only have so much time to write. Read this part over and over and I promise you, you'll find something new each time you read it.

I love this work, I love the people here. I love my Savior and everyday I stive to keep my vision and my goal in Him. I know we are not perfect, none of us are. We are going to sink but we can always change our visions back to Christ. He will be there to hear our cries and lift us from our sorrows. Maybe not until the 4th watch, but He will always come.

Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Elder Gehring

A birthday party!



In a canal where the kids here like to fish.

This is Ingird and her baby.

This is the tree we cut down!

 

El Poder del Esp­ritu Santo

Mi Querido Familia

 

I want to begin this letter by thanking everyone of you for your prayers, your emails, your stories of life back home, and your love that I can feel every day. It makes a difference and for that I am thankful.

 

This week was hard. We had amazing success in some areas, and hardly any success in others. But I always picture life and especially my mission like a roller coaster. If a roller coaster was flat and only went straight, would it be any fun? If you don't like roller coasters this probably won't make sense, but no it wouldn't!! When life is full of ups and downs is when you have the most fun. And maybe you'll learn something along the way. But with my new companion, everything is great. We get along. And every lesson is up beat, and spiritual. He is an amazing example to me and I learn from him everyday.

 

I see something new everyday and every day I think that it couldn't get more weird or more funny but daily I am proven wrong. First I would like to talk about the duendes. I'm not sure the exact translation because my dictionary says ´imp´ but its more like elf. The people here are a bit supersticious (forgive my spelling). And Elder Bel Tran, my comp, likes to use this to his advantage. He regularly asks people if they believe in duendes and most of them say yes. They say yes with fear in their eyes and a tremor in their voice. Apparently these duendes are super bad. They kidnap and hurt the children. They destroy your houses, eat your food, kill your pets, and they leave a bad spirit in your home. I laughed at first because I thought they were kidding but there are people here that are super scared of these elf creatures. Apparently they are about 3 feet tall and have short legs and a big head. Not sure exactly because I still haven't seen one.... Pretty sure I never will honestly. But its a real fear here. Maybe one day I'll believe. 

 

Also, Mom this week I have a couple suggestions to help you with the kids. Here they wash their diapers... and use them over and over and over. Just a suggestion. You never know. It could work really really well. Oh but you have to air dry them. Also, you should look up songs in spanish to sing with the kids. The Pta. de Sociedad Socorro (Relief Society President) asked me to write songs in English for her students in her school and I think you should do the same with Ethan and Melanie. Just little songs like head shoulders knees and toes and things like that. Also learn how to make the food called pike macho. I think thats what its called. Its native to Cochabamba but its super delicious.

 

Brother Figgins I have to thank as well. And mom you'll have to make sure you tell him! Thanks for the magic tricks. The kids loooove them. And the parents love them even more! They are fascinated by the simplest tricks. Its great.

 

This week was not only filled with funny stories as always but it was filled with miracles. Miracles that could have only come from one place. The Spirit. This week I began to see the heart of a menos activo change just a little more. With Elder Chavez we would always ask this hermano to come with us to citas but he never wanted to. With time he would say yes every once in a while, and now he wants to go with us, and after a lesson he asks us ´Where to next?´ Its amazing to see how powerful the spirit is and how wonderful and sweet the fruits of the spirit are. 

 

We also had a lesson with a father who has had a hard time returing to chuch after a negative experience with another member and bishop. He pleaded for our help and neither I nor my companion knew what to say. After what felt like hours of silence I thought of the scripture in Moroni 7:45-48 about charity and love. We read it out loud together and tears slowly started to fill his eyes. He was quiet for a while and finally he said one word ´Gracias´ He was so thankful for this one scripture. He marked it in his Libro de Mormon and told us that it was exactly the answer he was looking for. Its so important to have the spirit with us at all times, not only to help ourselves with problems, but more improtantly to help other people with theirs.

 

My main invitation this week is for each one of you to read Matthew 4 and to focus in verses 1-11. This is the story of the fasting of Christ for 40 days, and afterward the temptations of Satan. This is such an amazing manifestation of the power of the Lord and the weakness of the devil. In verse 3 Satan tempts the Savior for the first time. And at first I thought that the temptation was to change to rock to bread. Yes that is one of the temptations, but not the first one. The first thing Satan says is ´If thou be the Son of God.´ This is the first temptation. He tells Christ and tempts Him to deny his sacred calling of the Son of God. Then he tries to hide it with a much smaller temptation. To change rock to bread. And again in verse 6 ´If thou be the Son of God´. Satan´s small temptations to change rock to bread and call upon angels were only there to try and disguse his end plan. To get Chirst to deny his calling as the Only Begotten of the Father. It is the same in our lives. We are daily tempted to act and think and do things against that which we know is right, but thats not the end goal of Satan. His only goal is to get us to distance ourself from God and in the end not live with our Heavenly Father for eternity. Every single temptation of the devil has the same purpose. To get us further away from Christ. For this reason our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come to Christ. Always remember that our goal in this life is to replace all our attributes of man with attributes of Christ and to go to Him. There is so much more we can learn from this story in Mateo 4 and I am going to contiune studying it more and more. Christ is our perfect example and we can learn so much from the scriptures.

