This week has been pretty sweet. I've been introduced to about
everyone Elder Johanson knows, now the trick is just to be able to talk
to them. I'm slowly starting to be able to understand a few of our
investigators. We've also been teaching a lot of less actives. That's
where Pres. Harbertson wants our main focus to be. There are tons of
inactive members here. There's also tons of people that live together
and have kids but for some reason never want to get married. I think
part of the reason might be because they don't want to pay for a
wedding. We have one investigator with a baptismal date and a couple
others that want to be baptized but they have to either fix some stuff
(like the marriage thing) or work out some family issues.
Everyone
we teach is very nice to me about my Spanish. Usually in our lessons
all I do is share a scripture or two and then bear my testimony at the
end. I always tell them that even though I don't know Spanish I am here
because I know that this Church is true, and that through faith in
Christ all things are possible, including learning Spanish. Then they
always tell me something like, "You will speak spanish one day! You learn
little by little." It's awesome.
I pretty much
have a calling as the ward pianist now, which is kinda fun. Peruvians
aren't very musically inclined. At all. I led a hymn in Sunday School
but it was pretty much me just singing a solo and waving my hand in the
air. It was great.
One of the less actives that
we've been visiting me has a guitar and he asked me to play it for him.
By Peruvian standards I'm pretty much a professional. He was so
impressed with the one song that I know that he wants us to come back so
I can teach him how to play it. I'm hoping that music will help us be
more successful with visiting him and his brother because sometimes
they're hard to get a hold of. Music has played an awesome role already
in my mission, especially since I don't know the language. One of the
members that helps us out a lot wants me to teach group piano lessons at
the church as a way of contacting. As soon as I get a little better at
Spanish Elder Johanson and I are going to try to get that going.
Elder
Johanson is awesome. We get along swimmingly. He's an excellent
trainer, he's obedient, and does his best to follow the Spirit and do
what he feels the Lord wants. He's been helping me a lot with my Spanish
as well. We live with one other companionship, Elder Lundell and Elder
Haro. Elder Lundell is from Montana and Haro is from Lima. They're both
super cool and we all get along well and have good times at night before
bed.
This
place wasn't built for my large body. I have to bend through just about
every doorway, including my own bedroom door. It's awesome. I love it.
Our apartment is very small, very gross, and very cold, but I love it.
Every missionary in the mission have what's called a pensionista, which
is a lady that cooks all our food for us. Our pension is super awesome.
We live next door to her. Her name is Hermana Justa.
I'm
still homesick, but I know that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I
realized last night that the only reason God would ask an 18-year-old
boy to leave his family and everything else behind is because that this
work is true. Don't worry about me, I'll be okay. It's not really that
cold here except for when it's dark or it's raining. Or both. But I've
been able to keep warm and my stomach is
adjusting to the food.
I love you all! Until next week!
Elder Tate
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