Hi family,
Yes, i got the smaller package (i'm going to open it on Christmas, as instructed) And i got the little paper saying the other package is in customs here in chiclayo so i have to go pick it up, but yes, they're both here! A lot easier than last year! But i loved the tension of waiting. :)
The good news keeps coming lately. I get to talk to all the zone leaders every week (i'm kind of burnt out on reporting now, i've been receiving reports for almost a year and a half now), and basically all the missionaries every few weeks, so i get updates on how my old investigators are doing all the time. This week the zone leaders from Pomalca told me that Jorge Medina, a 16 year old champ, went to the temple last weekend and did baptisms for his dad and grandpa! It's the best feeling ever to know that a person i have been able to help be baptized has gone to the temple. The Floreano family is still planning on going to be sealed in January, too!
Here's the story of the multizone conferences with Elder Camargo this week.
Monday night we got to cajamarca and ate some killer KFC with president and sister Risso- we ate a bucket of chicken and a super good christmas cake thing. I have been really spoiled with all the fast food. But luckily i haven't gotten chubby, people actually keep telling me i look skinnier...? no exercise and lots more food, and i get skinnier. I don't get it. But i love it. Anyway, tuesday morning Elder Camargo was supposedly going to fly from lima to cajamarca and get there just in time for the zone conference. We were all waiting there while pres and sister Risso went to pick him up... time goes by... they call us, and guess what? The plane got there, but no Elder Camargo. Like 100 calls and an hour later, we figure out that he missed his plane from Colombia.... So we just did the conference with pres and sister Risso and us for four hours. it went great! Then we drove back here to chiclayo. Wednesday morning and afternoon we had 2 more conferences, and by then Elder Camargo had gotten here to chiclayo. When there's an authority there you can feel the tension in the air. The only bad part was that he took our time away! He said i'm going to ask you (the assistants) to give me your time... Seriously??!?!?! We spent like a week planning everything and he told us we had an hour, then he changed his mind! haha so he and his wife took 2 hours. Of course, it was way cooler than what we were going to talk about, and i wasn't really mad, just kind of bummed. I got to talk a lot with him. After the first conference wednesday mornign he asked me what he should talk about in the second meeting, so i gave him a few ideas. And in the afternoon he put me on the spot a few times, for example, he was walking along talking and said in doctrine and covenants 4 it says we have to serve God with what, elder Hatch? I knew that one. All of our heart, might, mind and strength. But later on he also quoted part of 3 nephi 28:29 and asked me where it was, but i didn't know. I don't think anyone else did either, though. I went 50%, not bad. In another part of the conference he pulled me up in front of everyone as a volunteer. He was talking about how when we go on a mission we are literally set apart from the world, from sin, etc. He grabbed me by the shoulders and moved me a few feet away from him and said, "You have to separate yourselves from sin!" and he looked at everyone- in that second i shuffled a little bit farther away from him, and he looked back at me and everyone started laughing. I don't know why i did it, i wasn't trying to be a clown, but it just happened. Luckily he laughed too, and said "well done". It was a moment i'll never forget.
After the conferences he talked a few minutes with Elder Infante and i, and invited us to a meeting with him, president Risso, and all the stake presidents from Chiclayo. I was so pumped! He talked about how missionary work needs to function in the wards. Then we all went in president Risso's car to an appointment with a tough investigator of a companionship of some sister missionaries. The investigator didn't show up... It would have been an awesome lesson.
So, since we weren't even going to participate, we didn't go to the conference in Jaen. It was fine though, because we had a few days to work in our area, which are scarce lately.
Saturday we went to work with some zone leaders in the Chiclayo Central zone, and we moved from our old apartment where we lived with the other four office elders to our own area in our own apartment. I didn't want to move, but elder infante is always super angry at the other missionaries because they never clean up after themselves, so he finally exploded and said we're moving tomorrow, and we did. It has its pros and cons, but oh well, i'll only be here another week.
Tomorrow is zone leaders council. It's my 10th, and last time, in attendance. It's tradition that the elders who are leaving bear their testimonies, so i'll probably do that tomorrow, and we're going to talk about what we were going to talk about in the multizone conferences there.
I can't believe Christmas is in 2 weeks! I haven't really had time to think about it. But i love this time of year.
Thanks for all the prayers and love, i am so grateful for my amazing family, and the support you are constantly giving.
Elder Hatch
No comments:
Post a Comment