This week in the Valle! ‏ 02/23/15

Colombia supports Nick! I will tell the stories of this week first. First, we found a man who has one good eye and the other is all light blue, he is addicted to all hardcore drugs that exist here in Colombia, and has been for 25 years. He is 36 years old. He is Rolo Cachaco (from Bogota). We taught him the Word of Wisdom and set a plan to get him out of addiction. His dad met us and we gave him a little pamphlet/book of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We finished the lesson, and walked away, but the dad followed after us running and said "I read the pamphlet, and how much does a Book of Mormon cost?" He had read and underlined almost the entire pamphlet in 15 minutes and he wanted a book of Mormon! So cool! Katarina is doing awesome and attends church every week! I know that she will be a leader in the church someday. Another story is that the couple that can't have kids invited us over again, and immediately we felt the spirit. The guy is named Nilson Diaz, and the wife is named Carmen Ariza. Carmen told us defiantly in the Restoration lesson "Everyone knows the first pope was Peter, the disciple of Christ." I know from experience that arguing never works, so I bore my testimony, stronger than I have ever before. Afterwards she said that she believed my words, that like the wind, she couldn't see it...but she could feel it. I committed them to baptism, and they both came to church and sat next to us. They said afterwards "this is how the church of Christ should be. There are no guitars, or yelling, or paying money to receive "revelation" from a pastor". Awesome! And another story of success. We passed by a more poor part of the area (which means that they are still rich) and a girl yelled to us "brothers!" (Hermanos!) She looked slightly deranged, but I walked up to her, and asked her how things have been. In a few short minutes, we had both her and her Mom out on the front porch talking to us. The girl explained that she almost was baptized, but fell into deep depression and was hospitalized days before the baptism. She felt like she had no friends, and the Elders were her only friends. They both believe that the church is true. The Mom dreamed a vision where she spoke with Joseph Smith. She and her mother explained that the missionaries were angels in their lives, but left after a time (sent to another area). She and her mother cried so hard the day they left, and the ward didn't continue to befriend them. The girl named Karen re-fell into depression, and they thought that God gave up on them, until we passed by that house and decided to talk to them. They both accepted baptism dates! Woo Hoo! And Lastly, I had 3 days of a stomach bug. The reason? I bought unlabeled Granadilla seeds in a container. I ate a bunch, but it tasted a little different. Its because it had certain preservative that causes blowout diarrhea. Those three days were crap. Literally. I lost about 8 or 9 pounds. In the house of a member I had diarrhea while going to the bathroom. The house was small and the noises were echoing in the house. I heard laughter in the living room. But I am costeño, so it didn't bother me. I left the bathroom and said "Did you guys hear my concert/symphony in the bathroom?" To the kids in the house, and there was less tension afterwards. :) That is so cool that you guys and going to be famous on KSL and Worldwide in the "Friend" magazine. Friend doesn't exist here in Colombia. Liahona does. But send me a photo of Ava in the magazine when it comes out! And Tell the littles that I love and miss them, and that they should pray often. And that the family can do scripture study every night! I recently finished the Book of Mormon for the 2nd time in my mission! I know the Book of Mormon like the back of my hand now! Love you guys and hope everything goes really well for you guys this week. Stay close to the Lord. You are a good person Mom. When I introduce myself to the people I teach, I show them the picture of the whole family in the Library. They always say "Your Mom looks like she is from Colombia, she is very beautiful." or "Your Dad is a lucky Man." Love you all so much!I appreciate all of your encouragement. I have really felt the hand of the Lord in the work.