Dang it

I have to have a picture of Sydney on her blog even if she couldn't send me new ones!

I think my camera or the memory on my camera has a virus. So I might
not be able to send pictures home for a while. Which is pretty lame.
I´m sorry you guys won´t be able to see my cute little face for a
while. Or, maybe you´re sighing a sigh of relief, because you´re tired
of my pictures. Who knows.

Anyway, I think the dogs here in Bolivia (there are a ton) are in heat
or something. Because there are just big packs of dogs running around
fighting each other. And doing motions that leads me to believe that
they are fighting over a lady dog... It´s kind of annoying.

Also, this Saturday is Todos Santos ( All Saints) , which is kind of
like El Dia de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), or Halloween. Little
kids go door to door and ask for bread or something, and people go to
the cemetery and get drunk. It should be pretty lively, I would think.
I am hoping to get a lot of bread and not encounter a lot of drunks.

This coming Sunday is transfers, so I could potentially leave my area.
That would be pretty sad, because I really love this area. I´ve been
here for a little over 4 months, which is the longest I have been in
an area. I really love the people here. I also really love my
companion and I don´t want to leave her!

This week we were exploring our area a little bit, and we realized
that on top of this huge hill there was a house with a family living
in it. We started teaching them this week, and there dad had a lot of
questions. But he was really willing to listen to us. I am really
excited that we found them, and I really feel like they are ready to
hear us. A lot of the times here it is hard to get a whole family to
listen, with both parents. But the gospel can bless families so much!

District Conference

This week the mission president and his wife came to Tupiza, because
we had district conference. He also had interviews with all of the
missionaries in our zone. He told some missionaries that they would be
leaving and going to different areas this transfer, but he didn´t say
anything to me. But he did comment that I have been here for a long
time. But it hasn´t been that long! I would like to stay here another
transfer with Hermana Rumualdo, but I feel like I will probably leave.
Especially because my companion and I get along so well. Dang it.

In the district conference, they called a new branch president for our
branch. It was pretty exciting, and also a little sad. the last
president had been president for 4 years, and I think he was a little sad
to change. But he was called to the district presidency, and the new
branch president should come with new ideas and energy to help the
branch progress.
My companion and I have been working really hard to find new people to
teach, because we don´t have a lot of people who are progressing, like
coming to church or reading scriptures or praying. But this week we
found some people who seemed genuinely interested. We also had a
lesson with a family last night, and they seem very excited to learn
more about our message, and to strengthen their relationship with God
and in their family.

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ can bless families in very big
ways. I know that we have the fullness of the Gospel on Earth today,
and that families can be together forever through the saving
ordinances in the temple. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life,
and this opportunity I have to share it right now.

I hope everyone is doing well!

P-day!  Near Quiriza.

Our area in Tupiza.

Tupiza.

This is a toilet Sydney actually used!

Papa Evo

So, yesterday were elections in Bolivia for a new president. This
whole week we had to be in our house by 8 pm, and yesterday we were not
allowed to leave the house except to go to lunch and dinner. I guess
there was some anti American propaganda going on, so just to be safe.
The current president of Bolivia, who is very likely to be re- elected,
does not like white people. So I guess some of his supporters share  his feelings.


This week should be pretty much normal, hopefully! Last week we did
not teach a whole lot of people, because pretty much nobody was home
ever. A lot of people had to go out of town to vote, and the schools
were putting on a parade, so everyone was busy or traveling.

I love my area, but it a little hard to work in. There are a lot of
families with parents who work in the mines, so they are never home.
There are a lot of kids and teenagers here who just live with their
brothers and sisters, or live alone. It is really hard to find full
families to teach, and when we teach teenagers who want to join the
church, it is hard to get permission from their parents.

The ideal situation is teaching entire families, because the Gospel of
Jesus Christ is made for families! When a whole family can go to church
and learn together and support one another to stay on the right path,
it really is beautiful.

So, right now we are not teaching a lot of people who are really
progressing. But my companion and I are working hard everyday to talk
to new people and share our message with them!

Speaking of my companion, I seriously love her. She is so funny. and
she always says "Oh my gosh!" and "Dang it!" She wants to learn
English, and understand a fair amount. I`ve been talking to her in
English in the house to help her. And she calls me by my first name a
lot, which is funny, because she doesn`t really say it right. there
aren`t people named Sydney in Latin America, that I have heard of.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well at home!
Have a great week!

Beautiful Personal Day trip.

Wild donkey

Wild sheep.

Trot It Like It´s Hot

Silliness with a little blurriness!

This week my companion and I have been jogging every morning for our
exercise. And jog in Spanish is like, trotar, or something like that.
So now you get how PUNNY my title is, ho ho ho. But my knee has been
kind of hurting, so we might have to only do it every other day.

This weekend was General Conference, and it was really good! Per
usual. I was able to watch the conference in English, which was great,
because I could get more out of it. But it was hard to take notes in
English, because I spelled everything wrong. Whoops. Except with the
two guys who gave their talked in Spanish, we watched them in Spanish,
just because we could. When the one Elder said he married someone from
his mission, all the missionaries were like "Nooooooo! You don´t do
that!" Because they stress that a lot in the mission, to lock your
heart, because we´re not here to find our spouses. But, it worked out
for him and his wife, which is good! That is the way God prepared for
them to meet each other.

My favorite talks were by Elder Jeffry R. Holland and Elder David A.
Bednar. Elder Holland talked about doing everything we can to help the
poor, and he made a really strong point, that a lot of people have
qualms with helping the poor and less fortunate because they "brought
it upon themselves". But, in reality, we all make mistakes and bring
bad things upon ourselves at some point in our lives, although it´s
not always financial. But we still ask for help and forgiveness from
God, and hope for help from others. We should be willing to help
others always, no matter what their situation is.

In Elder Bednar´s talk, he talked about missionary work, and why
members of the church are so interested in sharing their beliefs. It´s
not because we want more numbers, or because we want to force our
beliefs on you, but because the gospel of Jesus Christ has made us
genuinely happy in our lives, and we want to share this joy with our
friends, family, neighbors, and our brothers and sisters of our
Heavenly Father. And that really is true. The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ, and is the
only one on earth that has the fullness of the gospel, and we just
want to help others know it for themselves, by sharing our knowledge,
and inviting others to know for themselves through prayer.

The church is true. I am grateful to be a member of this church, and
have the fulness of the gospel in my life.

"Choco" is like, someone who has blond or light hair. People call me
Choquita all the time.