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