2014-02-10 it filled the whole room with about an inch of water

Hey Everyone,

This was one of the best weeks I've had in the mission.  It was fun and spiritual and successful.

Monday night we had a Family Home Evening with Jazmyra (got baptized last week) and her family.  They bought a giant pizza and she made my companion and me mugs that have a picture of us with her on them and said thank you for the blessing we gave her.  We finished the night with a lesson that went really well about eternal marriage.

We had a big success with an inactive member this week.  I've been visiting her house since I got here.  Her mom is active and normally we just teach her because Alejandra (26 year old daughter) didn't want to listen. With time, she kind of warmed up to the missionaries and would listen to us but she hadn't been to church in 8 years and wouldn't go.  We had a great lesson with her about the sacrament/atonement during the week and she said she'd go to sacrament meeting.  Then on Sunday she actually did!

Salome is still doing well.  She seems to be getting happier and she always lets us in for a lesson when we pass by.  Her baptismal date is the 22nd of March and I hope she makes it.

I got to baptize 2 people this week,  Aerton and Gerardo.

Aerton is 10 and the hermanas' investigator.  I've known him for a long time though because we went with the hermanas to teach him several times since my first cambio here in Alamos.  He's a smart kid and understands the gospel well.  I helped the hermanas call in the water truck to fill the font since they'd never done it before. The water truck guy didn't make sure the hose was securely inside the font I guess because when we went inside to watch it fill, it was spewing water into the room instead of the font.  The water comes out at about the same speed it comes out of a fire hose so even though we think it was only out about 20 seconds, it filled the whole room with about an inch of water and was pouring out into the hallway.  It took us about an hour to push all the water down the hall and into the bathroom drains.  I didn't think to take pictures until we were getting close to done. 

Gerardo was baptized when he was 8, but no one created a membership record for him.  So he needed to be baptized again and we did it yesterday. Working with Gerardo has been the most meaningful experience of my mission.  I met him my first day in Alamos when he was almost completely inactive. Since that time I've visited him about twice a week and he has completely changed.  He's active, he's worthy, he understands as well as anyone else the importance of the gospel, he's excited to serve a mission, he is a good influence on his friends and talks about the church with them.  Working with him has made me reflect on many experiences I've had in my life and how they've affected me.  I understand better now how important the gospel was in my life, and I'm even more grateful for everything God has done for me.

I was really worried about going to some place cool to serve my mission before I got my call.  What I've come to realize is that the people where I serve are far more important than the climate or language or food.  The experiences I've had here are incredible and just what I needed.  I've been able to connect quickly and easily with people in a culture where I'm sorely out of place.  I've been sent just where I need to be to help people and to have the experiences I need to become a better person and understand the gospel better.  I am so grateful to be here in Cochabamba and for having met the people I've met.  President Anderson talked a lot about loving the people when he came to set me apart.  I don't think any part of being a missionary has come as easily and naturally for me as loving the people.  

Arthur called me yesterday very excited that he's going to be doing a baptism this coming Saturday.  It's for someone who I only taught a couple of times while I was in Villa Graciela.

We had another awesome lesson with Miguel and Carmen.  We asked Carmen how praying to know about the church went.  She told us that when she'd prayed she'd felt good and peaceful and then that night she'd had a dream where her sister-in-law (a member who just left for her mission) was full of light and talking to her about the church.  She told us that she does believe that was answer from God.  She says she's going to get baptized, we are just waiting for her husband to get back from Spain this coming month.  After that we talked about eternal families and she is excited for when she and her husband and son can all be sealed together.

Anyway, I hope you are all going to the temple.  It is important.  Have an awesome week.

Love,

Elder Howlett

P.S. Enos 1:3-4

2014-02-03 My companion and I are a powerful team.

Hey Everyone,

pasteles (fried cheese filled empanadas) with api (really good
hot drink made from purple corn) and eggs and beef at the pension.

Well this week was crazy.  I have a new companion.  Elder Melgar went to a different area and Elder Calderon is my new companion.  He is 18 years old and from Piura, Peru and awesome.  He speaks really good English because he studied at the BYU English school and therefore lived in Provo for a year.  He has a little less than 2 months in the mission and I'm finishing his training.  He teaches well and he's smart.  He's also a very dedicated missionary.