 

I love you all so much. I am daily grateful for your prayers. I know God hears and answers every one of them. This week I learned that the Spirit is powerful. Jeffery R. Holland used the word proacative to describe the spirit. Because it motivates us to act. I have been moved by the spirit this week and I pray that I will contiune to learn from the promptings I recieve. The work is going forth and it is a beautiful thing to witness. I pray for you all every day. Hurrah for Israel!

 

Con gratitud y amor,

Elder Gehring

How Im getting super jacked during my mission.

A window that I replaced for service.

This is me being a hunchback.

The two kids are in the Family Sauna and they love getting their picture taken.

More of the kids.

And there is one with my comp Elder Bel Tran eating dinner with Flia Sauna.

The ones with all of us is after a Noche de Hogar that we had.

Happy Dia de la Madre!!

My dearest family,

I don't have much to write this week since I talked to you all yesterday but one hour is hardly enough time to tell you all everything.

 

A few quick stories.

1. I have never had spoiled milk until 3 days ago. An investigadora y su hijo nos dieron spoiled milk.. Well chunky milk. Well it was gross. But the pan que tuvimos with it was super biensisimo. Almost worth it. But not quite. I'm just glad I didn't get sick.... todavia.

2. We had a Noche de Hogar with a part member familia which was super fun and I taught them a new game. One person stands in the middle of the circle blindfolded, spins, and points at a person. While they are spinning everyone else switches seats. Then the person in the middle says an animal and whoever is receiving the pointing has to make that sound of the animal. And the person in the middle has to try and guess who it is. If they are wrong, they spin again and everyone switch\es again. If they are right the person who made the sound is now in the middle. Very fun.

3. There is a church that meets 3 times a week in el noche around 7 or 8. The preacher only knows english. There is a translater. They meet in a large field with large speakers. I like to listen to them becuse I know more spanish than the translater knows in english and its pretty hilarious the things she comes up with when she doesn't understand the english. I would help them but I would probably get sent home for preaching in another church.... I think I'll stick to the listening.

It was really good to talk to you all yesterday and those who I didn't get to talk to, I wish I could have and I hope the letters make up for a small part of that. This week I'm so thankful for prayer. Which seems to be a common theme for me lately. I shared this experience with Emma yesterday but I just love it. We were in a lesson and we invited the hermana to give the final prayer. She said of course and in her prayer she thanked her Heavenly Father for sending Representatives of Jesus Christ to her home. She usually doesn't read what we invite her to read, she doesn't come to church, its hard to get her to pray, but this one thing she thanked God for was spectacular. As missionaries it doesn't matter what they do or don't do but when they realize that we have been called of God to preach the Gospel, its a pretty amazing thing. Its a small sliver of light and now all we have to do is build from that light.

I love the work here. I know this is where the Lord wants me to be. I miss you all, but I know it is only a small sacrifice for the reward that the people here will recieve and the happiness I gain every day. This is the work of the Lord. He loves us and we are His children! Hurrah for Israel!

Con amor y humildad,

Elder Gehring

The egg on the head is a way of welcoming and saying goodbye here in Bolivia.

Flash flood!

They have the best rolls!

This is us eating pan called pan chola. Soooooo good.

The avacados are HUGE!!! And SOOOO delicious!

Our pensionista with the $2 bill mom sent for me to give to her. She has wanted one her whole life!

Also these are kids with kittens. Cutest thing ever.

 

Up, Down, Side to Side

Hello there.

 

First I've now decided that the subject in an email is key. I think depending on my subject more, or less people will read and send me an email in response. So I'm doing my best to make them catchy enough that people will actually read what happens in the life of a missionary. And now I need to explain the subject line. Actually it means nothing. But its kind of catchy right? If not I apologize. I'll try harder next time.

