Week 19: NUEVO TIEMPO

February 5, 2018

Dear Familia, Amigos y Mundo!

Well, this week was a weird one let me tell ya! My companion had left for his new area and my new companion was in Bogotá so that meant that he was going to come with the new guys too. This also meant that I had about 3 days with the Zone Leaders and, let me tell you, those guys are crazy!! LOCO!! They’re fun though and we did a lot. We taught a lot and went to Yondo (a small city) again! In Yondo lives a new member of the Church named Quaquin and he’s this old man that is 93 years old or something with an amazing story! He’s had a very sad life. He is dirt poor and when he was like 30 years old his wife died and he never remarried. He’s been living alone in what is barely a house. He found the church because a long time ago his friend gave him el Libro de Mormón (Book of Mormon) and then something happened where they never saw each other because of some unknown reason. Well, Quaquin for a while had been searching for the church again and asking where the church of the Mormons was? Well, one day he finally found it and showed up to one of our meetings and his friend was there too and his friend was like, "Quaquin you’re still alive! I thought you were dead!" Haha! Well, nope, he wasn’t dead! He then received all of the lessons, attended and is now attending church every Sunday! He has been baptized a member of the Church and more importantly has received the gift of the Holy Ghost! Now let me remind you this man is dirt poor! His house is more of a shack with one wall, the rest is all open. This man has no money and lives about 30 minutes away in bus and still manages to collect and use his money to attend church. Isn’t that cool!

That’s true conversion! I love what this gospel can do for people when things become less important and God becomes our priority! Also, a positive to going to Yondo is that we got to return back in a boat! We asked the Assistant’s if we could and they said, “Ya, if it’s for an investigator and its faster.” Well it was faster and for an investigator! So that’s pretty rad too!

     Well, my comp came early in the morning and people told me he was short but, this guy is shorter than short! He could maybe be classified as a Minion. Haha. His name is Elder Castro and he is from Ecuador and he was in the military for less than a year before the mission. He has about 19 months in the mission which means this will probably be his last area. He is an organizational freak! Even more so than my older brother Connor and he has a unique personality. But he’s great! I don’t want any problems and I’m not going to have any problems! What I love is that I feel like I can finally teach the way I want to teach now that I am out of training. He doesn’t know the people so, I have to talk more! This is great! I love talking! My Grandpa Stewart called me “preacher” when I was kid for a reason! I only have like a few days with my companion but, I really feel like we are teaching with more Amor with our investigators. I have been able to reach out to people in a new way and people have told me that my Español has improved a lot more and I tell my comp to correct me as much as possible! So that’s pretty rad! We have the amazing opportunity to have set 4 baptismal dates for the 17th and I know they are going to happen! Pray for Jacobo that he might gain a greater testimony that Joseph Smith actually translated the Book of Mormon. He believes he was a prophet and believes the Book of Mormon is the word of God but isn’t 100% sure on that. I would say 80% so pray for him! Pray for Rubis that she can attend church this next Sunday! And, she needs to fully apply the commitments we have given her! Pray for the 2 little girls Sharik Y Melani that they may attend church and also to soften the heart of their father! As far as I can tell with them it is going to happen because the mom is convincing the dad! So, keep praying there will be no casualties! 

     This is awesome the time is already passing way faster and I don’t know why? My comp is great! He wants to teach with love and he wants to help everyone! And, I am learning so much more! I feel and understand the people more than ever and I don’t know why?” It’s like it just happened! I know that the gift of tongues is real, it has helped me and continues to help me now! I have felt the Spirit and seen the Spirit touch my friends/investigators here on the mission! I love what I am doing here, I can’t wait to see what my companion and I are going to do in the future! I know this church is true and I know that the church is built by God through His people and I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and actually did see God the Father and his son Jesus Christ! I love the people here in Colombia! And, I love how humble they are! It humbles me as well! I have got a lot to learn and I know I won’t have all great days but, what I do know is that I am excited to take the challenges on anyway! If I work with the same love the Savior has for each one of us!!! This gospel is so true! I can’t stress it enough!! 

Love,

Elder Weaver/ the next Spiderman of missionaries.... Elder Peter Parker?

Week 18: I'm Done Training Now the REAL Grind Begins...

January 29, 2018

Dear Familia, amigos y el mundo!

