So this week was hard but great. Monday night we had a great fhe with L and her family and some other investigators. I don't remember much about Tuesday because halfway through the day we were told we had intercombios (splits?)the next day and I was freaking out. We met with some menos activos and after we got home I just spent the rest of the night figuring out how to give a lesson. The other hermanas were super great and sat on my bed all night pretending to be my investigators and helping me out. An intercombio is when the leader of the hermanas and her companion comes in the morning, plans with us and then we switch companions and go out for the day. I was super scared and I cried a lot because I had to lead the lessons . So last transfer the leader of the hermanas was kind of crazy but we have a new one now and she is super great her name is hermana D L. So we went out and had a super great day. Someone in one of our areas died and so a ton of our sitas fell through but we were able to find a lot of other people and teach a bunch of lessons. And I was able to teach a ton! I was super excited because i didn't think I could do it at all. But, it just goes to show that God blesses us when we pray because I have never prayed so hard in my life. There are a bunch of tesigo missionaries (another faith) here as well and they are really nice most of the time. But every time we see them they ask us how we learn Spanish so fast and I just laugh because it's totally the gift of tongues. Some of them have been here for years and still don't know Spanish.
Anyway, the intercombios were really good and I learned so much. We had to contact a lot and hermana D L told me she had never been contacting in her whole mission and she has been out 8 months. Apparently in all her areas they get a ton of referrals. Must be nice. So we basically learned how to contact together. We contacted one girl named E who was super receptive. Hermana D and I went back and taught her yesterday and she is super cool and is really interested, yay! That night was super fun because the hermanas spent the night and we made brownies and bitidas and had a sleep over. Thursday was HAPPY THREE MONTHS to me and a year to hermana D! 3 down 15 to go... anyway that morning we took hermana D L and M to the haitain paca (market). Apparently skirts in pacas in the capital are like 400 ($10) pesos and we get them for 20 (.50). So they got a ton of skirts which was fun. Later we met with a lot of menos activos. That night we got bon (ice cream) and hermana D gave me a pineapple because apparently that's a three month tradition. And I gave her a snickers bar. I called hermana S (mtc comp) that night to wish her a happy three months. I miss her so much! I seriously have had the best companions.
Friday the son of the lady who lives next to us died in a car accident. Super sad because he was only 26 and had a wife and baby. But the way they do funerals here is kind of weird. They leave the body in the house for like a week. They set up a huge tent outside the house that takes up the whole street. People sit under the tent and literally cry and moan and wail for like 4 days straight. Super loud all day long. Quite an ordeal. We had district meeting and later we had to go to mutual. Our rama (branch) is suffering and no body supports each other which means we have to support them. We end up going to a lot of yw and relief society meetings and stuff like that. So we went to mutual and played a bunch of games. A lot of our menos activos showed up which was good. Later that night we met with a menos activo named C who is 19. He is really great and has only been menos activo for a couple of months and his family is active. He came to church on Sunday. He might even come work with us one day. We are really hoping he decides to go on a mission, which is a big possibility- we just have some work to do.
That night hermana L sat hermana D down and told her a bunch of things she was doing wrong. She was way to harsh but the end result was actually really good! On Saturday D apologized for a lot of things. We made a lot of goals and I think the next four weeks will be really great. I have already noticed a huge change in our companionship. We are getting along super well and working really hard. And we are already being blessed! We have a new family we are teaching, N&W and their two little kids. They are super great but she is nervous about getting married even though they have been together for 8 years. Apparently her mom was with her husband for 28 years and was never married but now they are not together. She is just really scared but we are praying for her and we think it will be great. Their little boy is soo cute-he is 6. We gave him his own little foyetto (pamphlet) and apparently he takes it with him everywhere and freaks out when he can't find it. It is about the restoration. super funny. So we are really excited about them. We also are teaching a new lady named Gr. She is super great but she lives down in San Luis which is about 30 minutes walking, and is down off the mountain so it is SO hot down there. She is really excited but she hasn't come to church yet. Probably because she lives far away. But we are hoping. We also went back to do a bunch of sitas of people we had contacted but nobody was home. Super frustrating- but whatever. That night I read this awesome talk about missionary work and that the difference between a good missionary and a great missionary is giving your heart. A missionary can be super obedient and hard working but if they don't give their heart over to the work then they won't be the best they can be. I have just been thinking a lot about the kind of missionary and person I want to be. Hermana D L helped me a lot and she was an example to me of what an exemplary missionary is like. She just really really loves the people and she doesn't talk bad about anyone. It's super cool. I have also learned a lot of great things from hermana D. She is a really great missionary. I read a talk from elder Holland. I don't remember the exact quote but it was talking about how God is perfect and he works with us, imperfect people every day. So it's really important that we are patient and forgiving with others because we too are imperfect. That is one of the biggest things I have learned the last three months. Everyone has flaws but we just need to be patient and tolerant. That is totally something I have never been good about but I am learning and getting better.
On Sunday only two of our investigators showed up to church which was kind of sad but not every week can be great. There are some crazy children in our ward and they usually come sit by me during sacrament meeting. I gave one of the little boys my agenda to draw on one of the blank pages but he drew on like every page. They are super funny drawings and he even wrote my name with a heart around it. He is probably 4. The only problem is we have interviews this transfer and president looks through our agendas and I have monsters and robots all over it. On Sunday we did a lot of contacting. We met with some menos activos and hermana D gave Y a bolche. Not sure about the spelling. She is 14 and was baptized for an elder who apparently still calls her. We meet with her several times a week but she is just super disrespectful and she thinks the elder is going to come back and get her and marry her. She wasn't listening, like always, so D just said "okay we are done, hermana Rush pray". And she told her that when she wanted to listen to us we would come back. Y was just wide eyed. It was definitely needed though. We talked about it last night. We have been meeting with the same menos activos like 3 times a week for 8 weeks and some still aren't coming to church. We have come to love them so it's hard to stop visiting them but we have to. If they aren't making progress then we are just wasting our time- especially with 500 menos activos to work with. We made a bunch of goals and a game plan for the next three weeks and I think it will be really good. Bad news, D didn't come to church so we have to cut her. It's soo hard and one of my least favorite things. We invest so much time and love into these people and they just don't progress.
So on Sunday we were in a sita and all the sudden my foot just started burning. Something weird bit me and now my whole foot is numb. hermana D is freaking out about it but I am pretty sure I will be fine. So good news, I am getting a new mattress and we are getting a blender, toaster and microwave. We are going to seriously be living in luxury. Also members keep giving us mangoes that are as big as my head. And it has been cold the last couple of days. I really hope I never leave Ocoa. Also yesterday A got bit by a dog that has RABIES. I don't know if you remember who she is but she is 15, recent convert, super awesome. We saw it happen and I was freaking out and she was super calm but she literally had teeth marks in her leg and it was bleeding. And the dog was foaming at the mouth. That is my worst fear. I think she is going to have to get the rabies shot which is super painful and you have to get it in your belly. yuck. I think that's a bout all for this week. love you all!
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