I also need to warn you that this weeks letter may be short and may leave you longing for more. I hope I can make up for that in the loads and loads of photos that I'm going to try and send! I finally found an adapter here in the Rotonda and I'm going to send lots. So prepare your self. Go buy ink for your printer and lots of paper. I'm positive you'll want to print out every single one and put them on your fridge.

First off a list of things I want to buy here but its against mission rules.

1. Monkeys. They cost about 200 Bolivianos or 30 dollars.

2. Guitars. They are all hand made and gorgeous.

3. Movies. they are dirt cheap. But all in spanish...

4. All the street food. It all smells soooo good but its all probably super dirty and would make me sick for a week.... almost worth it.

5. All other animals. They are pretty much free. But we can't have pets.

But really we don't need pets. There has been a wild cat living in our lot for the past week. I took pictures. It was pretty dangerous to say the least.

Also the members like to give us food. Often times we leave lunch, and go to lunch and then go straight to dinner and then have dessert at another house. I'm always feeling like I am about to die.

Also my companion, when I ask him a question, and his answer is ´yes´ he says ´yes yes yesterday´ with a strong accent. Its pretty funny.

Also I forgot how to pronounce my first word in english. Pronunciacion. I can't figure out how to say it in english.

Also in church this sunday there was a pack of dogs that ran in during testimony meeting. I thought of the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. If you haven't seen this movie, watch it, and send me and email to thank me for the suggestion.

Also, the fruit here is delicious. And huuuuuge.

Also I have a CD with the song I am His Daughter. Emma, Chelsea, Melanie. I lost it when I listened to it. I sure miss you all.

Also, the most wonderful thing about a missionary is the chance to be a part of lives that are changing. This week was especially special. We had a Noche de Hogar con un familia que tiene 3 hijos. Ellos son muy buenos y sus testimonios son buenísimos. Ellos invitaron sus amigos que no son miembros y enseñamos un lección sobre familias y los templos. Compartimos un video ´Juntos para Siempre´ y después compartieron sus testimonios y deseos para tener un familia por eternidad. Estoy super feliz y animado para continuar enseñándoles. El Epíritu es muy importante en cada lección con cada persona y yo creo que tuvimos el Espíritu en esta lección. 

Also this week I gained an even greater testimony about the power of prayer. Not only does Dios quiere escucharnos pero Dios nos ama y está preocupado cuando nosotros estamos lejos de Él. Mediante oración podemos llegar a ser más cerca de Él y podemos sentir su amor. Yo he visto un cambio grande en personas que no sabían como orar. Después de un explicación breve sobre ´como oramos´ Yo he escuchado oraciones bonitas con palabras increíbles. Yo he visto una luz viene en sus ojos de ellos después de oración. 

Translation:

 

"We had a FHE with a family that has 3 children. They are awesome and their testimonies are very strong. They invited their friends who are not members and we taught them a lesson about families. We shared the video 'Together Forever' and afterward they bore their testimonies and their desires to be an eternal family. I'm super happy and excited to keep teaching them. The Spirit is very important in each lesson with each person and I believe we had the Spirit in that lesson.

 

"...Not only does God want to listen to us but God loves us and concerned when we are far from Him. Through prayer we can become closer to Him and feel His love. I have seen a big change in persons who don't know how to pray. After a short explanation about 'how we pray' I have heard beautiful prayers with incredible words. I have seen a light come into their eyes after the prayer."

I love you all. I have a testimony of the work of the Lord. He lives and loves each one of you. I testify with all my soul that He lives.

Hurrah for Israel!

Con amor,

Elder Gehring

 

Its raining. Its pouring. My companion is snoring

My dear family and friends,

 

First off, my companion doesn't actually snore, it was just a convenient ending to a catchy subject. But he does teach lessons in my sleep. I told him that during this first cambio, if I start teaching lessons in my sleep that he is definitely the best trainer there has ever been in the mission field. It hasn't happened yet, but maybe I'll learn to teach in my sleep further down the road. 