      I am so excited today but also a little sad as I have finally finished my training! 12 weeks of gut grinding! 12 weeks of trying my hardest to learn this language! 12 weeks of ups and downs! But, I would dare say more ups! As there have been miracles in my 12 weeks of training with my now past companion Elder Espinoza. Specifically, with him we had 3 amazing milagros (miracles) with the names of Sebastian, Yolanda y Sol entering the waters of baptism and setting themselves up to return to our Father in Heaven! Truly it is a blessing this mission!

 I am so glad to have had Elder Espinoza as my companion. We may have had the occasional challenge but as a whole it was great! He is a truly a hard-working, motivated man who will go on to do great things in the remaining year on his mission and after as well! He taught me a lot! From how to properly say words, when words had “el” or “la” in front and how to talk in stinking past tense! I’m still working on that by the way... well, I am still working on all of it. Haha. But most of all he taught me what I have talked about a million times over... Humility and Patience. I don’t think when I talk about these two things how great a significance these two words actually have! Humility is something all people need! It says in the Book of Mormon when Moroni is talking specifically to us today that he sees pride in our future. And sadly, how right he was. Everyone is swallowed up is some sort of pride if you think about it. If you think you are humble take another look because I know there is likely more humility needed. Now days its money and other stuff! And we forget of our God our Father when we have these things. Well, I was very humbled. Realizing I don’t REALLY know Español and I actually might not know how to teach as well as I thought I did... I learned that maybe my trainer does know a thing or two. Then, I studied up a lot on patience and I can say I was patient ALMOST 100%! I would give myself a 75% only because in times when I really needed to be patient I got mad or frustrated. But, as my 12 weeks went on I learned and adapted and became more patient. I was able to receive strength through my trials and they were not taken from me. So that’s what I learned! Thank you Elder Espinoza!

     This past week was kind of normal. Well, it was different because my Elder Espinoza wasn’t excited to leave. He wanted to work hard to the end and I was so glad for that because I have big plans for the future of this city of Barranca. We were very busy and we didn’t worry as much about making contacts this week but more about the people and just going about preaching and teaching the truth! This is a lot more fun and it makes me feel good at the end of the day! We are teaching people! We’re not just here for the numbers of people we contact so when you focus on the people it becomes less about you or the leaders and becomes about the people and their salvation and their needs! We found people and we taught people! I am so excited for my new future here with my new companion who will be coming on Thursday! He is from Ecuador and that’s about all I know about him right now! Nos vamos a ver! (We will see!) I am going at it with a positive attitude! Because why not? I’m not done being the full Elder Preston Charles Weaver! I am going to execute my mission like my wrestling and when I need to be serious and go out on the mat I will be ready and when the time is appropriate I can be the other part of me and have a lot of fun! Fun little crazy you know ME! 

     Well, we have a few investigators who are looking great! They are going to church and they have fechas (dates/commitments) and they are doing it for themselves! That’s the best part, they want to move forward and they want to change! We are just instruments to unlock that in people and it is really cool to see! We had 6 investigators at church but it wasn’t exactly what we wanted! We need people to come because if they come they will gain an even greater testimony and witness of the truth! We have one investigator named Rubis and she is amazing! The second time we came to visit her she not only had read but she had highlighted, underlined and then wrote a short summary and notes of what she had learned and read! I will give you a moment to close your mouth that is wide open in “AHH” because that was my reaction! MILAGRO! (MIRACLE!) She is great! She is practically a member already. She knows people in the church and she understands the doctrine pretty well and she is just amazing! Then, we have Jacobo who is this old man who looks like he could be a gringo but he is not! He has been kind of interested in the Testigos de Jehovah (Jehova’s Witnesses) for a while but he has some problems concerning their doctrine so here we come a long and we teach him. He loves church but he faults a true testimony. He reads and studies the Book of Mormon but he needs to pray. I think the problem is that he doesn’t what to pray because he knows that the response will be a yes, this Book is true! But, poco a poco (little by little) we are teaching people and everyone goes at their own rate! I know he’s close! I mean there’s something lately that has just told me that he’s close! 

    Family and friends, I know this gospel is true I know this church is true! We teach that the church isn’t a building it’s the people that God assigns and I truly believe that! We as members that have been called of God have the power to affect and change lives! We are just another means of transportation if you will for the Spirit to testify to the hearts of the people! I know that The Book Of Mormon is the word of god and that the Book with the Bible work together to accomplish the work and plan of God! I am very excited for the up-coming time I have here! It’s getting hotter and I am loving it! Heat can’t stop me and the message we have! Satan can throw all he’s got at me cause I am not giving up! My testimony is too strong and is growing every day! I have big plans and I am ready to go 110% full gas vomit to the end! I’m going to be the Spiderman of missionaries! Hey, invite the missionaries over and talk to them or talk to my family I know they’d love to share and talk to you about why I am sooooooooo HAPPY!

