Hola Everybody and Welcome to the JUNGLE!!!
The internet was down
all day yesterday in San Vicente so we are now in Obera using the nice
Cyber here! Obera is a 3 hour bus ride away and we take it once a week
for District Meetings or Zone Conferences!! It's a pain but it is also
nice because we get to use the bus ride to catch up on sleep!!!
This
last week has been crazy!!! Elder Izurieta (My new companion) and I
arrived in San Vicente last week and have been trying to get the hang of
how to run a branch and everything!! I am now the 1st counselor in the
Branch Presidency which is crazy, and I have to learn how to do
everything like Tithing, Temple Recommend interviews and things like
that!! Last Tuesday, Elder Izurieta, Elder Lumpkin (New Zone Leader),
and I, jumped on a bus in Posadas and headed off to Obera. When we got
here there was supposed to be an Elder here waiting for us. There wasn't.
Instead we got here to find out that there had been a riot inside of
the terminal between the Police and the workers because the workers
wanted more money. We sat and waited without a cell phone, for 2 hours
with no idea what to do!! Finally, he came
running around the corner and took us to the terminal after they had
cleared all the blood and bodies out. We waited for our bus and
then finally got on and arrived in San Vicente (5 Hrs East of Posadas)
at around 11:00 at night!! Crazy day (Just kidding about bodies and stuff
haha)!!!!
We had 33 people in Sacrament meeting this last Sunday which
is great!!! There is about 200 baptized members in San Vicente so
inactivity is a huge problem!!! Another crazy thing about my new area
is that it is over 300 Km wide!! This is a huge reason there is so much
inactivity, because people live very far from the church and very few
have cars! We had 4 men in 3rd hour on Sunday and now even all of them
are Priesthood holders!! We have 1 ex-bishop that was excommunicated and
we are working to get him re-baptized!!! There is so much drama in this
branch it is ridiculous!! Some people won't go to church because they
don't like other members and others get offended over the smallest
things, its like being back in Jr High!!!! We have been trying to find
the perfect balance between working with the branch, and trying to tract
and find new people to teach!!! Our chapel is the smallest thing ever
and it is pretty run down. Also the man that we rent the building from
is now kicking us out so Elder Izurieta and I are going to have to start
looking for a new place to have Church!! So many things on our plate
and we have only been here for 1 week!!!
More about the area!! I live
in the jungle everyone!!!!!!!!! It is awesome!! It literally rains for
days at a time and the roads turn into small rivers!! People live in
small homes sometimes on stilts, its like things I have only seen in the
movies!!!! My pinch is super nice and almost twice as big as my last
one!!! We have air conditioning and everything to!! Definitely an
upgrade!!!! I do my laundry by hand now which was definitely a learning
experience the 1st time haha. I love my new companion!!! He has the
perfect balance of fun, and work!! Also it is almost always the perfect
temperature here!!! Much better than Posadas!!! I thought I was going
to die there!!
We had another funny experience this past week! On
our way to our District meeting, Elder Izurieta and I woke up late so it
was a big rush to get to the Terminal on time for our bus!! The
Sisters had left to Posadas earlier that morning for an emergency
transfer so we were on our own to figure everything out!! And on top of
everything, it was raining harder than I had ever seen in my life!!!!
Rivers in the streets so strong they were sweeping cats away haha. I
had forgotten that I had water proof boots in my bag to so we were
running to the terminal and I was soaking wet!!!! We got into the
terminal and realized we were still 20 minutes early for our bus. My
shoes were full of water and I was soaked to the bone!! It was a long,
cold, wet ride to Obera. When I finally got to Obera, we found our way
to the chapel and found out that we were still 1 hour early to our
meeting!!!!! I got to stand out soaking wet for an hour!! We had our
district meeting and on the way home I fell asleep on the bus. When I
woke up, our phone was gone!! I got robbed for the 1st time hah. Pretty
crazy 1st week to say the least. O ya and we live like 20 seconds away
from the sisters so we have been able to receive a lot of help from
them!! They are awesome!!
I love you all and pray everyday that you
will all be watched over and protected!!! Much love from South of the
Equator,
Elder Ollerton
No comments:
Post a Comment