The true part was the raining and pouring. Let me tell you about flash floods. I never believed in flash floods until it started to rain on Tuesday. Fast forward about 3 hours and there weren't streets any more in our little area of La Merced. There were rivers. Not streams, rivers. Elder Chavez and I, being the 19 and 22 year olds that we are, decided to go.... ´Teach Lessons´ a little earlier.... Well... no. I can't lie. We went to go play in the rain. We were running around when we met up with the other 2 missionaries in our area who were also ´teaching lessons´ a bit early too. After about 5 minutes of walking we realized this was a great opportuinity to serve. At first this was all fun and games but we soon realized how dangerous it was becoming. The first scary thing was seeing a young girl walking in about ankle deep water and falling into a drop off of 2 or more metros. Luckily there was someone to jump in and help here. At this point I realized how real flash floods are. We were walking trying to find people to help when we turned a corner and saw a school with kids ages 5 up to about 12 or so. They were stuck in their school and needed to cross a large street which was the only way to get home for most of them. This street, just like most others, was a river. About waist deep for me, and very fast, and very strong. We decided this is where we needed to be. For the next 3 hours we carried every one of the school kids acorss this river. I can't begin to describe this to you all. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but the most humbling thing too. I was so scared the whole time and I can't imagine what the little kids were thinking. I could see the fear in these peoples eyes. These kids were helpless but we had the chance to help them. With each trip back and forth, I was more and more tired, my legs felt like giving out at every moment but I know we had help from the other side. The Lord loves every one of his children and miracles are real. At one point a taxi, up the road a ways, got caught in the current and lost traction. It came rushing towards us as we were carrying these kids across. I dont think Iv'e ever been so scared. Luckily everyone got out of the way and no one was hurt. Miracles are in our lives every day. Some bigger than others, but the important thing is to learn to see them.

We got home that day, ate lunch and slept until the next morning. Talk about being tired. But the rest of the week was amazing. The crazy thing about flash floods is the next day, just as fast as they came, they are gone. The streets were a bit wet but all the water was gone. We worked hard and had a successful week. 

 Some interesting things happend this week. One, I witneesed a Rooster Fight. People here raise roosters to fight other roosters... I didn't know this was a real thing when Elder Chavez told me about it. I thought he was kidding but nope. Its real. Also this week a family in our ward gave me one of their shirts that they make for their job. Its a Tommy Hillfiger but a fake one. Everyone has super expensive designer clothes here but they are all just home made with the name brand on the front. Hermana Jimenez (the mom in the family) told me she can see a shirt with a brand on it for double or triple. And it costs her about 50 cents more to put the brand on. Its crazy. But its still pretty cool that I have a shirt homemade. 

I had my first encounter this week with someone who didn't speak spanish too. She was probably 150 years old but she only spoke Quechua. It was so hard to communicate. I think I had more luck talking to her when I switched to my English. Which right now is as bad as my Spanish. I'm in the middle where I can't speak spanish and I haven't heard English out loud in a long time so I'm terrible at that too. I hope this changes. I don't have any funny mess ups with my spanish but Elder Chavez had a hard time this week with the word pizza. He asked me if I liked ´peexa´and I had no idea what he was talking about. He then repeated it several times which didn't help at all becase it sounded the same every time. Then I finally figured it out and realized he was saying pizza. I told him how it should be pronounced and he couldn't hear the difference. It was nice to be on the other side of the language barrier when it wasn't me who couldn't hear the difference between 2 words in spanish!

 As far as lessons go this week, we had a hard time. Its so hard to get people to fulfill their commitments and its so hard to get people to actually be home when they say they would. Our baptism and matrimonio fell through again. They had a big fight and now they don't want to get married. We as missionaries can't do anything to sort out their personal problems so all we can do is pray for them which trust me, we have been. We did though meet a family who came to church. She is a mother of 3 ages 12, 10, and 3. Her husband claims he doesn't want to listen and hear about the gospel but we told her don't worry, we are going to change that :) Her kids loved church and she loves the teaching every week in sunday school and they want me to teach them piano lessons too. I'm excited for the future here in this area. Great things are happening. 

 

I had my first. I miss home a lot moment this week. We were walking down a street towards a members home where a huge family lives. A mom and dad, their 3 kids and their 12 or so grandkids. The grandkids love the missionaries and they were playing down the street a ways when they saw us walking toward them. They all came running and screaming. I could see in each one of their smiles, Melanie, Ethan, and Carly. I just about lost it there in front of a bunch of little kids. That would have been embarrassing. They are so precious and so loving just like everyone back home. It made me miss you all, but at the same time it made me feel like I'm part of a different family here. I love them all like family. But don't worry mom, I still miss you guys. 

 The work is going forward, and its amazing to see the Lord work in different ways to open the hearts of people to hear the Gospel. I love you all. I miss you all. I pray for you daily. Keep the Lord first in  your life, and you will be blessed more than you can imagine. Hurrah for Israel! 

 Con amor,

Elder Gehring

Huevos en mi cada

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

Bunnies on the bus

Hello there familia.

