The Lord loves you. So do I!

Well, this week we had a zone conference.  So we all took taxis for like an hour and a half to the inner city.  We had about 90 missionaries in this chapel and had a lot of capacitation (training).  It was pretty cool.  I saw a lot of new faces.  Elder Cavero had to to to the office to renew his visa.  He has about 4 months left in this mission, but his visa expires in November.  Luckily, he was able to get it renewed.

My companion and I have the zone leaders in our ward, and a park pretty close by, so we wake up at 5:50 everyday and play futbol for an hour or so.  My foot skills have definitely improved.  There are some people that are really good and others that I can beat.  I'm always faster, that's for sure, but we're always playing on a cement court.  It's a different game.

We have ward council every week, but we rarely have everyone there.  It's kind of tough, because the ward leaders all act like teenagers, including the Bishop.  But we're working on it!

We were walking in the street in one of the poorer areas this week, when this guy came up to us and asked for a Bible.  He definitely looked like an addict.  We followed him to his house, where we found his Mom and another day met more of this family.  I think he has a little bit of autism.  His Mom has 8 children and their father abandoned them.  The children are all over 20, but they have a lot of problems.  Lots of addictions.  Coke is the main one of the ones we met.  But they were super receptive to the message we gave and they all said they wanted to change.  The mom has been through a lot, but it's really cool to see the effect the spirit had on them.  You could see it in their eyes that they needed help and they trusted that our message was from God to them.

Whenever I miss my friends or family at home, I think about all of my friends out in the field--all of the other soldiers working for the Lord.  That all of them are doing the same thing I am!  The more time I'm out, the more I think about the investigators.  If I stay busy, I forget about everything else. The Lord loves you. So do I!

Elder Danger Burk

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We got lucky this week and caught Mason online for a little Q/A:

What did you like about Zone Conference?
It was cool to see the other leaders and the President.  (I've only seen him one other time.)  They had some cool capacitation, I think that means training, I don't really know.  Honestly, it was cool just to travel a little bit.  The lessons were awesome.  They talked about when the Savior visited the Apostles after his death when they were fishing.  There's a really cool talk by Elder Holland all about it.  You should look it up.  It's titled, "Feed My Sheep."

What's your President like?
He's a farmer. HaHa

Did your first package get there yet? (sent August 5th)
No, I haven't heard anything yet.  It will probably be another week or so, is my guess.

What city are you in?  We want to see on the map where you are serving.
Soledad 2000.  It's a district right next to Barranquilla.

Is there a map of your mission with the boundaries of the different areas?  
Hmm, idk.  I know there's only like 5 cities with missionaries.  I'll keep you updated on that.  This week was kind of slow on pictures.  The computer I'm at won't let me use my photos.  We can only use our cameras at baptisms, FHE, p-days, and meetings.  So sorry, I'm working on it, but I'll try harder this week.

Spencer and I are in the car together. He wants to know what kind of food you are eating for each meal.  I want to know, are you cooking for yourself, or are members cooking for you?
I eat fried mystery food on the streets and lots of bread.  We pay one family to make lunch for us everyday.  Lots of chicken and rice.

Tell us more about your companion.  He seems funny in the pictures.  Are you guys getting along?  Does he come from an active family? Is he a convert?
He's been a member all of his life.  His dad was a Bishop.  He really knows the scriptures.  He's very sarcastic.  He sounds a lot like Jasie when he speaks English.  But he jokes like Bonnie.  We'll send you a recording next week.

Spencer wants to know how comfortable your bed it.  I want to know if you have a good pillow, mattress, blanket and how did the microfiber towel work out, are you happy with it?
Yep, I've got all that stuff.  The towel is great.
Mom, can you send me a copy of the Family Proclamation in English, via email?  I can print it off.

Yes, here you go--

 Letters to siblings:

Spencer--Hey, That's super cool that you're playing basketball!  Whenever we play basketball here, we, the gringos, always win!  haha.  The Latinos are really good at soccer, but not so coordinated with their hands.  It also helps that we're usually a lot taller.  Good luck with practice.  Just be sure to touch the ball everyday!

Brinley--That's awesome that you're starting gymnastics!  You should have Braden teach you how to do a backflip!  By the time I come home, I bet you'll be a pro!  Are you excited to start school? When is your first day?  Love you lots!