Letter we received from Elder McEwan on July 26, 2014. Handwritten letters can take a while to come across the ocean, but they are worth the wait :) . . .
el 19 de junio de 2014
Dear Family,
Well, so I have been transferred out of the capital, out into the campo to a place called Azua. It is a really nice area! There is jungly stuff, as well as mountains. The climate is really dry and deserty, like Utah! The area that I am in is called LaColonia, and it is a branch, but it functions like a ward and has 120+ active members! Pretty cool, because they will be a new stake soon hopefully!
So the house is the nicest I have been in so far in the mission! Big study room, and workout room, dining room table to eat around, BIG kitchen, laundry room, nice bathroom, nice bedrooms, even a storage room . . . super nice, I love it! There is a Super Market close to the house, and the neighborhood is really quite! It is nice to be here . . . It just is so nice and beautiful. Also having the dining room table is great! We all have our assigned spots, and it is almost like a family! We always eat every meal together, we all always work out together . . . It is awesome!
I am also the only American in the house. My companion is named Elder Dabady, and he is a haitian that has been in the DR for 6 years. He was studying in one of the universities here. He is 24 years old, loves soccer, and speaks French, Creole, Spanish, and English, but we only ever speak Spanish. The other two in the house are Elder Reyes from Costa Rica, and he is training Elder Cisneros from Nicaragua. They are all really good missionaries, really cool guys, and they want me to teach them English and guitar, which I am more than willing to do! Dabady also wants me to help him with English because he wants to go to BYU after the mission. Overall, it is a really relaxed house with cool new guys!
So my first day we went to eat at a place called La Esquinita . . . Wow, that was awesome! We got our food and they took us out back to a place with these Cabana type things and we ate, it was a legitimate outdoor restaurant! They had two big screen t.v.'s and the world cup was on, so we took advantage of that and listened to an update while we ate! Super awesome place, we are all going to have to come here after the mission and eat! Then we went out and worked! I also found out that, like my previous area, it has been 2 years since an American has been here, so I am glad that I get to be a pioneer type guy! :).
So we have been working super hard lately! It has been so awesome to see what the work is like out here in the campo! There is always something to see, something to do! Lots of people are out here waiting to received the gospel, and it is great to see the people who really want it! I'll just give a quick rundown of our people that we are teaching.
Alexis: He is a 44-year old man who is really smart, a hard worker, and studier. He is always full of questions from his studies, whether it is from the Book of Mormon or the Bible! He has been having a lot of questions about marriage and things like that because he just had a divorce finish up, and he is looking to get married again. It is a little weird to give counsel about marriage to a grown man, but it is part of the mission life! He is hopefully going to get baptized on July 12, 2014.
Ingrid: She is a 19-year old girl, and she has 2 children. She is not married, so that is a little bit of a problem. She is right now learning about the Plan de Salvation and is progressing well. She is still recovering from giving birth a week ago, so she is a little bit hesitant to leave the house. However, we have a member named Georgina who is willing to help her get her 2 babies to church! It is great to have Georgina's help because Ingrid is really interested! She has the goal to get baptized on September 13, 2014.
Mery: She is also a 19-year old unmarried girl with 2 children. She is really excited about the church and want to learn. She just needs to commit! She hasn't fully accepted the commitments, so we need some help with that. We just need to keep following up if she is completing. She also has the goal of getting baptized on September 13, 2014!
Edailin and Warior: They are 2 sixteen year old kids, but are really smart! We are talking a lot about the restoration of the gospel with them and they understand everything! They are good kids, they read, and they basically have the Restauration pamphlet memorized! They have a good habit of going to church, so that is awesome! I look at these 2 like future missionaries, and I think that they will be great members! They have the goal of getting baptized on July 26, 2014!
Rubi Casey: She is the daughter of a less active member. She is 9, so we are going really show with her, working hard so that she understands! It's a good sneak peek for me at how I should teach my future children.
June 29, 2014
So I finally got your letters! One from Parker, one from Dylan, and the memory cards and a card from Mom! It was so great to hear from you all! Also, thank you for the stamps, they were much needed! I am also going to include a picture card. Hope you like them!
Anyway, I am going to end this letter here! To all of you, the best advice that I could give you is to invite ALL people to Christ. Sometimes we make exceptions of people and don't share the gospel. Everyone deserves the opportunidad (haha opportunity :)), and we never know if the Lord will be able to use us as the medium through which He brings another sheep to His fold. I know with all my heart that this is the work of the Lord. I can say that I know for certain that this is the one and only true church of Christ. I love this church, I love the mission, and I love my Savior Jesus Christ!
I hope this finds you all well!
I Love You!
Elder Garrett McEwan :)
No comments:
Post a Comment