Week 11

Well this week was sweet. I still love this city and all the people in it. You cant walk more than 100 feet without smelling marijuana. So that's super fun haha. We had some more surprise service on Tuesday morning. The service never stops here and I love it. We got a call from the bishop to go to the church to meet him there which is like 15 blocks away and then 5 down. Then we went from there way far down like another 15 blocks. and a few to the side. We picked up a bunch of random stuff from this house and carried it 20 or so blocks up the hill and these hills are always super steep so that's awesome. And then about 18-20 blocks to the left which is also uphill. It took forever to do this but then we found out it was for a Venezuelan family that needed these supplies and they were super grateful. I was super happy to be able to help but my calves and thighs were not so much. We are constantly surprised with this kind of service here and I love it so much. 

City street.

Me!

My comp!

This week we found out there were some Germans that lived close by that we originally thought were gringos. But we went to the house of them and contacted them and I even used one sentence of German. This sentence was what is your name? BOOM to all those people that said German is never going to help me, it just did. But the reality is I could have just used Spanish and he would have understood as well. So German is pretty useless here. But it was super cool, turns out there are a lot of Germans here. Its awesome and maybe I can go find more another day. and speak more German. 

That missionary life.

Anyways another quick story from this week. It was close to 9 at night and I was super hungry so I decided to get some potatoes to make french fries. As I was peeling the potatoes I accidentally sliced my pinky and it would not stop bleeding. It was a big huge cut and it was rough. I bandaged it up and it turned out alright just super sore now. 

Bandage job.

Oops. 

The pinky

Anyways the food here is awesome and I love the people. They are always super nice and loving to us. One night me and Elder Wilson were super hungry again and we were at a house store next door and we were buying some food and then we heard a huge smack behind us and thought it was a coconut and we grabbed it and was this giant fruit. The lady said that it was pretty good so we took it home and decided to eat it. it was super sweet and really yummy. That was our adventures this week. Oh also, every house we ever go to, to teach or to contact and they let us in. They always give us juice or soda and its awesome. I love how nice everyone is to us! 

The city!

City life.

  

Me and my comp.

Sundays are cool here - they are completely in Spanish so it's hard but really cool. Every morning we go walk to someones house to pick them up for church. We are part of a ward with probably about 100 people. And today we are going to hueco which is a huuuuuuge shopping center where we might get robbed. But I am going to buy a bunch of stuff and get a bunch of souvenirs.

Sunset on the city - the view from our appartment.

My desk.

Our dorrito snack with hotsauce and lime. Super good.

Not much happened this week with our investigators. We set two more dates with investigators and they accepted. It was a good experience and they seemed to like our message. The names of them are Erica and Jessica. They are cousins and they are raising a cute little 4 or 5 year old kid. They are super cool. 

Gringo problems in Colombia.

We don't fit in certain places.

Think skinny!

We also had the baptismal interview of Gabriel this week and he passed!! He is getting baptized this Saturday at 7! We are so excited for him to get baptized and he just has a huge testimony of the gospel and loves everything about it. This gospel has changed his life for the better. We have been working with him really hard and pushing him to get to this point. We are both really excited for him and because Elder Wilson and I opened up this area with only 1 or 2 investigators to start. And he was a brand new investigator and is getting baptized in the same transfer. This is the only really cool story I have to share this week. But there isn't any better story than a baptism.  Gabriel Rangel will be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in less than a week. And he has so much to offer this church. I love this gospel and the changes that it can bring to a persons life. It has changed mine and helped me improve my knowledge of the gospel. 

 

Baptismal invitation that Elder WIlson made for this week for Gabriel

Baptismal invitation that Elder WIlson  made for this week for Gabriel

Every day it strengthens my testimony just by sharing this gospel with people. And even through my broken Spanish I can share the fullness of this gospel. I know that the language of the spirit is stronger than the language of Spanish. Thanks for everyone that supports me! I love you all

-Élder Goude

Some pics of me in front of a National Colombia soccer team painting thing. It's pretty cool.

Close up of National Colombia Soccer Team Painting thing.