Tigre Santo: Week Seventy Nine

Week Report

Hey fam! Missing you guys a ton.

This is my week report:

Monday- the whole mission had transfers. While everybody was traveling to their new areas, we basically just ran errands. Went to Banco Occidente so my comp Elder Vieira could pay for his renewed foreigner visa. Mostly spent time in the mission offices answering questions.

We also went to the bus terminal (in a taxi driven by a dude without legs) to hang out with the missionaries there and greet the missionaries arriving in Bogotá. Fun seeing some of my friends coming to Bogotá from Bucaramanga.

Tuesday we received the new missionaries from the Bogotá MTC. Nine hermana missionaries and 2 elders. Most came from Peru. One from Argentina, one from Bolivia, one from Cartagena. Pretty awesome. We went to the MTC, loaded their luggage in a bus and we all went to Parque Nacional.

Parque Nacional is a super chill park where Colombia was dedicated for missionary work by Pres. Kimball. Pres. Laney started the tradition to go there with the new missionaries. We sing “Oíd El Toque del Clarín” (“Hark, Listen to the Trumpeters”). Then they go out to contact. We started a new part of the ceremony where each missionary gets a sheet to fill out goals for their mission. They each go to a different corner of the park so they can think about it. The sheet is small enough to put in their scriptures afterwards so they can study their goals throughout their missions.

It's a pretty cool introductory ceremony to the mission. (Sidenote: I've been missing the song Ceremony, by New Order lately.)

I had my 18 month birthday and finished my hermana mission #RIPHermanaBlair

Other notable thing was splits with one of my best friends, Elder Vincent. My area has pretty big mountains in it and we spent pretty much all day there. The most insane divide of rich/poor people. These super nice apartment complexes right by essentially favelas. But I love the mountains. It's the coolest part of Bogotá.

Anyway splits was SWEET we visited this dude Juan Camilo who was a reference sent to us. We taught him in his lobby. First lesson went OK but every time we talked, Juan would just wave to people walking behind us, and whenever I looked back no one was there. #yikes

Later we tried to visit this less-active dude named Robert who wasn't home. So we ended up knocking doors for the rest of the day and we found another less-active family who lives with some non members. They let us in and it was dope. We started talking about prayer and we asked them if they had ever received an answer to their prayer and the wife told us that God revealed the names of her kids to her -- Noa and Jacob. Normally would weird me out but I'm so used to hearing stuff like that at this point...

Bogotá is a great city though. It's a serious city. Bucaramanga is super chill 100% of the time. The weather alone tricks your mind into thinking it's on vacation. Cúcuta is dusty and dirty and super hot and humid. Tricked me into thinking I was homeless. Bogotá on the other hand; you know business is getting done. Mostly red brick buildings that go up into mountains. There is a word for Bogotá OGs: Cachaco. I'll attach a photo of a Cachaco.

This is a Cachaco. They bring a lot to the Bogotá vibe.

Forgot why I'm talking about this but it's okay.

Anyway, that was the bulk of what happened this week. I had some pretty cool personal studies this week. Read about Elijah and Elisha. I think Elijah is my favorite Old Testament prophet. I liked how he would just say, “Ok if I'm a prophet then (x) will happen.” And then God always makes it happen. Elijah was just good at taking advantage of the perks.

Also read this quote from Howard W. Hunter: “Our genuine concern should be for the success of others.”

We are getting a training ready for the zone conferences this transfer. We keep starting, getitng somewhere, then we change our minds and start over.

Also, pretty sure I lost my phone. I left it charging in the offices and when I came back it was gone. 100% no doubt in my mind it was the cleaning lady.

Lots to think about. Words that keep coming back to my mind are, “Times are a changing.”

I feel it in my bones. It feels weird to be on a mission knowing at the back of my head that insane tech is dropping every week; that and 10,000 other things. Cool being in a bubble but at the same time I want to be a part of everything going on.

But better to stay in mission mode (turn peoples sucky lives into sweet lives). Those are my words to live by. PAZ