This is my week report:
SATURDAY AFTER WRITING:
We were walking home from the offices and passed by Restaurante Daniel. A sketchy white van pulled up and a mariachi band piled out. They started playing as they walked inside. Fitting end to the week.
SUNDAY
No memories.
MONDAY
We went to Bucaramanga for the Zone conference. I took advantage of airport wifi to download "LE LIVRE DE MORMON" + "TEACHINGS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG"
Flight to Bucaramanga was short. I sat next to a Caleño. There was a travel magazine advertising Sau Paulo (where my companion Elder Vieira is from). Looks like a good city. It has 2nd largest Japanese population in the world after Japan.
We got some time to visit a few of the converts here. Everybody in my area was shocked when they saw me. So awesome seeing Arelis and Thomas. Didn't have much time but we had some small talk and said a prayer with them.
We went to stay in North of Bucaramanga. I was with Elder Goncalves for the night. His area is so huge it doesn't make sense. There is a massive steep hill of favelas in his area. I asked what the hill was called. Goncalves told me its called "ESPERANZA" (hope). Right when he told me, we saw a 12 year old with a rattail and a HUGE BLUNT in his ear head down the stairs of the hill.
Thats what I call esperanza. ;)
The zone conference went well. It was the last one of the transfer. That was a relief. You can see pics of it here.
We had given the same training 5 times throughout the transfer and it felt great putting it into the shredder. Sweet seeing Elder Skinner and all my boys from Bucaramanga!
Elder Patterson came to visit the mission with his parents and they stopped by the zone conference as well. Sweet seeing Patterson again!
We had 3 more splits this week. All were pretty tiring.
CAMBIOS
So yesterday during Sacrament Mtg, President Laney sent us a text saying he already had the transfers ready. After church we went to Bishop Rojas' house for lunch and then scrambled back to mission offiices to get our stuff and go through transfers to look for mistakes, and then we ran to the Mission Home.
We had our meeting w Pres Laney. We told him the mistakes we found in the transfers. There weren't many. (One elder was gonna be kept in an area for a 6th transfer so we stopped that.) We made plans for the multizone for next transfer. Then we finished the meeting and Sister Laney gave us Coke for the long night that awaited us.
We headed back to the offices, counted all the missionaries who will travel and we sent the secretaries to buy bus tickets. Then we started filling the EXCEL Transfers sheet.
Then we made calls to all the zone leaders in the mission and told them who's coming and going. Always funnest part. :)
We were in the offices till 3:30 AM. Right as we left, I realized I forgot my keys. We had to walk to the Secretary's house like 10 blocks away from the offices (Bogotá is cold at night). Finally got to our house at 4:20 (blazeit) and I said the shortest companionship prayer ever and we slept like logs.
Love Elder Vieira. He always says "mas loco que el Batman" —"crazier than the batman." EX: "these transfers are crazier than the batman." It's supposedly a saying in Brazil. I keep telling him Batman isn't known for being crazy haha.
Way cool seeing Maude and Olive in France. Awesome that they got to see the Lecrosniers. One of the best families ever.
This is our next Mission Pres:
to put the fear in you.
Love you guys so much!!!!