Love,

Elder Weaver

Week 17: January 22, 2018, I'm Still Learning

Dear Familia, amigos y mundo!

     This past week was hard and fun and stressful and just great! Yeah, I know what youre thinking how in the name of Barrancabermeja can a week be good when it’s hard and stressful? The honest truth is, I don’t know! But that’s the mission for ya! 

    Where to start is the good question? Well, first maybe a Happy Birthday to my Grandma Weaver which is today!! That’s pretty sweet! HAHA hope you have a good one! I love ya! 

     Well the week started off pretty normal teaching and preaching ya know and I think maybe I started to see and feel the pressure of the goals that our zone has set. We set goals that were fine but, I felt the pressure not gonna lie. And I have enjoyed getting to know a lot of people and it has helped my Spanish but sometimes it feels like we are just repeating the same things over and over again and I would love to mix it up a little bit. But, my companion insists on saying almost the same things over and over again to start every discussion. Well, in companionship inventory I told him, “Hey, let's mix it up.” And then that was the thing he told me to improve on... Ok thanks... So, during that day I was kind of struggling and I was frustrated and I was trying to just be patient and I don't know but I kinda just broke down a bit. I was struggling. Well, after being with one of the zone leaders for a day he helped me a lot to see what I'm really doing and to help me with patience and all that jazz. I decided that the only way to get better was to let things role off my back. To just work and to teach to the best of my ability and try to be me. Try to have a bit of fun and look at the day differently. And so that's what I did. I stopped letting the little things get to me such as my companion snapping and meowing at every cat he sees! Yes, he does that! And the week was great! We got a lot of new investigators and I really felt the spirit in the lessons. And, I actually understood these people! So, like I titled this I am still learning. Learning to be patient and humble and how to adjust to the mission life and how to do everything! 

      I don't want this email to sound like, “Oh poor Elder Weaver” cause it’s not! I'm fine. I was trying to remember what happened this week, but it went by so fast! We have found soooooo many great people and I am so grateful for the members! They are really starting to help us more cause we have been pushing for it! We have one investigator named Rubis and by the second visit she had read the parts we designed and wrote a summary and then told us the things she thought and it was amazing. My comp and the member and I were about shocked to the point we couldn't talk for a hot minute! She didn't come to church though because she got really sick... Then, we received some great news that Sharik y Melani who are these two sweet little girls with parents who aren't members or married but their older sister is. The mom really wants them to be baptized now before she was waiting for the permission of the dad who just said, “No, they’re too young.” And yesterday she was like, “yeah I don’t care I want them baptized it’s better for them I will convince their dad…” OK sounds good to me! These girls have said constantly how they believe and want to be baptized and it finally will happen in February! So that’s a miracle! Then little things like in a taxi the diver asks, "Are you Mormons cause I have your book and I really want to learn more......" Or, finally getting into houses and teaching because we have members with us! Sometimes it’s the little things ya know. And I think that’s what I really learned this week. It’s the little things in life on the mission. 

     Yeah, the mission is tough and life is tough but sometimes we need to slow down and just look. Look at the day and really pick out the little things that happened and the tender mercies. I am sure that they are full of things you just don’t know. I had to do that this week and just step back, breath, and look. Look at the lives I have affected, look at what my trials have actually brought me and wow I have a lot. This week I saw miracles! It may not show in numbers of people that came to church but I do know I did something. I did help in some way, shape, or form. It’s the little things. It’s being patient when you really don't want to be. Such as why won’t this dad let his children receive baptism? Then, all of the sudden with patience hey this might happen. It’s about looking beyond yourself and reaching out in any way possible, trying to apply the attributes of Christ every day. The mission is stressful, hard and difficult. And people may say you shouldn’t say that. Well, I say the sooner you accept it the better off you’ll be. I use wrestling an my example. Wrestling was tough, hard, and difficult and the sooner I recognized that the better off I was and then I just set my eyes on the prize. That's how it is here. 

      This may not be the best email in the world and it might be all over the place. Sorry dyslexia... But, I do know that  The Book of Mormon and the Gospel Of Jesus Christ changes lives and it’s changed mine and continues to change me! I love it! I’m so happy! And I am really starting to see the blessings more and more every day! 

     Elder Weaver