2013-08-12 It made me a little homesick to see and smell all of the fireworks.

Elder Howlett standing in his area

Hey Everyone,

I'd really like an mp4 format copy of the mormon message, "stay within the lines."  (in Spanish)

Last Monday we went and ate at a restaurant.  I had a really good pineapple and milk drink.

Tuesday was Bolivian Independence Day.  We didn’t do much because my companion was sick.  I was in the house all morning with him.  Then in the afternoon, the guy we live with stayed with him and I went on splits with Arthur.  We went up to the really high village which was fun.  I hadn’t been there for almost 2 weeks.  We taught the lesson and then he was in a rush to get back so we just ran straight down the mountain instead of using the roads or trails.  Bolivia has some really sharp plants with huge spines.

Then that night there were tons of fireworks.  I sat and watched them for half an hour before I went to sleep in the night.  It made me a little homesick to see and smell all of the fireworks.



putting together the closets in the new house

Also this has been a crazy busy week.  First we switched pensionistas at lunch to the Flores family. Lunch is so much fun.  I love visiting with them and they make awesome food.  Also, we moved on Thursday.  My companion and I live in the apartment next to the dinner pensionista’s house.  We finally finished getting it set up yesterday. I think I’m gonna like living there.

The Medrano family is awesome. The 5 kids from 11 to 24 live at home with their mom and their dad works all over South America and sometimes comes to stay here.  All the kids are baptized but the mom is super Catholic. The missionaries started to teach the kids 2 years ago and at first she wouldn’t even stay in the house when they were there.  She’s warmed up to us quite a bit and she loved Elder Chavez.  I was afraid she wouldn’t let us visit anymore now that he’s gone but I found out from her daughter that she likes me too.  That made me feel good. I’m the only gringo who has liked her hot corn drink, wilca pula.  Elder Chavez would always do the dishes when we ate there and I would help and the daughter said she liked us for that too.  Anyway, this week she saw a picture of Joseph Smith in one of the pamphlets and said she knew who he was. When she was young her uncle was a very prominent leader of the Catholic church in Potosi.  Before he died he gave her a photo (she says actually a photo) of Joseph Smith and told her it was Joseph Smith.  She said it had always hung in his office.  We taught her about Joseph Smith and for the first time she showed interest in the church.  She said she would pray about it and ask her husband to pray too.  That is super exciting and exactly what we needed.  Even though she was nice and listening, before she would never commit to do anything.  

 

 

The high counselor in the ward here told us another cool story from his mission in Peru.  They met a man who had found part of a copy of the Book of Mormon in the street.  He had from Enos to Moroni.  He had read it many times and understood it.  They found this guy because they heard someone reading a verse from Book of Mormon.  The church was called, in English, something like the Church of Jesus Christ in These Days.  The guy formed his own church and had 140 people attending.  He agreed to be baptized the first day he met the missionaries and his entire congregation was baptized too.

I fasted for our investigators to come to church this weekend.  Then we had 14 of our investigators at church so that was awesome.

I gave my first blessing that I felt like went smoothly in Spanish this week.

We met a 14 year-old kid named Daniel and taught him a 5 minute lesson in the street.  We asked him to say a prayer to finish and he said an awesome prayer that also gave us a lot of information about his family’s problems.  It’s too bad that doesn’t happen more often.  People here are usually super nervous to pray.  I think he will be an awesome investigator.

Love,

Elder Howlett

P.S. Galatians 4:9, and 5:7-8