I'm very excited to be with him.  It's really nice to have someone I can talk to in English.  He uses the phrase, "It came to pass," a lot when speaks in English which is kind of funny.  He loves Tucanos so he has good taste. Anyway, we work really well together and our lessons are great.

It just keeps raining and raining here.  Some the areas out in the country are just completely flooded (like 3 to 4 feet of water in the streets) but to be honest no one seems very worried or surprised by that.

We taught Miguel and Carmen again.  Carmen told us she prayed but didn't ask about the church because she's afraid to do it.  It took us a while to figure out what exactly she means by that but basically it seems like she knows that baptism is the next step she needs to take and that seems like a huge change to her and uncomfortable.  After we identified the problem, we had a great lesson about the doctrine of baptism.  She promised us that she'd pray to know if it was true this week.  Miguel likes the church and even though he may not have received spiritual confirmation, he believes it's all true.  He promised he'd pray about it this week too. They were both at church on Sunday.

Baptism of Jasmyra,  and my new companion (not my baptism but I know her and her family well.  I taught the rest of her family twice and taught her once and since the hermanas are their missionaries I've gone over to give them blessings a couple of times and did her interview. We are going to have a family home evening with her and her family tonight.)

Gerardo´s mom took us to the house of her friend, Justino.  He lives with his 2 sons.   We set up an appointment for this week and it looks promising.

I've probably talked about Salome before but I don't really remember.  She's a little old lady who can't remember anything.  This week we went to visit her like we've been doing but for the first time in a month I feel like we made some progress with her.  She has a baptismal date and seemed to understand a little bit more than before.  I felt the Spirit incredibly strongly as we taught that lesson.

My companion and I are a powerful team.  I'm excited to see what we'll accomplish together.  I'm so happy to be here in Bolivia.  I love the people here. 

I hope everyone has an awesome week.  You should go to the temple.

Love,

Elder Howlett

P.S. 3 Nephi 18:1-12

2014-01-27 My shoes get really muddy.

Hey everybody,

It rains a lot here.   And when it rains here the streets turn into streams.  My shoes get really muddy.  I love it though.  

  

We went to the temple on Wednesday and it was the first time I saw the new video.  I liked it.  I love going to the temple.  I miss it a lot.  There is nowhere that I feel the Spirit like I do there.  It is the only place where I can truly forget about everything else and just focus on God.  I hope you are all going to the temple as often as you can.

We found a new investigator during the week named Francisco.  He doesn't speak or understand Spanish super well (primarily speaks Quechua) and I didn't feel like our first lesson was great.  We asked him to ask God in a prayer if the church is true.  I was surprised when during the second lesson I asked him if he'd prayed and he said that he had.  I was even more surprised when I asked if he had received an answer and he went on to tell us that the night he had prayed, he had dreamed of us (the missionaries) reading the Bible with him and knows now that the church is true.   I'm very excited for him.  He was supposed to come to church on Sunday with his wife and 4 kids but his wife got bit by a dog on Saturday night.  It had rained that day and they live on the other side of a river that they have to wade across and couldn't cross (because it was too big) until Sunday morning to get her to a hospital so they didn't make it to church.

I had a good experience this week in recognizing the Spirit. As we were walking, we passed the house of some less active members. Half a block past the house I thought we should stop by, so we went back. It turns out that one of the members of the family hurt her knee and was going in for surgery the next day. Someone from the ward had visited her during the week and told her he´d send the Elders to give her a blessing. Well I guess he forgot because we didn't know; but we showed up at that house and got to give her the blessing she was waiting for anyway. It feels wonderful to follow a prompting and then find out that you fulfilled someone's need. It was also a great reminder that God loves and looks out for all of his children, even that little old lady.

We had an awesome lesson this week with Carmen (mom) and Miguel (son).  They are family of some members in the ward.  The lesson went like I´d always pictured a missionary lesson before coming to the mission.  She told us that she visited the church a lot and likes it but still has her doubts about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  She also says she isn't sure if we even need a certain church to make it to heaven.  When we read James 1:5 with her she told us that she had always prayed and thanked God and asked for blessings but that it had never occurred to her to ask Him about joining a church.  That was without us even explaining the scripture and she told us she was going to pray to find out what to do.  

Being with Elder M--- is still kind of hard but oh well.  We still don't get to work as hard as I'd like but I'm being diligent in trying to make things work out.  I just don't let it bother me and I'm as happy as I've always been here.  I love the mission and I'm always motivated to do as much as I can because I know I won't have this opportunity again.

