So this week has been really long haha. It feels like last morning and the events of that day were weeks ago.
I'll start off explaining what's new missionary work-wise. We started teaching someone named belen and we had a great first lesson. She doesn't believe in God at all and it seems like she wants to know if He exists. But I don't know if she understands why it might be important in her life.
With also got dropped by someone named Maria who we had been meeting with. Basically she has a friend from her church that told her she can't meet with us anymore...so that's sad. Especially because Maria knows what her friend said is wrong about us and what we have taught her. But the even sadder part is that Maria still doesn't want to keep meeting because she wants to keep her friend from her church happy (or at least not mad at her).
We also had an amazing lesson with someone named Ana and her family. We got to the house and the son answered the door (we will call him Adriano) and said "Hey remember me??" And we talked with him in the door for a little bit. It was a little awkward because he wasn't expecting us. He thought we found him by chance while knocking doors. But he invited us in and we taught him and one of his sisters (the other one didn't want to listen, yet haha). We taught them on the porch next to their pool haha. And Ana wasn't there. We taught them about the restoration and they understood! Like actually understood! We asked questions and they would explain back to us what we had taught them and add their thoughts. And Ana came running in at the end right after explaining everything and she was super sorry she was late. And then she asked "okay, what's going on?" And "Adriano" explained to her the restoration with basically all the points that we had explained! It was so cool that he got it! And then we had to run to catch the bus but both Ana and Adriano are curious to learn more and said they would read the introduction. It was a super super cool lesson. We will see how we can help them.
One day this week we ate Choripan (an Argentine meal of a chorizo sandwich with French bread, really good) with the obispo here. He had some great advice about how right now everything is structured but when we go home it's not and we have to choose what to make of our lives. As well as things that are unexpected will get in the way and we won't be able to plan our life as we might want. Everything happens in the time of the Lord and not necessarily our timing.
This week we also walked into the church to find a huge puddle on the floor. We thought it was a cleaning bucket with a hole in the bottom. But we later found out that there is a broken pipe or something in the wall and that water kept leaking out...so we cleaned it up multiple times and let bishop know. In the end, we used the baptism font ladder as our step stool and we turned off the main water valves where bishop instructed us they might be.
We had to move this week (on Saturday)...I'm going to borrow the words of my companion to explain how it went:
"This has definitely been one of the longest weeks of my mission... I think I've mentioned it in my earlier emails but, we received a call from the mission office a while ago and they told us we had to move apartments. They found an apartment and told us we had 3 more preparation days before we had to be moved out of the old apartment and have it cleaned and ready to go. Then, we found out we had to travel today for intercambios, and next preparation day we will be traveling again for zone conference... So we had to move this Saturday. We have been packing at night, after we are done working and before we have to go to bed for the past week or so, so we were able to start the move at 9am and we didn't finish until 9pm. We did have a nice 2 hour lunch break where hermano villalobos took us out to eat which was super nice of him. A few aspects of this move were different, being that we are in Europe.
"This has definitely been one of the longest weeks of my mission... I think I've mentioned it in my earlier emails but, we received a call from the mission office a while ago and they told us we had to move apartments. They found an apartment and told us we had 3 more preparation days before we had to be moved out of the old apartment and have it cleaned and ready to go. Then, we found out we had to travel today for intercambios, and next preparation day we will be traveling again for zone conference... So we had to move this Saturday. We have been packing at night, after we are done working and before we have to go to bed for the past week or so, so we were able to start the move at 9am and we didn't finish until 9pm. We did have a nice 2 hour lunch break where hermano villalobos took us out to eat which was super nice of him. A few aspects of this move were different, being that we are in Europe.
For anyone who has ever moved, you can imagine the awkwardness of the move with these conditions:
- we lived on the 5th floor of the building we moved out of
- we moved into a an apartment on the 6th floor of the building we are now living in.
- we had a member with a European sized car help us move...
-every load has to be loaded into an elevator, then into the car, then into the other elevator, and then into the other apartment.
- the funniest part was that the new buildings elevator doesn't go to our floor... We had to go to the 8th floor and then carry everything down 2 flights of stairs.
- we had a member with a European sized car help us move...
-every load has to be loaded into an elevator, then into the car, then into the other elevator, and then into the other apartment.
- the funniest part was that the new buildings elevator doesn't go to our floor... We had to go to the 8th floor and then carry everything down 2 flights of stairs.
So the move was super exhausting, and then we got back to work on Sunday and now we're traveling so we haven't been able to unpack at all, which means our apartment is kind of a mess right now, but all things considered elder Openshaw and I are having a lot of fun. We're a bit tired physically, but very happy:)"
The move was a long process haha. And we found out in our new piso we have an obvious problem with ants that we weren't told about as well as no hot water. So that's fun...it's a nice piso though. And it's got a wonderful view of Los Cristianos.
On Sunday, we had church. And I had the opportunity to translate the end of sacrament (I had to give a talk so I couldn't do all of it haha. And I also got to translated for 2nd hour which was a little better than sacrament meeting for me (someone read a really long poem for their talk and I couldn't keep up with all the poetic language that didn't translate directly).
Something I liked this week:
Mark 2:1-12 (this is the whole story if you want it)
I enjoy analizing how the Lord ministered to people. He was the perfect minister and he addressed people's needs and desires. He didn't only help them a little but he did the best that He could to help them. And He helped them despite opposition to other people. He worked many miracles and helped many people. It's so cool that we have such a great example as the Savior of the world. I know He died to pay for our sins so that we can live with our Heavenly Father again after this life. What an amazing blessing and something we can't fully comprehend how much He really did for us.
Mark 2:1-12 (this is the whole story if you want it)
I enjoy analizing how the Lord ministered to people. He was the perfect minister and he addressed people's needs and desires. He didn't only help them a little but he did the best that He could to help them. And He helped them despite opposition to other people. He worked many miracles and helped many people. It's so cool that we have such a great example as the Savior of the world. I know He died to pay for our sins so that we can live with our Heavenly Father again after this life. What an amazing blessing and something we can't fully comprehend how much He really did for us.
1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Have a great week!
Elder Openshaw
Elder Openshaw
Photos:
1) the boxes in the car
2) eating out with Thomas and Hermano Villalobos as a lunch break
3) my soda can broke...it wouldn't open because the tab bent...so I had to punch it open with my pen haha
4) fixing the leaking water issue in the church...
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