Colbys first email from El Salvador: I think I can officially say that I have become like Ghandi and Derrik Rose. Ghandi because I am being humbled and made wise by living amongst those in poverty, and Derrick Rose because my legs hurt all the time. We walk EVERYWHERE. We are in Ilopongo. It is an area in the city. I can tell you that this week has definitely been dificult. But that shouldn´t make you worry. It was hard, but I think everyones first week is supposed to be hard. The culture is definitely different. Everyone lives in apartments made of cinder block and tin roofs. A lot of them only have one room, and there are things everywhere. I dont want to say junk, because it is all they have. It has been very humbling to think about. I was so used to all these things, and then I come to El Salvador and see the poverty that a lot of these people live in. It makes me sad. I wish I could do more to help them. I can, obviously, with the Gospel, but the Gospel would not really change their financial situation, so that is sad. All the people here are really nice tho. They are all very accepting of what we have to say.... My companion is Elder Carver. Our first day we went out and he pretty much showed me the ropes.My first full day out in the field, we just went out and taught people and stuff. Im not really entirely sure about everything that is going on to be compeltely honest, but Im doing the work. Im still learning, obviously. Anyway, my first day out in the field, I ended up inviting someone to baptism, and they said yes. His name is Jorge. He is like 80 and smokes his age in cigarettes everyday. So I hope the Word of Wisdom doesnt turn him off about baptism. So we walk around and contacting tons of people and teach investigators that I hadnt met yet. Let me tell you something, you think you know a thing or two about Spanish when you leave the CCM. Then you realize, you dont know squat. I dont know anything about Spanish. Its definitely different haha. I wish I knew what the people were saying. I know exactly how I want to teach people and how hard I want to teach them, but I dont speak Spanish.... Anyway, last night I was feeling pretty bummed until we went on changes. I was with our District leader, Elder Withers. Great missionary. He is really cool, and always makes me feel better when I am feeling down. We rode a crowded bus (buses are absolutely insane here by the way) to his area. We taught the mom and dad of a boy in the church. I guess the dad usually hides from the missionaries, but he came out for us for some reason. Elder Withers explained to them that I am learning Spanish, and that he might need to translate for me and help me a little. For some reason, that totally changed the direction of the whole lesson. In a good way. It really showed them my humling situation. We ended up teaching about the Book of Mormon. I bore testimony of the book of mormon and that he needs to read and pray about it. I shared my experience with the Book of Mormon, and how throught this church he can live with his family for eternity. Oh man.. it was so awesome. It was the best lesson ive been in since Ive gotten out here. It was really cool. Elder Withers taught some powerful stuff too. It was just a really spiritual lesson. And you could tell the father felt it. It was awesome. And then he talked up a storm with us. The man that usually hides from the Elders really opened up to us. And then he gave us cookies and juice, which really answered my silent prayer for food. Because I was starving. All in all, yes, this week has been difficult. The most difficult of my life for sure. But it has been humbling and rewarding. I have learned a lot.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 04:38:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015