One of the things I've noticed is that some missionaries are so committed to the gospel and have the Spirit with them so strongly that they are just naturally a good influence on everyone around them.  One of my goals is to become that kind of a person and remain that kind of a person for the rest of my life.

Also, I can't believe I have 10 months in the mission today!  Time continues to fly by.

I hope everyone has a great week.  

Love,

Elder Howlett

P.S. Revelation 12:7-11

2014-01-20 Being a good example is one of the best ways to participate in the work of salvation.

Hey Everyone,

I love being here in Cochabamba.  I've found that I love Alamos, maybe as much as Villa Graciela.  I am amazed by how quickly I become attached to the people here. 

Things have been a little rough with my companion--he doesn't always want to get out and work and he's not obedient and told me the rules don't matter to him.  Someone's got to be his companion and God chose me for now.  I'm trying to get things working well and things are definitely getting better and not worse.  One of the nice things about the mission is that as long as I do what I can and follow the Spirit I feel good, I don't worry, and I'm happy.  I figure he's my companion for a reason and I should make the most of it.

This week went pretty well.  My companion said he was too sick to leave the house 2 days this week so we did divisions (splits) and left him in the house with a youth while I went out and worked with Gerardo.   We found 15 new investigators this week and got baptismal dates with 5 of them.  They teach us to always try and put a baptismal date by the 2nd lesson but I found it's almost always best to do it in the first visit.  It helps them understand why they are receiving the missionaries when there is some kind of goal they are working toward.

Gerardo took me to visit one of his friends the first day we were together and it went really well and we went and visited them again the 2nd time he was my companion.  We are also teaching his friend's mom and cousin and they are all excited to come to church on Sunday.  I'm excited to be teaching them.

We keep visiting Jeampier but the bishop said something to his brother that upset him and now his brother doesn't come to church so things aren't going as well with them.

I talked to Maria for the first time in months.  She's the one who believes that everything is true but won't do anything because her husband doesn't want her to.  It's still pretty much the same with her but she didn't  say we could go teach her a lesson this week.

There has been tons of rain all week.  It's the heaviest rain I've ever seen.  Last night I got up to go to the bathroom and you have to take a couple steps across the balcony to get there and I was instantly soaked it was raining so hard.

I speak Spanish pretty well now and I read Spanish very well.

I feel pretty blessed that I never get sick here.  Pretty much everyone else does.

The gospel makes people happier and nicer.

I love reading and studying my Patriarchal Blessing. 

I miss family vacations.  Remember when we went to Galveston?  I liked Galveston.

The zone leaders just gave me a packet from the Thompson family but I haven't opened it yet.

Being a good example is one of the best ways to participate in the work of salvation.  It helps with inactive members and non members.  When people think highly of the church and its members, it makes them want to be a part of the church.  When they see members do things they shouldn't it one of the hardest obstacles to overcome.

I hope everyone has an awesome week.

Love,

Elder Howlett

P.S. Mosiah 4:29-30

2014-01-13 ...because that's just what they do here

Hey Everyone,

I had a great week and a great birthday.  First off, yesterday was cambios and I'm staying in Alamos for a 4th transfer with Elder Melgar who's been my companion since last week.  I'm still district leader and there was not a single change in my district.  I'm happy to be able to stay here in Alamos.  I don't not like changing areas.

My Birthday was awesome.  That afternoon we had a breakthrough with a less active member.  He's going to get things turned around and come back to church. That night my penisonista invited Gerardo and the Hermana missionaries to her house to have dinner all together. We had a ton of really good pique macho.  After that they smashed eggs on my head and covered me in flour because that's just what they do here.  It was a fun evening.

The next day for we had lunch with Gerardo's family and Hermana Viqui (his mom) bought me a cake.  It was actually really nice because I know they don't have much money.  The cake said "Congrats ELMER" which is kinda funny because my name is not Elmer.  The cake was really really good.  It was moist and berry flavored.   Gerardo and his mom had a present for me too.  It's a bag made out of Bolivian fabric... aguayo (or something like that).  We had a really good lesson after lunch about prayer with them and it was a great afternoon.

We ate chicken heart kabobs for lunch on Tuesday. They are a lot better than what they have at Tucanos.

