Wow what a week it has been. I am writing this before I read any emails to just get it out of the way, so ya. Also, my new companion likes to get on earlier, so it looks like I will be getting on earlier for my email time for the next couple of weeks. I dont enjoy it, but I dont want conflict, so I just go with it. I will explain all that has happened!!!
So as you know, I was transferred out of my area in Hato Nuevo, and I did not know where I was going. Well on Monday night (Last Monday) I got the call on where I was going. They didnt tell me who my companion was going to be, or what area in the zone, just the zone itself. Well, currently I am now in BARAHONA!!!!!! For those of you that dont understand that significance, Barahona is in the South, so like the really poor area, which I have always wanted to visit, and it also has the best beaches in the West mission! It also is said to be the prettiest area in the mission where you can serve! It also is the only place on planet earth where you can get this certain type of rock called Larimar. Look that up, and also pictures of Barahona, and you will see what I mean. Oh my gosh it is amazing down here!!! We are right next to the ocean, and the Mountains! I AM IN MY PARADISE!!! I would send some pictures, but sadly, my camera broke, so I have not been able to take pictures this last week. I was really bummed. But I will finish that story in a bit! So when I got to Barahona, I found out I was going to be with an Elder named Elder Haag, who is from Oregon. I also found out I will be living in the Zone Leaders house. Well, I was on a bus with all my friends who were coming to the South for the transfers too, including my awesome Dad in the mission (That means my trainer...Dad in the mission...), Elder Zilm! He came down to the South too! Love that guy! Anyways, we were on that bus for about two hours I would say, and then they dropped us off in a place called Azua, and I had to catch another hour and a half bus to Barahona, so we are out there. haha! Well I got to the new house, met my new companion, and the first thing I realized is the house has no inversor, but it is REALLY clean. Because of the change in humidity, dust does not kick up as much here, so I guess it stays cleaner. Cool with me! But they then (They being the Zone Leaders, who are both Latinos, and my new companion) told me that this house is in a 24 hour zone, because we are in a rich area, and it always has water. Hear me? ALWAYS HAS WATER! Hallelujah! And they did not lie. This whole week, I have had water and light. Blessed. I am blessed. So that is the generals (CRAP THAT WAS LONG) so let me tell you about the actual week. :)
Tuesday - Unpacked for about two seconds and then I was out working. One thing I learned very quickly about Elder Haag is he is a dang hard worker. He is always working. We are constantly moving and going to more appointments, which is nice, because they actually have progressing people here that dont need to get married! So this day was kinda a blur. New area, I was trying to transition, cant really tell you anything that happened.
Wednesday - I found out today we had a baptism on Saturday coming up, so we went to this girls house. Her name is Madaly, she is 18, and she is just awesome! Her older sister is a strong member, and Madaly will be the second member in her family. They have both got awesome testimonies. It is fun talking to them. We also taught a man named Julio Cesar (Julius Cesar basically) who I ended up giving a date for baptism that day. Spirit prompted me to do it, so I did. Elder Haag told me it was the right call. I also met a girl named Dominga, who has a date for baptism this next week, so this Saturday, but she isnt sure if she is ready, so we have been talking about the prep for baptism. If she doesnt make the decision soon, we will just change the baptism date. You cant rush someone into something they don't want to do!
Thursday - WE CONTACTED. Literally almost all day. We found some really awesome new families though, like this woman named Kayla. She isnt a member, but her friend is, and this friend of hers always talks about the church with her, so she knows a ton and wants to keep learning more. Only reason she hasn´t been to the church is because she was never invited. Crazy to think that just a small invitation is all it takes to bring someone closer to Christ. So of course we extended the invitation. We also taught an older investigator of Elder Haag, Estrella, about the Book of Mormon. She understands what we are saying, but she just hasn´t decided for herself if it is what she wants in her life right now. We will see where that goes. We taught a man named Manuel, and boy is he golden. He was a member 40 years ago, but stopped coming, and his records were erased, so he gets to start the whole process again, and has to be baptized again. But he knows all the stuff so it gets pretty easy at times. He knows it is true.
Friday - Started the day with a girl named Iris, who has a bit of a drinking and smoking problem. That is it though! So we hammered a bit hard on the Word of Wisdom. She came to conference though, and she just keeps trying to learn. We have a family that we teach, but I can only remember the name of the day, and he is named José. He is partially disabled, so he is a bit slow of learning. But we take it slow with him, and he seems to understand as well as his family. We did some more contacting and got a couple new investigators that ended up falling through, like one, for example, just started asking us for money. Ya..... great. In the night, we had the interview for Madaly for her baptism. She passed! So that is the end of that night!
Saturday - We filled up the font for the baptism in the morning and went to work, working with Dominga, and we invited her to the baptism to see what it was like. We also worked with Manuel again, and with like two members. Good day, but the highlight was the baptism! So spiritual! I got to be a witness for the actual baptism, and I got to sing a special peace on the spot. It was awesome. She will be a strong member of the church. :)
Sunday - I forgot to mention this.... This place has a REAL CHURCH. It is amazing. It is HUGE and so pretty! Hay mi madre, muy lindo. It is fantastic, so I had my first church meeting in a real church since I got her. Wow the spirit that was there, was just... powerful. We worked with a member, after church, named Hermana Milagros. She is awesome. Told us that she was feeling down, but is always willing to help. By the end of the night, she asked if I could give her a blessing of comfort, and so I did. She told me we changed her mood for the whole week. Very comforting to know how much power the priesthood actually holds.
So that was my week. Today I just woke up, cleaned the house, and came here. Oh, but remember how my camera is broke all this week, right? Well Elder Serrano, a zone leader from Peru, fixed it somehow. I tried all week to fix it and he did it in like two seconds. So it is fixed and working, so I don´t need to buy a new one! Hallelujah, blessings right there. I also plan to buy some of this Larimar rock before I leave this area. It is really cheap here compared to the prices in the states from what I have heard. And you can only get it here in Barahona. So ya, little gift for me. I will probably send one home too. It is beautiful! Oh, and another thing, plan on me getting on earlier now on Mondays for a while. Just a heads up. I like it a lot here. There is a lot of work to be done, and I am just starting. I will probably be here until about August from the way things work here. Just a prediction, but that is what I say, and I am totally fine with that. Sorry this email was beyond long, but I had a lot to say. My companion is sending me the pictures of the baptism, so I will send those when I get them. Don´t have any other pictures right now though, but I am going to start taking some this week! As for my companion situation, Elder Haag is a good guy. We work hard! He is a convert of two years, so he is really trying to do his best. He knows a lot and he helps me out a lot! He isn´t much of a talker, so its hard to get to know him, but in time we will get really close! I don´t have problems with him right now, we are all good, so it isn´t a bad situation. He has 9 months in the mission, and he is just great, so we will have fun here. That is it this week (Finally). Hope you all have an amazing week!!!! :)
Con amor,
Haz lo justo,
Élder Weiss
