Cova

So today was a weird day.  We had a pretty much all day ward activity in which we went way up in the mountains about the same distance from utah valley to the top of timp.  Maybe a little less, but still way way way high up.  Then we hiked down for 3 hours, and then walked on a path for another hour and then showed up at this place that is super sweet and had games and chilled there and ate food and stuff... and this place had a pool.  Woah.  Rediculous.  It was cement, but still a pool.  They don´t really make those here, but, this part is super green and stuff and has river things because of the mountains and the way they work.  It is the only part of this country that has water avalible.  It was soooooo sweet.  We had some investigators and less actives there.  Cely and Joakina´s oldest daughter, Valdisia were supposed to come too, but valdisia slept in and Cely´s uncle died.  Well... That happened.  Oh, also the very tops of the mountains are like utah a lot.  There are tons of pine trees and acrican plants, but also some normal looking ones too.  That was one of the best smells, and one of the best parts of the day, was the smell of pine.

So this week was good.  Stuff happened, I will just give you an investigator update.

1. We talked to lots of people and did our own finding people.

2. Joakin, who owns the new church (which will be done in like 2 weeks) came to church again, and he will be baptized this week.

3. William, who has been coming to church for a while, but we were just slackers because he lives far away, moved his own baptisimal date from this week to next week because he can´t leave his house saturday because of something with his mom.

4. Cely, had to work all night saturday, and so slept through church, and we had some miscommunication so we didn´t wake her up because we thought she was already there.

5. Ana and Denise, didn´t come to church because Denise had a volleyball game.  They have some questions deeper that we don´t know how to get out.  We are mostly just focusing on being normal people (with them and with everyone) and not on being missionaries.  That is very important, and a thing I am still learning and faught for a long time.  Just being people and talking about non missionary stuff and what ever, because all conversations lead to the gospel, and then lead to their needs. Not that we don´t talk about the gospel in lessons.  That is still really important.  Pray for them!

6. Valdeir, who we have only talked to one gave us some sweet ideas for finding tons of people, and so we went in and had a meeting with the head of this teen center, and we will be giving lectures and stuff and working with them to help kids with the problems the world has.  Also we are starting to teach the guy who runs the center tomorrow.

7. Joakina, we are struggling with.  She still has work on sunday and has problems with a life long (litterally) addiction to coffee.  She has 4 kids, Valdesia (18), Fabio (15), Eliana (12), and Eliane (confusing and then names are almost pronounced the exact same too) (9).  Eliana and Eliane came to church with us sunday, but the other 3 didn´t.  Also Valdesia slept through the ward activity.

8. Leidimeir, is sweet.  His dad was a member, and he had been to church.  He is like 21.  He is marked for baptism on the 1st.  He smokes a ton.  He was smoking like 20 cigarettes a day, and started doing less and less after we first talked with him.  Yesterday, we ran into him on the way to his house because he was going there too, and he was smoking his 3rd cigarette of the day witch is great, and it still had a ton of smoking left to do, and we told him to throw it away, and he paused for a second, looked the other way, and then threw it and didn´t look back.  It was super painful for him, you could see it in his everything, but he did what was right!  We are going to see him and check up tonight.

9. Right now we have 35 investigators that we are working with, but for now this will be it.

Also, for times sake, the spiritual thought this week is to really study Jacob 6:12.  Memorize it, and apply it.

Love,

Elder Sampson