I can't believe another week is gone. I know Spanish perfectly now. Crazy how much you can learn in one week... Okay that's a lie. I still don't know Spanish but poco a poco I'm getting better. I learned that shaking your hand here (like jazz hands) means ´No Hay´ or there's nothing. And I'm sure you're all trying so hard at this point, 5 lines in to the story of my life this week, why the subject line in Bunnies on the Bus. Well let me tell you. 

´´Bunnies on the Bus and other Short Stories from the Mission Life of Elder Gehring´´

Once upon a time there was a missionary compañerismo waiting for the micro. They got on and then saw a lady with a shoe box but thought nothing of it. Fairly large pot hole and the shoe box fell open. The lady then was a little bit more awake than before because the thing in the shoe box was mas o menos all over the bus. Bunnies. Everywhere. The gringo laughed, his compañero laughed too. 

Once upon a time there was a missionary compañerismo walking in the hot sun talking about movies . The gringos compañero asked him if he had seen "A walk to remember." He responded. Claro! and then the compañero expressed his feelings to the gringo about Mandy Moore. 

Once upon a time there was a missionary compañerismo who woke up every day at 630. And every morning there was a sound that woke the gringo up 5 or so minutes before their alarm. It sounded like a screaming child. The gringo asked if they should do something to help this child. His companion assured him it was only a rooster . 

 

Once upon a time there was a missionary compañerismo who had a tiny heater for their shower. The gringo one morning went to take a shower and turned on the heater. He was not very happy when the water stung. He then realized that he was being shocked with every drop of water. He didn't use the heater any more.

Once upon a time there was a missionary compañerismo who went to church on sunday. They saw a cat sleeping on the bench... in the chapel.

Once upon a time there was a missionary compañerismo who recieved cough drops as a dessert. 

Once upon a time there was a missionary compañerismo who walked in the rain and then woke up the next morning feeling that the weather was maybe 70 degrees instead of 90. The gringos companion put on sweats, a sweater, took a hot shower, and 2 pairs of socks. The gringo laughed as he was in a tshirt and shorts 

Once upon a time there was a missionary compañerismo who were talking about random things and the latin asked the gringo. Conoce Tio Sam? The gringo then realized Tio means Uncle. The gringo laughed and said Sí. 

The End. 

I hope you enjoyed my book. I'll be in the lobby signing copies in.... 2 years. 

I also this week had the best rolls of my life. Also a piña fresh off a tree. 

Apart from the funny stories that always seem to keep me going, the lessons, service and spiritual part of a mission are the things that I know I will remember the rest of my life and they sure keep me going when times are hard and let me tell you, they are hard. We had my first Zone conference this week which was amazing. We talked a lot about faith and acts of faith. And if we want our investigators to take leaps of faith, we need to take those leaps too. Elder Chavez and I were chosen out of all 100 missionaries to go to the front and demonostrate how to talk with the bishop. I was nervous but President willard said he was impressed with my questions which was a ego boost for sure. The whole thing was such a good experience to start my mission.

We also had serveral chances to serve. I'm learning fast that miracles in the mission are not always with the investigators. In fact most of them aren't. W ell thus far at least. Miracles in homes that need bendiciones de salud (blessigs of health) and other forms of service are often the most tender miracles. I've given so many bendiciones de salud this week. But I know its what I needed to be doing this week. We received 16 references this week, which is a huge number and this week our goal is to contact all of them . That alone was a miracle for us because we were struggling to find people to teach. We also taught a MA (menos activo) about the sacerdocio (priesthood) and he is super pumped to have an interview with the bishop. We are helping him organize a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evenng) with his family and other members of the ward. 

I also started this week teaching my comp Elder Chavez more English. This has blessed him and me more than I thought. It is helping me relax more, learn Spanish faster, and it helps him realize my struggles learning Spanish. It is such a great way for us to become closer as friends and in the end better teachers. Every Latin comp that I have, which is most likely gong to be every one, I am going to teach a little English each day. Its amazing. PME (Predicad Mi Evangelio) was right again where it says that every missionary regarless of their mission language should learn English. 

I'm learning lots, my testimony is growing, and I love it here. I started a challenge this week that I want as many people back in the states to do with me. Its to read the Standard works (Old and New testaments, Book of Mormon, Doctine and Convenios, And the Pearl of Great Price) 4 times while on my mission. I did the math and its only 15 pages a day. I know it at times may be too much but I hope some people back home will try and do it with me. Send me a quick email if you want to do it and I'll make a list and follow up with you as the 2 years go along. I know its a way that will bless my life and I know it can bless each one of you. 

I love you all. I miss you all. But I love it here. Until Next week. Oh and Read Alma 32 over and over. You'll learn something new every time. Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Élder Gehring