I always feel the Spirit strongly when I give blessings.  I'm amazed at how much easier it has become for me to recognize what it is that I need to say as I give blessings.  Before, I was always worried that I would say something I shouldn't have--but now I always feel good finishing a blessing.  Normally when we teach about priesthood I ask how long it's been since they've received a blessing. The vast majority of members here have never received a priesthood blessing.  It's sad and helps me understand how important the priesthood is.    

I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Love,

Elder Howlett

P.S. Matthew 26:41

2014-01-06 ...I guess that means it rains inside a little too.

Hey Everyone,

This week was pretty crazy.  My companion is gone.  He left to his house on New Year's Eve for health issues. They called us at 4:30 to tell us we needed to be in the airport at 6:30 for his 7pm flight. We ran home and packed up and away he went.  That left me without a companion.  I spent that night with one companionship and the next day with another companionship in my zone.  Since I wasn't getting anything done in my area, I asked permission to work with Junior and he was my companion all day Thursday.  Thursday at 8:30, I went to pick up my new companion in downtown Cochabamba.  His name is Elder Melgar--he's from Beni here in Bolivia.  

I miss Elder Contreras.  We got along really well. Things are going ok with Melgar though.  

Cambios are on Sunday and I don't want to leave here.

We have a new family we are teaching that is very open and interested--the mom and 14-year-old son especially.  We had helped her carry her big cholita bag of bottles several weeks ago but were just able to contact her for a lesson this week.  She also came to a baptism when we invited her on Saturday.  It's great to see God's hand in what we do.  I remember seeing her and thinking we should help and now I know why I had that impression.  She is very grateful that we are visiting her and her family.

We taught a lot of lessons to less-active members this week.  I really like working with them.  I think it's because they are a lot more like me than investigators are.  I always had the gospel, I just didn't always grasp its importance.  

Thank you for the packages, Grandma Marie and Papa Dave & Atwood Family.  Yours hasn't made it mom.  I'm only about a week away from needing the new journal you sent me, grandma, and bubbles don't exist here, so whoever thought of putting that in the Atwoods' package is a genius.  The kids here love them.

Today we went to Pairumani in the morning.  That's the green pictures and waterfalls.  It was fun. We had a water fight with our zone.

 

I spent New Year's Eve with Mercedes and Junior's family.   We had permission to be out until 10:30 for that night.  Back in the apartment, the fireworks woke me up at midnight though, and it was a ton of fireworks that I could see very well from the balcony.  

It's been raining like crazy every day for weeks now.  One night it rained really really hard and here in Bolivia, I guess that means it rains inside a little too.  My desk was very wet the next morning.  I do like it a lot better than the sun.

I'm very pleased with how everything is going right now with the people we are working with.  Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Howlett

P.S.  Isaiah 41: 9-13

2013-12-30 I love that family to death

Hey Everyone,

I had an awesome Christmas this week.   On Christmas Eve the Flores family made ph´am paku and brought it over for dinner.  I pushed the desks and our one table together to make our dinner table.  We had tumbo, peach, and guayaba juices with dinner which were all very good.  I love that family to death and was very happy to be able to spend Christmas Eve with them.  The parents bought me ties, Arthur bought me a wallet and belt.  The girls made me the big sign you can see in the picture.  They told me about 50 times that they don't have money so they couldn't buy me anything.

 

On Christmas we had baptisms in the zone at 4:00 which we went to and later that night we went to hermana Mercedes' (our pensionista) for a couple hours.  We played with my laser a lot.  I'm really loving that family a lot too.  One day after lunch when my companion was sick, Junior told me all about their life before they were baptized 6 months ago.  They've made massive changes and continue changing and it's great to see.

My companion has not been doing well at all this week which means I've had a ton of time to study and think.

The mission is incredible.  It allows you to think about religion all of the time.  I feel the Spirit all of the time.  I'm able to learn unbelievably quickly.  My mind has never been so clear and sharp.  I want to and am able to make changes to live more in harmony with the gospel as I learn more.  One of the things I've been working on lately is doing good things because it's what God wants.  

I also realize more and more everyday what a huge blessing it is to have the gospel.  People without the gospel not only lack happiness and purpose but they don't even know how to find it.  There is a marked difference between those who have a knowledge of God´s plan--especially an understanding of the Atonement--and those who don't.

Well, I'm out of time but I hope you all have an awesome New Years!  2014 would be a good year to start writing about your important experiences in a journal.  If you have meaningful experiences it would be a waste to forget them.

Love,

Elder Howlett

P.S.  Mosiah 27:14